2013 Phillies Team Issue 2 #15 John Mayberry, Jr.

Phillies 4, White Sox 3 (10 Innings)
Game 96 - Sunday Afternoon, July 14th in Philadelphia
Record - 48-48, 3rd Place, 6 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  John Mayberry, Jr. delivered the winning hit in the 10th, as the Phillies walked off with the 4-3 win over the White Sox.

What It Means:  It means the Phillies wrapped up their pre-All-Star break home stand with a 7-3 record and are back at .500.  At the All-Star break last year, the Phillies owned a record of 37-50.  The team has been a strong second half team under manager Charlie Manuel, so I'm cautiously optimistic as we head into the break.

What Went Right:  Mayberry's heroics were necessitated by Jonathan Papelbon's fifth blown save of the season.  The Phillies led 3-2 going into the ninth, but Papelbon couldn't hold the lead, causing Cole Hamels to miss out on the win and forcing extra innings.  Hamels had another great outing, allowing two runs on eight hits in eight innings of work.  The pitcher also had an RBI-single in the fourth.

The Phillies got on the board in the first thanks to a two-run double from Domonic Brown.  All-Star Brown enters the break with a team-leading 67 RBIs.

2013 Topps Pro Debut #89 and #102

Featured Card:  Mayberry has as many base Topps cards this year as his father, John Mayberry, Sr., who hasn't played since the 1982 season.  Mayberry, Jr. appears in the Topps flagship set while the elder Mayberry has a card in this year's Topps Archives release.  The card featured here is from the second series of the team issued set, and chances are there will be a version 2.1 set released at some point in late summer.  Especially if Ruben Amaro, Jr. can add a few much-needed pieces (relief pitcher, center fielder) to the suddenly contending Phillies.

Meanwhile, in Gotham City:  The All-Star festivities are underway in New York, and yesterday afternoon Citi Field hosted the annual Futures Game.  The Phillies sent two representatives to this year's game, which features the top prospects from around the minors.  Third baseman Maikel Franco started for the World team (as their DH) and faced his Reading Fightin Phils teammate, pitcher Jesse Biddle, in the fourth inning.  Biddle won the match for Team USA, striking out Franco on three pitches.