A life of surprises

That old cliché about never leaving the ballpark because you might see something you've never seen before? Well, there's a reason clichés become clichés, and that's because generally they're true...

Dontrelle Willis completely dominated the Phillies for 8 innings today, taking a 2-0 lead into the 9th inning, before it all went pear-shaped. The Phillies then sent 14 men to the plate in the inning, scoring 10 runs and leaving the Marlins and their fans to look on in disbelief. The Marlins shot themselves in the foot with four errors in that one inning (plus a misplayed ball to center field that was only not scored an error because nobody touched it), and the Phillies scored 10 9th-inning runs for the first time in the club's history.

The play-by-play went like this:

Top 9TH B:0 S:0 O:0
Defensive Substitution: Juan Encarnacion remains in the game as the right fielder.
Top 9TH B:0 S:0 O:0
Defensive switch from right field to 1st for Jeff Conine.
Top 9TH B:0 S:1 O:0
Jimmy Rollins singles on a ground ball to left fielder Miguel Cabrera.
Top 9TH B:4 S:1 O:0
Jason Michaels walks. Jimmy Rollins to 2nd.
Top 9TH B:0 S:1 O:0
Bobby Abreu reaches on fielding error by second baseman Luis Castillo. Jimmy Rollins scores. Jason Michaels to 3rd.
Top 9TH B:0 S:0 O:0
Pitcher Change: Todd Jones replaces Dontrelle Willis, batting 8th.
Top 9TH B:0 S:0 O:0
Offensive Substitution: Pinch runner Endy Chavez replaces Bobby Abreu.
Top 9TH B:0 S:0 O:0
Pat Burrell singles on a fly ball to center fielder Juan Pierre. Jason Michaels scores. Endy Chavez to 2nd.
Top 9TH B:0 S:0 O:0
Chase Utley singles on a bunt ground ball to pitcher Todd Jones. Endy Chavez scores. Chase Utley to 2nd. Pat Burrell advances to 3rd, on throwing error by pitcher Todd Jones.
Top 9TH B:0 S:0 O:0
Offensive Substitution: Pinch runner Shane Victorino replaces Pat Burrell.
Top 9TH B:1 S:0 O:0
David Bell singles on a fly ball to center fielder Juan Pierre. Shane Victorino scores. Chase Utley to 3rd.
Top 9TH B:2 S:0 O:0
Mike Lieberthal singles on a line drive to center fielder Juan Pierre. Chase Utley scores. David Bell to 2nd. Top 9TH B:0 S:0 O:0
Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Ryan Howard replaces Ramon Martinez.
Top 9TH B:0 S:1 O:0
Ryan Howard reaches on fielding error by first baseman Jeff Conine. David Bell scores. Mike Lieberthal to 2nd.
Top 9TH B:0 S:0 O:0
Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Michael Tucker replaces Ugueth Urbina.
Top 9TH B:0 S:0 O:0
Pitcher Change: Ron Villone replaces Todd Jones, batting 8th.
Top 9TH B:0 S:1 O:0
Michael Tucker singles on a ground ball to right fielder Juan Encarnacion. Mike Lieberthal to 3rd. Ryan Howard to 2nd.
Top 9TH B:1 S:0 O:0
Jimmy Rollins singles on a ground ball to center fielder Juan Pierre. Mike Lieberthal scores. Ryan Howard scores. Michael Tucker to 2nd.
Top 9TH B:3 S:3 O:1
Jason Michaels called out on strikes.
Top 9TH B:1 S:1 O:1
Endy Chavez singles on a line drive to center fielder Juan Pierre. Michael Tucker scores. Jimmy Rollins advances to 3rd, on throwing error by center fielder Juan Pierre.
Top 9TH B:0 S:0 O:1
Pitcher Change: Randy Messenger replaces Ron Villone, batting 8th.
Top 9TH B:0 S:1 O:2
Shane Victorino out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Juan Pierre. Jimmy Rollins scores.
Top 9TH B:1 S:1 O:3
Chase Utley grounds out, pitcher Randy Messenger to first baseman Jeff Conine.

If you're a Marlins fan scoring that, you can add the line: "Thank God it's finally over". In a close NL Wild Card race, this is the kind of game that can take the wind out of the sails of one team and provide unexpected momentum for its opponents. It will be interesting to see what happens in Miami tomorrow night.