“I think this has matured me a lot,” the Phillies’ Nick Williams said yesterday about his inability to crack the starting line-up. “It’s a situation I’ve never been in. I think it’s helped me in general grow as a player and a person. I think I am learning the game a lot better. The chances I do get — I feel it’s helping me be a complete hitter. I’ve been taking some tough pitches working the counts. It’s been helping me as a player.”
By Sam Bush
It’s pretty easy to be gracious after you smack a three-run pinch homer to win a game!
Like he did yesterday when he jacked a homer with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, lifting the Phils to a 4-2 win over the Mets.
Williams smashed it deep into the bleachers in right-center. It was Williams’ second homer of the season; both of them have been pinch-hit jobs.
“I just wanted to get something I could hit hard,” Williams said. “I knew I was going to have to be patient with runners on first and second and two outs. I had a history with Sewald last year, and I know he got me out quite a bit. I knew I had to be patient right there.”
“It’s a reminder that you don’t have to start a baseball game to win a baseball game for your team,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said. “[Williams] did that today, and I’m really proud of him.”
