Aug. 27 -- IMPROBABLE COMEBACK

BY SCOTT LAUBER

As I sit here, in the press box at 2 a.m., it's absolutely impossible for me to figure out where to begin to review the Phillies' improbable 8-7 victory. So, we'll just start at the end:

--Kyle Kendrick was, in fact, warming in the bullpen during the 13th inning. He threw about 40 pitches, and if the game had moved into a 14th inning (heaven help us), he would've entered the game. Obviously, that would've raised some questions since Kendrick is supposed to start tonight. Talked to him for a few minutes while he iced his arm after the game, and he said he should be ready to go tonight. "It was like a bullpen before a game," said Kendrick, who celebrated his 24th birthday yesterday. "If anything, maybe I'll have a little more sink." (Kendrick, a sinkerballer, tends to pitch better when he's tired. We'll see.)

--Chris Coste went 4-for-4 and drove in the winning run with a bases-loaded single despite not entering the game until the eighth inning. He was the perfectly unexpected hero in a game that featured the unexpected. "I don't ever recall getting not only four opportunities but four hits when you come in in the eighth inning," Coste said. "I told [first-base coach] Davey Lopes, I never had a walk-off hit in my career, not even in the minor leagues."

--In a light moment, Brett Myers came to the plate in the 13th inning with the bases loaded, no pinch-hitters remaining on the bench and strict instructions from Charlie Manuel: Don't swing. Myers, a clubhouse cutup, complied. But he put on a show, wagging his bat and stepping out of the box after each pitch. "I told Brett, 'You do know how to follow orders,'" Manuel joked. Asked if he thought about asking Myers to fake a squeeze play with Shane Victorino on third base, Manuel said it was discussed. "But I said no because Victorino might break for the plate," he said, laughing. Added Jimmy Rollins, "That's what I was thinking, too. Victorino might be like, 'Oh no' and think he missed a sign."

--Other oddities: Pat Burrell went 0-for-7 with four strikeouts and left 10 runners on base; Clay Condrey notched his first career extra-base hit with a fifth-inning double; Carlos Ruiz, a former infielder, played third base in the top of the ninth inning when Manuel elected to save Eric Bruntlett as his last pinch-hitter. It worked out. Bruntlett tied the game with a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the ninth.

Depending on where you live, your newspaper might not have a game story. And, if it does, it may not have quotes. Yeah, I hate press deadlines, too. Luckily, we have the Internet now. So, please check out the updated game story and notebook.

Time for me to go home and get some shut-eye. Meanwhile, what was your favorite moment from tonight?