Today in Philly Sports History: Phils Come Back from 10-0 Deficit Against Pirates, 1989

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"If we lose this game, I'll walk home," Pittsburgh Pirates broadcaster Jim Rooker infamously said in the bottom of the first inning of a game against the Phillies in Veterans Stadium on June 8th, 1989. It probably seemed fair enough at the time--the Pirates had jumped on Philly starter Larry McWilliams in a big way, hanging six earned on him before he could even record the inning's second out. Steve Ontiveros, coming on in relief, fared little better, giving up a three-run home run to young slugger Barry Bonds. Coming up to bat for the first time in the game already down 10-0, it was pretty unlikely that the Phils were gonna make Rooker live up to his 300+-mile promise.

The Phils did not go gently into that good afternoon, however. The Phils quickly struck back with a two-run Von Hayes homer in their half of the inning off starter Bob Walk (he, of course, of the Phils' 1980 Championship season) and then smacked another one in the bottom of the third. Steve Jeltz followed with a two-run blast of his own in the fourth, and suddenly Walk had given the Phils six right back. Meanwhile, Ontiveros settled down, throwing three scoreless to allow the Phils to creep within four. Andy Van Slyke gave Pittsburgh its 11th run with a double to center in the 5th, but it was the last time the Pirates would score in the game. Then Jeltz homered for the second time as part of a four-run sixth inning, and the Phils exploded in the eighth, scoring four on hits by Darren Daulton and Curt Ford, as well as one on a Jeff Robinson wild pitch. Steve Bedrosian closed it out with a scoreless ninth. Final Score: Phillies 15, Pirates 11.

The game, while relatively inconsequential in the grand scheme of things (both teams ended the day with a record of 21-34, tying them for fifth place in the NL East), has achieved a rarefied place in the annals of Philly sports lore. Inquirer writer Peter Pascarelli called it a "miracle comeback that will go down as one of the Phillies' proudest and most implausible moments ever," and said it would "live as one of this franchise's priceless heirlooms." Meanwhile, shortstop Steve Jeltz etched his name in the history books for becoming the first Phillie to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game, and recent acquisition John Kruk marked his arrival in Philadelphia with his 4-5 hitting performance  "All I know is, it's the most amazing game I've ever been associated with," said manager Nick Leyva. "We have a lot of heart in this room, and we sure don't have any quitters."

Meanwhile, in a rare example of accountability in sports broadcasting (or a less-rare example of fans overreacting to off-handed announcer comments), Rooker would eventually live up to his promise, making the 315-mile trek a few days after the season ended as part of a charity drive, for which he would eventually raise $81,000 for a local children's hospital. "Once we hit the fifth day, we hit a wall and from that day on, it's uphill always. You get beat up and exhausted and your feet never get a chance to recover. You get blisters, then blisters next to those," Rooker said in retrospect years later. "For anybody who thinks they'd like to do something like this, they're nuts." 

(Graphic courtesy of fangraphs.com)

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