Howard's home run in 14th lifts Phillies over Nationals

The side of the box for the Cole Hamels bobblehead giveaway last night read: "Cole in Your Stocking."

Almost.

Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard saved Christmas in July Night on Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park after Antonio Alfonseca blew a two-run lead in the top of the ninth inning against the Washington Nationals.

Rollins sent the game into extra innings in incredible, improbable fashion when he tripled to left-center field and scored on the same play in the bottom of the ninth, and Howard ended the madness with a two-run home run to right field in the 14th inning to win it, 7-5.

The Phillies matched season bests with a five-game winning streak and a record (52-48) of four games over .500.

"It makes it easier to get up tomorrow, I'll tell you that much," Rollins said. "You don't worry about tonight. It doesn't matter if you win or lose, you're speeding and breaking all kind of laws trying to get into bed. It's tomorrow when you wake up and realize, 'We lost and we have to come back and do it again. And we need to win.' It makes it a little easier to leave with a smile and not be long-faced."

Rollins has joked recently that pixie dust had helped him find the holes he needed to hit .325 since June 3.

If that's the case, Rollins must have jumped into a pile of it before he stepped to the plate with two outs and nobody on in the ninth.

What happened then almost never happens.

Rollins ripped an 0-2 pitch off Nationals closer Chad Cordero to left-center and leftfielder Ryan Church and centerfielder Ryan Langerhans converged in the gap to make the play.

The outfielders did not collide, but they came close enough and distracted each other just enough that Church could not make the catch.

The ball deflected off Church, rolled away from him, and landed under the 387-foot sign in left-center field.

Rollins was running all the way.

Church retrieved the ball, but made a poor throw to shortstop Felipe Lopez.

The ball scooted away from Lopez.

Rollins had reached third base and stopped running at that point, figuring there was no way he could score.

"I hit third and Smitty [third-base coach Steve Smith] started yelling," Rollins said. "I think it kind of surprised him, too. I looked up and I saw Lopez, and I saw some distance between him and the ball and I said, 'Well, I've got to go.' "

So he went.

Lopez picked up the ball and threw home, but catcher Brian Schneider couldn't handle the ball, which skipped toward the plate, and Rollins made a beautiful headfirst slide to score the tying run.

Easy, right?

"It was a great play by Smitty to alert me," Rollins said. "Then I just let my legs do the rest."

Howard's homer in the 14th sent everybody in the Phillies' clubhouse home happy.

"It helps," Howard said. "That's where this game is wild. That's where this game is crazy. You're down to your last strike and you battle back to win it. It was great, especially on Cole Hamels bobble figurine day."

But what happened from the ninth inning on made Hamels' night an afterthought, which it shouldn't have been. He allowed six hits, two runs and a walk in seven innings. He struck out six.

Hamels is 2-1 with a 2.67 ERA (eight earned runs in 27 innings) in four starts in July, his best four-start stretch since he began the season 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA. He has allowed 24 hits and four walks and struck out 19 in that span.

His only loss?

Thursday's 1-0 defeat by the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.

But - poof - all that vanished in an instant.

Alfonseca, who has been the team's closer since Brett Myers last pitched May 23 in Florida, stepped onto the mound in the top of the ninth with a 1.89 ERA since May 13.

After Austin Kearns popped out to Howard, Alfonseca put runners on first and second by allowing a double to Church and walking Schneider. Pinch-hitter Tony Batista ripped a double off the right-field wall that scored Church and made it 4-3.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel had seen enough.

He pulled Alfonseca for Mike Zagurski, but the lefthander gave up a double to Jesus Flores to make it 5-4.

Christmas appeared to be ruined. But not last night. Rollins and Howard saved the day.