Aug. 15 -- THE GRAND BRANYAN

WASHINGTON -- Last Wednesday night, Russell Branyan played in a game for the Cleveland Indians' triple-A team in Buffalo against the Phillies' affiliate from Ottawa.

He struck out three times.

"That was the most rewarding three strikeouts has been to me all year," Branyan said.

The following day, the Phillies acquired Branyan in a cash transaction to beef up their bench. And, last night, in his first at-bat with his new team, the all-or-nothing slugger launched a pinch-hit, two-run homer over the right-field fence at cavernous RFK Stadium to give the Phils a 3-2 victory over the Nationals. It was some rare good fortune for Branyan, who livened up the game story today by telling us about some scofflaws who stole his Ford F-250 in spring training to transport illegal aliens to and from Mexico. Seriously. It really happened.

When the Phillies made the trade, I scratched my head. In a pinch, Branyan has never been a cinch. In fact, he was a .112 hitter with only one home run and 57 strikeouts in 107 career pinch-hit at-bats before last night. So, why did the Phillies think he could help them again? After last night's game, I asked the brutally honest Pat Gillick.

"Basically, Charlie [Manuel] had him before [in Cleveland], and we don't have any position players on option at double-A or triple-A," Gillick said. "Consequently, we had 13 pitchers and 12 position players and needed another player. We talked about getting somebody who might be able to run into a ball and win a game for us. He's a hit or miss guy."

Last night, Branyan was most certainly a hit.

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Adam Eaton will learn today if he's making his next start, Friday night in Pittsburgh. He said he isn't worried. Personally, I think he should be. Reading between the lines yesterday, it sounded to me like Manuel is leaning toward starting J.D. Durbin against the Pirates.

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Trivia: Name the last Phillies player to homer in his first at-bat for the team. Answer later today when I post an update on Eaton and Shane Victorino.

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For those who weren't familiar with the late Phil Rizzuto, this is a must-see.

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Did anyone see this flare-up between former Phillies Matt Beech and Jose Offerman? Click here for the photos.