2011 Topps Update Silk Collection - John Mayberry

Phillies 4, Braves 2
Game 24 – Tuesday Night, May 1st in Atlanta
Record – 12-12, 4th Place, 2 1/2 games behind the Nationals 

One Sentence Summary:  Struggling outfielder John Mayberry, Jr. starred in a 4-2 win over the Braves.

What It Means:  All of the sudden, following this game, the Phillies had won five or their last seven games and this win pulled them to within 2 ½ games of the first place Nationals.

What Went Right:  With the score knotted at two a piece entering the eighth inning, Mayberry blooped a double into right and came around to score the go-ahead run following a single from Jimmy Rollins and a wild pitch from Braves reliever Jonny Venters.  Hunter Pence followed that up with a single to score Rollins.  The Phils scored their first two runs on a two-run single from Ty Wigginton in the fourth.

Cole Hamels pitched six strong innings, but earned a no decision.  The bullpen trio of Antonio Bastardo, Chad Qualls and Jonathan Papelbon shut down the Braves over the final three frames.

Featured Card:  Since seeing this card over at 14,000 Phillies, I’ve been actively trying to track it down.  This is Mayberry’s only Topps-issued card from 2011, included as a very difficult to pull insert in their Update set.  There are only 50 instances of this card in existence, and I’m happy to add #48/50 to my collection. With #17/50 in the collection of 14,000 Phillies, that means there’s only 48 other versions of this card out there currently up for grabs.

On a related note, happy one-year blogaversary to 14,000 Phillies!  I've been actively following along with the progress being made on The Phillies Database Project, and I'm looking forward to what's ahead in the coming year.