2011 Wild Card Tiebreaker Game

Lore & Background

The turning point arrived in the bottom of the eighth inning when Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino drove in runs to give Philadelphia a slim lead. However, St. Louis rallied in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 3-3, sending the contest into extra innings where the tension became palpable. The Phillies' resilience was ultimately rewarded by Hunter Pence, whose two-out home run in the bottom of the tenth inning silenced the Cardinals and sent the Philadelphia faithful into a frenzy, cementing this game as a modern classic.

In Their Own Story

The air inside Citizens Bank Park felt heavy with anticipation, thick enough to taste. As the umpire called time between innings in the tenth, the silence was broken only by the distant hum of traffic and the rustle of fans shifting in their seats. Hunter Pence stepped into the batter's box, the weight of the franchise on his shoulders, staring down a full count against the Cardinals' closer. The pitch arrived, hanging just slightly over the plate; he swung with every ounce of his being.

Reader's Guide

The game began as a pitcher's duel, with Roy Halladay and Chris Carpenter keeping both offenses in check for seven scoreless innings. The deadlock was finally broken in the eighth when Ryan Howard singled to drive home Shane Victorino, followed by a sacrifice fly from Chase Utley that gave Philadelphia a 2-1 lead. St. Louis responded immediately in the top of the ninth, tying the game at 3-3 thanks to a two-out rally sparked by David Freese's single and Albert Pujols' RBI double. This set the stage for a nerve-wracking extra-inning battle where neither team could find a decisive edge. The pivotal moment arrived in the bottom of the tenth inning with two outs. Hunter Pence, who had been struggling at the plate earlier in the series, stepped up and launched a towering home run to right field off Cardinals reliever Mitchell Boggs. This solo shot secured the 4-3 victory, eliminating the Cardinals from contention and sending the Phillies to the NLDS against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Did You Know?

• This was the first time in Major League Baseball history that a tiebreaker game was played for a Wild Card berth rather than a division title or pennant race.
• Roy Halladay pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing only four hits and striking out six batters in what many consider one of his final great regular-season performances before his trade to Toronto.
• Hunter Pence's walk-off home run was the first ever hit by a Phillie player to win a tiebreaker game in franchise history.