A for Aaron: Altherr’s patience rewarded with walk-off single

PHILADELPHIA » Early last week, Aaron Altherr got a text from Gabe Kapler telling him he’d be in the lineup the next day. It went something like, “get ready and let’s go get another win.”

The Phillies got the win. They got every win against the Pittsburgh Pirates, sweeping their opponent in the four-game series. But Altherr went 0-for-4 in the text game. And he was 1-for-8 against Pirates pitching when the manager told him to get his glove to be part of a double-switch in the seventh inning of the Sunday getaway at Citizens Bank Park.

No one had to tell Altherr anything when he stepped to the plate in the 11th inning, the infield in after Andrew Knapp tripled off the catwalk in left. The way he was hitting the ball, going 2-for-2 with a triple to that point, he knew the game was over. Pitcher Richard Rodriguez was about to get the message.

With one out, Altherr drilled a ground ball through the hole between second and third for his first walk-off moment, the Phils winning, 3-2.

“Yeah, it was a foreshadowing moment right there,” Altherr said. “It was a good sign.”

It was the Phillies’ 10th come-from-behind victory of the season. They’re 14-7 overall, 9-1 at home for the first time since 1964 and 4-0 in extra-inning games. The Phils are a half-game behind the NL East-leading New York Mets. And Altherr finally is part of it, the visceral reminder via a postgame Gatorade bath.

“We felt like he was going to be an incredible contributor with the bat,” Kapler said. “And he’s had to endure a lot. He’s had some bad luck. He wanted to play more regularly. And every single day he came with a smile on his face, and he’s come prepared and he’s worked his tail off. Good things happen to good people. He just got rewarded today. It felt like everything fell into place the way it should for Aaron.”

Altherr is batting .157 with two home runs, a triple, a double and 10 RBIs. He tripled in his first at-bat Sunday but was stranded.

For too long, though, Altherr felt like a weak link on the team. Kapler found a way to keep him involved with texts.

“It’s nice to know when you’re playing instead of coming to the field and wondering what’s going to happen,” Altherr said. “Just knowing a day in advance gives you an extra day to prepare and get ready. I was like ‘OK, sounds good.’ … I was just trying to stay positive throughout the whole thing, trying to help the team find a way to win any way I can whether it’s on defense or running the bases. I feel a lot better at the plate now. Hopefully things can start rolling right now.”

For a few moments it looked like Odubel Herrera, who was celebrating a cap day at the ballpark, might be the hero. He reached on an error with one out in the 10th inning. But Kyle Crick struck out Rhys Hoskins and got pinch-hitter Maikel Franco to groundout.

Then it looked like Knapp would be the guy as his oneout triple in the 11th inning ricocheted off the catwalk. Knapp had enough momentum to turn it into an in-the-park-homer but was held.

It was Altherr’s time. And he enjoyed it.

“Obviously the results overall are not where he wants to be,” Hoskins said of Altherr. “But he’s been having good at-bats. He’s shown that he can grind out at-bats and put swings on the ball. He’s just missing. And that’s going to happen in baseball. Today was just one of those days where he continued to have those good at-bats and he got the results he wanted.

“It’s pretty awesome for him, especially right now, to come in in the middle of the game and have three hits, including the big one at the end. I’m sure he’s going to roll with it.”

Speaking of rolls, the Phillies are 13-3 after a 1-4 start. As much as Kapler loves those numbers, it’s the way they gotten there that’s made him happy. The Phils are batting .230. The pitching staff has a 3.01 ERA. The way they clawed for the final win in a series they’d already dominated got their skipper amped up.

“Well-played game across the board for our guys,” Kapler said. “This is the proudest day I’ve had with our men . ...

“We’re having a lot of fun. And having fun in baseball is really important. It’s a long season. We prepare like animals, but we also enjoy each other’s company and we are laughing a lot and having a lot of fun. And that leads to confidence.”