PHILADELPHIA — When the Phillies demoted their opening day center fielder, CBC graduate Matt Vierling, after their eighth game of May, his batting average of .170, like their record, had bobbed along at less than expected, his season moving at an unfamiliar rpm — slow. The team was already 7 ½ games out in the division, closer to last place than first.
When Vierling sped back to the majors he delivered a go-ahead home run against Milwaukee on the same day as his promotion, flipping a game for Philadelphia against the club the Phillies would finish ahead of for a postseason wild-card berth by one game.