Phillies Notebook: Revere Gets Confidence Boost By Late-Game (Sort Of) Leadoff At-Bat

PHILADELPHIA—Oh, there was poetry.

Ben Revere, anointed the Phillies leadoff man for the first game of the year, demoted to seventh before the sixteenth, was due up in the bottom of the ninth in a one-run game.

In a way, he was leading off again.

He did what he was supposed to, what he’s been unable to oftentimes so far: belting a single, setting the table for those behind him.

And after a single from the next batter – on Thursday, Erik Kratz – Revere stood on third.

Kevin Frandsen, the hero in a walk-off win against the Royals two weeks back, grounded out to short, putting Kratz on second.

Jimmy Rollins – Charlie Manuel’s leadoff man of old and, now, new, for how well he’s driven in 7, 8 and 9 hole hitters in his career – was due up with such men on second and third.

There was but one out. Freddy Galvis, who Manuel raved about pregame and who entered 2 for 4 with an RBI starting in lieu of Domonic Brown in left field, was due up next.

That’s where the artsiness ended. Rollins struck out swining. Freddy Galvis grounded out to second. Game over. Phillies loss, No. 10.

But for Revere, the moment mattered.

“It’s a game that gave me a little bit of confidence,” said a more upbeat Revere than the one that stood by his locker pregame.

“This type of deal, you just try to make a little switch. I’m just trying to get my confidence back up. This isn’t the first time this has happened. I just took it as motivation to try to get back in my groove, and I believe it helped me a little.”

Revere went 1 for 3, and laid down a bunt in the seventh to advance John Mayberry to second. Mayberry advanced on a wild pitch from Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright, and Erik Kratz knocked him in later in the at-bat.

Just as it’s supposed to be.

Revere’s line jumped to .200/.246/.200 tonight. But the Phillies are likely for a series of lineup shakeups, with Carlos Ruiz’s return from a 25-game suspension 10 days away, and Delmon Young due back from the DL soon, too.

Where Revere figures into that, who knows.

But even if it doesn’t change his status, it helped him clear his head.

“I tried to do everything I could to get on base,” he said of the late at-bat. “I just took it as, if I was leading off the game, just get on base and try to get that run in. unfortunately we couldn’t do it.

“But 9 of 10 times, if we get in that position again, I’ll score.”

That’s the hope, anyway, whether Revere’s doing it atop the order or at the bottom.