Trending
By Dan Gelston
The Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA -- Garrett Stubbs still stripped one strap down on his powder blue Phillies overalls at his locker, just as he did 24 hours earlier when he hosted a hoedown inside a booze-soaked clubhouse.
It was the same garish look Stubbs sported when he sprayed the team owner with bubbly. He wore overalls just as he did a night earlier when he tipped his head back and let teammates pour beer down his throat as part of a rowdy postseason clinching celebration.
Yes, Stubbs drank all the alcohol and then laughed at all the memes, the ones that showed the backup catcher would see six baseballs at once when it was his time to hit in what was affectionately called a "hangover game."
One that seemed appropriate when Stubbs awoke from a night of partying.
"Probably still a little hammered from the night before," Stubbs said, laughing.
Once at the plate, Stubbs hammered one -- a three-run shot -- that sparked a rally for the Phillies that was completed when Bryce Harper hit a go-ahead solo homer in the seventh inning in a 7-6 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night, a day after clinching the NL's top wild-card spot.
Stubbs, who entered the game batting just .196 in 30 games, hit his first homer since Aug. 16, 2022.
"Yeah, all it took was a bunch of champagne, drinking all night and going out," Stubbs said. "There it was the next day, a homer."
A night after a raucous late-night celebration that saw outfielder Brandon Marsh ride a mechanical bull, designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, third baseman Alec Bohm, catcher J.T. Realmuto and right fielder Nick Castellanos all took the night off.
Harper, one of the few regulars in the lineup and playing first base, had three hits, and slugged his 21st homer of the season off reliever Jose Hernandez (1-3) for the 7-6 lead.
Gregory Soto struck out the side in the ninth inning for his third save and preserved the Phillies' seventh straight win.
And yes, Stubbs survived all nine innings.
The backup catcher became a social media hit in Philadelphia after videos of him dancing and drinking in overalls in the clubhouse on Tuesday night were unleashed into the viral universe, and there was faux concern that he could actually play.
Ranger Suarez gave up three runs in the first and two in the second against the Pirates. The 28-year-old left-hander was chased in the fifth after Jack Suwinski tripled in a run to make it 6-4.
Connor Joe had four hits for the Pirates.