April 25 -- GAME 15 WRAP: BEATING LINDSTROM

BY SCOTT LAUBER

FORT LAUDERDALE -- So, there I was, sitting in the Dolphin Stadium press box last night and getting ready to apply the finishing touches to my game story for The News Journal's first edition when first-year Marlins closer Matt Lindstrom entered in the ninth inning.

And, suddenly, I had flashbacks to 2005.

Allow me to explain. In 2005, I was covering the Mets' double-A, Eastern League affiliate for the Press & Sun-Bulletin in Binghamton, N.Y., and Lindstrom was a Mets prospect. He was a starter back then, and he threw a fastball that often pushed radar guns to triple digits and left scouts drooling. There was no denying Lindstrom had an electric right arm. Problem was, he had little control. In 73-1/3 innings for Binghamton that season, he walked 55 batters, and after 10 starts, the folks on the Mets' player-development staff decided he was best-suited to be a reliever. In fact, if he could ever harness his command, they were sure he could be a good late-inning reliever. And, lo and behold, after being traded to the Marlins in November 2006, that was he became. He did a nice job for the Marlins last year as a setup man, and after Kevin Gregg (the bespectacled reliever, not the Phillies' PR man) was sent to the Cubs in the offseason, Lindstrom ascended to the closer role.

But there he was in the ninth inning last night, allowing a one-out double to Jayson Werth, walking Raul Ibanez and giving up a pinch-hit RBI single to Matt Stairs. And there I was, thinking I had seen this all before. Lindstrom was struggling to locate his pitches, and all of a sudden, the Phillies had life. Sure, they had done absolutely nothing offensively in the previous 28 innings. (They were batting .153, 15-for-98, and had scored two runs since the seventh inning Tuesday night.) But the Phillies are nothing if not relentless, and I knew Lindstrom was in trouble. After he struck out pinch-hitting Eric Bruntlett, I thought he might get out of it. But when he walked struggling Jimmy Rollins with the bases loaded to cut the margin to 3-2, I began punching my delete key and rewriting my story.

Sure enough, Shane Victorino belted a grand slam -- not as memorable as his slam in Game 2 of the NLDS against CC Sabathia, but clutch nonetheless. The Phillies suddenly were leading 6-3, and Chase Utley made it 7-3 with a solo homer. It capped an improbable comeback for the Phillies and an absolutely ginormous win. They avoided a three-game losing streak, inched within 3-1/2 games of the suddenly shaky Marlins (several people said it was funereal in their clubhouse after the game) and may have finally found that elusive rhythm they have been talking about for the past two weeks.

And while we'll have plenty of time to analyze this particular Phillies victory, I found myself driving back to the hotel and thinking about Lindstrom. After Utley's homer, Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez walked to the mound and replaced his closer, who walked slowly to the dugout. At one point, they put the camera on Lindstrom, and he appeared shell-shocked.

I had seen him look that way before.

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Within the notebook, more on Cole Hamels. Also, J.C. Romero is spending the weekend with the Phillies, and he had an emotional reaction to the Nick Adenhart tragedy.

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Calling all Twitterers. Come Tweet with me. Also, Philled In is now on Facebook, too.

More in a bit from Dolphin Stadium.