Posted at 10:51 a.m., Sunday, September 30, 2007
Baseball: Phillies top Nats, end 14-yr. playoff drought
Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA - Believe it, Philly. The Fightin' Phils are going to the playoffs.
Considered all-but-out of contention just 2½ weeks ago, the Philadelphia Phillies overcame a huge deficit in the standings, caught the Mets and won their first NL East title since 1993 on the final day.
Ryan Howard hit his 47th homer, 44-year-old Jamie Moyer pitched 5 1-3 gutsy innings and the Phillies, backed by a crowd going crazy, beat Washington 6-1 today to end a 14-year playoff drought.
They needed help up I-95, and got it from Florida. The Marlins beat the Mets 8-1 to ensure there wouldn't be a tiebreaker playoff game on Monday.
The Phillies rallied from seven games down on Sept. 12, matching the biggest September comeback in major league history.
Now, the Phillies advance to the postseason for only the 10th time in their history. They'll host Game 1 of the division series against an undetermined opponent, most likely starting Wednesday.
