By Jack Ryan
When things are going right for the Phillies even a pitcher being hit in the throat by a peg from his own catcher can’t stop them!
Sean O’Sullivan (above) won a major league game for the first time in four years, staying in after he was hit on the throat by a throw from Cameron Rupp, and the Phillies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-0 for their first five-game winning streak since last summer.
“I didn’t see the ball for one second,” O’Sullivan said. “It was like I got punched in the throat from around the corner.”
O’Sullivan (1-2) allowed five hits in six innings, struck out four and walked two.
He turned to talk to his fielders in the sixth with two on and a full count, then as he pivoted to face the plate was struck on the throat with a throw by Rupp. Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg came to the mound and, after a brief delay and one warmup toss, O’Sullivan retired Aaron Hill on a flyout with his next and final pitch of the day.
“That could’ve been even uglier than it was,” Sandberg said. “It wasn’t pretty when it happened, but there was a little bit of humor afterward.”
O’Sullivan had a red mark just below his Adam’s apple. He said breathing was tough for the first “five-10 seconds” after getting hit, and swallowing still was difficult after the game.
“It was scary for a minute,” he said.
A 27-year-old right-hander, O’Sullivan had been 0-9 with a 7.19 ERA in 13 starts and five relief appearances since winning at Yankee Stadium for Kansas City on May 12, 2011.
Maikel Franco homered, tripled and drove in two runs for the Phillies, who had not won five in a row since July 7-11. Darin Ruf homered and Ben Revere had three hits and an RBI.
“Everybody is chipping in,” Sandberg said. “As a team, we’re playing real good baseball.”
Josh Collmenter (3-5) gave up four runs on six hits in six innings.
Rupp hit a sacrifice fly in the second and Ruf homered in the fourth for a 2-0 lead. Franco drove in a run in the sixth with his first big league triple, then scored on Cesar Hernandez’s single.
