Phillies rally to sweep the Marlins

When Carlos Ruiz spawned a celebration with one swing at 10:37 p.m. Wednesday, the Phillies spilled out of the dugout to mob their catcher. Nineteen innings of baseball at Citizens Bank Park created two wins on this day, and no one was too sleepy to swarm the field 9 hours and 32 minutes after Kyle Kendrick fired the first pitch of a doubleheader.

The only thing missing was a glob of shaving cream to make Ruiz's walk-off hit official.

"I was looking for it," Domonic Brown said. "But I'm not going to lie; I've been here since 9:30. I was dead tired."

They were compensated for their overtime at the ballpark with 8-1 and 5-4 victories over Florida, a team that has lost 16 of its last 18 games, with its soul crushed by a division rival.

And yes, another day game followed by a cross-country flight to Seattle awaits these weary Phillies on Thursday, but a six-game winning streak tends to make sleep less important.

"It was a great feeling," Ruiz said.

They won two ways Wednesday because of a powerful, unrelenting offense. In this six-game streak, the Phillies have averaged 6.7 runs per game. That will breed optimism.

"You just want to ride that wave as long as you can," Ryan Howard said.

Down to their last out in the ninth inning of Game 2, a mere split was probable. Singles by Carlos Ruiz and Ross Gload put the tying runs on second and third. Shane Victorino rapped a 2-1 change-up from Marlins closer Leo Nunez up the middle to tie it.

In the dugout, the team rejoiced. At first, Victorino clapped his hands vigorously, or in the words of Brown, he was "going bananas."

"When the offense is clicking," manager Charlie Manuel said, "you can feel it."

"It" would be that magical possibility that the Phillies can handle any challenge presented. The Marlins scored three more times off Roy Halladay than they did against Kendrick hours earlier.

Game 1 was over not long before it started. Kendrick allowed a first-inning run but retired 17 of 19 Marlins at one point en route to his longest outing in 11 months.

Kendrick could coast because the Phillies exploded for six runs in the third inning on two swings - a bases-clearing triple by Wilson Valdez and a three-run home run by Jimmy Rollins.

This all came against Elih Villanueva, the 24-year-old making a major-league debut he will always remember for not being very memorable. Minutes after the game, he was optioned back to triple-A New Orleans, saddled with a career ERA of 24.00.

Sanchez posed a more difficult undertaking in Game 2. He was backed with two runs of instant support when Florida scored twice off Halladay in the first. Two more scored in the fourth when two doubles that could have been caught by Raul Ibanez were not.

But Florida scored no more because Halladay grinded out seven innings and Manuel's most trusted relievers were available thanks to Kendrick's unexpected effort earlier in the day.

Antonio Bastardo, Michael Stutes, and Ryan Madson kept it close. Chase Utley hit a run-scoring double and triple to trim the gap before the drama of Victorino and Ruiz.

Howard was hit by a pitch to start the 10th. He advanced to scoring position only when the 23-year-old Brown drew a seven-pitch walk.

"That was big," Manuel said.

Ruiz was looking fastball, as he always is in these late-game situations, and he cracked a 94-m.p.h. one from Mike Dunn through the middle. Emilio Bonifacio charged the ball but overran it, and Howard coasted home to a pack of jumping teammates.

"It seems like," Manuel said, "things are starting to come together for us."

Seventeen games over .500 halfway through June will let a manager brim with confidence, especially after a long day made so sweet at the very end.