Person Pitches, Hits Phils to 3-1 Victory

Robert Person always knew he could hit. Now, he has proven it to everyone else. And given how much the rest of the Phillies are struggling at the plate, they'll take help from anyone, even if it is the pitcher.

On Sunday, Person's two-out, bases-loaded double accounted for all of the Phillies' runs as they avoided a sweep with a 3-1 victory over the Cubs.

"You don't want to get swept, especially in your own park," said Larry Bowa, whose club managed only four hits. "We've just been leaving a lot of men on base, and that's going to happen over the course of a season."

Down 1-0 with two outs in the fifth, the Phils had yet to reach base against Cubs starter Jon Lieber, who mowed down the first 14 hitters. Travis Lee got the Phils' first hit when he lined a single to left. Lee advanced to third on a single by Pat Burrell, and Lieber walked David Nuhan to bring up Person.

After seeing two straight sliders, Person nailed Lieber's 1-1 pitch to the wall in left-center, and his bases-clearing double gave the Phils a 3-1 lead.

"He threw a fastball right there, and I hit it pretty good," said Person, who was hitting .120 for his career before the at-bat. "Lieber was pitching a great game, and it was a turning point."

"That hit broke everything open," said Bowa, who didn't consider pinch-hitting for his starter.

"It was 1-0," Bowa said. "If it was 3-0, it might have been different, but it was 1-0."

"I think I established that I was pretty much in a groove," Person said. "If I was struggling from the first through the fifth, then yes, it probably would have been a great opportunity [to pinch hit]."

"Person swings hard. He doesn't get cheated," Bowa said. "If you ask [him], he thinks he's a pretty good hitter. I guess after today, he think's he's really good.

"Yeah, I do [swing hard]," Person said. "People don't really understand, but I take hitting seriously. I really take it seriously."

While in Florida, the Phils were short pinch hitters, and Bowa told Randy Wolf to be ready. Person said he wanted an opportunity as well.

"Everyone on the team teases me. During B-P, I get teased," Person said. "For some reason, they fail to acknowledge the truth. I don't get many fastballs. I get off-speed first pitches. I finally got [a fastball]. [My eyes] lit up, they lit up."

Meanwhile, and more importantly, Person pitched well, allowing a run and four hits in seven innings while walking two and striking out five.

Early in the game, he continually worked deep counts but escaped trouble. He fell behind in the first when the Cubs' second batter of the game, Bill Mueller, hit a solo home run that nicked the foul pole in right. Person then walked Matt Stairs before getting Sammy Sosa to fly out and striking out Todd Hundley.

"It started off kind of wobbley. I got behind hitters. It's just one of those things." Person said. "Traditionally, early runs come with me for some reason. I give up runs in the first inning a lot. It's probably something I need to work on -- the way I prepare myself before the game -- warming up in the pen, maybe I have to start up a little earlier, I don't know. They get me early, but it didn't really discourage me. We've got to score anyway to win. I gave up one run, but we've got to score one run."

Person survived a one-out double by Eric Young in the third and a lead-off double by Sosa in the fourth before retiring the side in order in the fifth. He allowed a pair of baserunners in the sixth and finished his day with a 1-2-3 seventh.

"It's just a matter of getting into a groove," said Person, who threw 100 pitches and became the first Phillies starter of the season to make it through the sixth inning. "After the third, I pretty much felt it, went with my pitches, and first pitch strikes kind of came along. The key for me today was I wound up getting first-pitch strikes after the third inning."

"He was throwing a good changeup today," Bowa said. "When he throws that hard, the changeup makes the fastball that much better. The changeup is a definite weapon when you have good arm action."

The Phils' bullpen took over from there. Ricky Bottalico needed just nine pitches in a 1-2-3 eighth. Jose Mesa came in firing in the ninth, striking out two, including Sosa on three pitches, for his second save.

While Bowa is getting production from his bullpen, he wouldn't mind some more run support. Bobby Abreu, Scott Rolen and Mike Lieberthal were a combined 0-for-9.

"I think part of it's due to the pitching we're facing, and part of it is that we're trying to hard," Bowa said.

Burrell, who was dropped from fifth to seventh in the order, went 1-for-3 but struck out two more times and now has whiffed 15 times in 23 at-bats.

"He's trying to hit a ball over the stadium instead of out of the stadium," Bowa said. "That's a young kid just trying too hard. Before it's all over, he'll have his day in the sun and carry this team."

On Sunday, Person carried the team on the mound and at the plate. Which excited him more?

"It's gotta be the hit," Person said with a grin. "It's excited because pitching -- that's what I'm expected to do -- so I'm definitely excited for the win. But to get a hit to decide a game -- nobody expects, going into the game, that your hit is going to change a game. That's probably why it's more exciting because no one expected it."

Andy Schwartz
ComcastSportsNet.com