The Best Thing That Happened This Week: The Phils Got to Papelbon

Washington Nationals relief pitcher Jonathan Papelbon after being ejected form the game for hitting Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado (not pictured) with a pitch in a September 23, 2015 game.

As well as closer Jonathan Papelbon pitched in his years with the Phillies — he’s the team’s all-time saves leader — this city really doesn’t like Jonathan Papelbon. We didn’t like him when he said he wanted to be traded to a contender. We didn’t like him when he grabbed his crotch at us. And we didn’t like it when he blamed the Phils’ “front office down to the bat boy” for not wanting to win. We still don’t like him. Which is why it’s such a pleasure when the Phils wreak revenge on him, as they did on Thursday afternoon at Nationals Field. The Nats turned the game over to Papelbon in the ninth with the score tied 0-0 and two Phils on base. Our reliever, Elvis Araujo, had ended the eighth by striking out fearsome Bryce Harper on three pitches, with the bases loaded. Papelbon wouldn’t be as fortunate. He struck out Darin Ruf, but Cameron Rupp then ripped a drive deep into right field, where Harper — who has his own history with Papelbon — failed to catch it, causing Papelbon to roll his eyes just like Mary Pat. The ball dropped for a double, and the Phillies were up 2-0. Just to rub it in, the Phils tacked on one more run to make it 3-0 before Jeanmar Gomez finished off the Nats in their half of the ninth, for a three-game sweep and what might have been the most satisfying win yet in this young season. “These Phillies aren’t as bad as we thought,” read the headline in the Washington Post. Damn right. See you next time, Pap.

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