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  • April 24, 2019
    PHILADELPHIA -- Five years is a long time between wins. Thats why this one meant so much to reliever Frank Herrmann.Pinch-hitter Jimmy Paredes singled home the winning run with one out in the 13th inning to give Herrmann and the Philadelphia Phillies a 4-3 victory over Miami on Friday night, dropping the Marlins (73-74) five games behind the New York Mets for the second NL wild card.Herrmann, who spent much of the season pitching in the minors for Philadelphia, tossed two scoreless innings and earned his first major league win since 2011.Its nice to contribute, Herrmann said. Things havent gone as well as I would have hoped since being up here, but I feel like on the whole this season Ive thrown the ball pretty well, so its nice to express that.Ryan Howard homered to spark a three-run rally for the Phillies in the sixth. Cameron Rupp and Odubel Herrera hit back-to-back doubles to tie the game, and Herrera scored on an RBI groundout by Aaron Altherr.Derek Dietrich pulled the Marlins even with his first career pinch-hit homer in the eighth, connecting off Edubray Ramos.Obviously, our guys really battled tonight, but when you get to the root of it, we left a lot of people out there, Miami manager Don Mattingly said. We left some guys out there with sacrifice-fly situations or if someone hits a ball in a gap there somewhere, you put a game like this away. We just werent able to do it.Herrmann (1-2) had not won in the big leagues since pitching four innings in relief during a 16-inning game for the Cleveland Indians on Aug. 31, 2011.The last three of his five career wins have come in extra innings.Herrmann said his teammates in the minors were calling him The Snake because a handful of times he would sneak into games in extra innings and steal the win.To get wins like this mean a lot to me, he said.It was the longest game of the season for the Phillies, both in innings and time of game (4 hours, 43 minutes). But it was worth the wait for Paredes, who got his chance with the bases loaded in the 13th.With the Marlins playing five infielders to try and cut down a run at home plate, Paredes lined a pinch-hit single off A.J. Ramos (1-3) to right field, scoring Peter Bourjos.I took advantage of that defense, Paredes said. I noticed there was nobody in center field, so I just tried to put the ball in play in the middle.Philadelphias bullpen did a fine job in relief of starter Adam Morgan. The relievers allowed just one run in 8 2/3 innings. Morgan was lifted after 4 2/3 innings. He gave up two unearned runs, seven hits and two walks.Martin Prado had three hits, two doubles and an RBI for Miami. Dee Gordon got three hits and stole two bases.Bourjos opened the bottom of the 13th with a single and went to third on Herreras one-out single. Freddy Galvis walked to load the bases, and Paredes lined a single over the drawn-in infield.The teams struggled to get runners home and also had difficulty making contact at times. They combined to leave 24 runners on base and struck out a combined 30 times.The Marlins left the bases loaded in the 11th inning and left two runners on base four other times in the game.Likely playing in his final few games with the Phillies in front of the home crowd, Howard connected leading off the sixth. He tied Maikel Franco for the team lead with his 22nd home run.Hopefully, he can continue over the last 14 games, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. Not that he is going to play every game, but its good to see him do that -- and its good for the fans.Howard also pulled even with Tony Perez and Orlando Cepeda for 70th place on the career list with homer No. 379.Rupp followed with a double that chased Marlins starter Tom Koehler. Herrera tied the game with a double off reliever Mike Dunn.STATSPrado is hitting .318 against the Phillies this season with eight doubles and eight RBI. ... Koehler made his 30th start, joining Dontrelle Willis and Scott Olsen as the only Marlins pitchers to reach that plateau in three consecutive seasons. ... Morgan did not allow an earned run, the 14th straight start by a Phillies pitcher in which they yielded three runs or fewer. Thats the longest streak for Philadelphia since a 17-game stretch in July 2000. ... Galvis has gone 50 consecutive games without an error. He leads NL shortstops in fielding percentage (.996) since the All-Star break.TRAINERS ROOMMarlins: OF Giancarlo Stanton made his first start since a groin injury on Aug. 9. He had made five pinch-hit appearances since returning last week. With the team limiting his innings, Stanton went 0 for 2 with two walks and grounded into a double play before being replaced in the sixth.Phillies: Top prospect J.P. Crawford, thought to be a candidate for a September call-up, had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to remove loose bodies. The team said Crawford is expected to be ready for spring training.UP NEXTMarlins RHP Jose Urena (4-6, 4.89 ERA) opposes Phillies RHP Jeremy Hellickson (11-9, 3.76) on Saturday night. Buy Under Armour Online . 1, meaning problems for the doping controls at both major international sports events next year. The World Anti-Doping Agency provisionally suspended the Moscow Antidoping Center on Sunday, saying its operations must improve or a six-month ban on the facilitys accreditation will be imposed. Under Armour Sale Outlet . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. http://www.saleunderarmour.com/ . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period. Under Armour Clearance Sale . To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans. Discount Under Armour Shoes . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. The Cowboys and Raiders have drawn many of the headlines this season, with good reason.So have the Browns and 49ers, for all the wrong reasons.With that much attention paid to those four clubs, four other teams havent exactly been center stage. Yet the Giants, Lions, Dolphins and Buccaneers deserve consideration when discussions turn to January and the playoffs.No, all four might not get there. Hey, they might all fall short, though thats unlikely.The five weeks will tell, Giants running back Rashad Jennings says. Every single week is going to tell you something. But we feel good where we are at. We know we have a good team.We have the players to take us where we want to go, but we have to execute the little details and find ways to end up on the `W side of the board throughout the season. That statement still stays true.Their stories are worth telling.NEW YORK GIANTS (8-3)The only team to beat Dallas thus far, the Giants are on a six-game tear. Their high-priced defense is coming on, particularly the pass rush with Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon living up to their contracts, and Landon Collins perhaps the NFLs most improved player.While the running game has been spotty and the offensive line banged-up, Eli Manning has a way of making the offense do just enough. In Odell Beckham Jr., they have one of the leagues true game changers.The remaining schedule is difficult, starting Sunday in Pittsburgh.PLAYOFF PROSPECTS: Very good. If healthy, they might be better than every NFC division winner except Dallas come New Years Day.DETROIT LIONS (7-4)No team plays on the edge in 2016 more than the Lions. Every Detroit game has been decided by seven points or fewer, with either Matthew Stafford or Matt Prater needing to lift the Lions to victory in the final moments.Another team with a weak running game, the Lions are getting a career season from their quarterback. With one more winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime, Stafford will become the first quarterback with eight of those in a season.Detroits defense is middle of the pack, a major reason those rallies have been needed. The rest of the schedule is challenging, with visits to Dallas and New York among them. The finale at home against the Packers could be critical.PLAYOFF PROSSPECTS: Good in a mediocre division.ddddddddddddMIAMI DOLPHINSWhen the Dolphins were 1-4, the only victory against Cleveland, their fans must have been wondering why Adam Gase was such a hot coaching prospect.Maybe they know now. Previous Miami teams might have folded and earned a high draft pick. This version, helped by the weird schedule the NFL put together (four straight home games with a bye in there), turned it around.Theyve developed a knack for coming back and winning close games as the offensive line got healthier and Gase committed to Jay Ajayi and the running game. Most impressive were consecutive road wins over San Diego and Los Angeles even when the Dolphins didnt play their best.I wouldnt say Im surprised, but Im proud of the way the guys have banded together, QB Ryan Tannehill says. Times were tough early on in this year; things werent going well. We really stuck together, kept pressing forward and came together as a team. We found a way to win in a bunch of games. This team knows how to win now. I feel like no matter what happens going forward, we can always try to find a way to win, because weve done it before.PLAYOFF PROSPECTS: Difficult because they must beat out Denver or Kansas City for a wild card. But doable.TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERSThis one is a surprise. The Bucs have taken advantage of Carolinas struggles and New Orleans inconsistencies. Tampa is improving, as strong defensive performances in wins over the Chiefs and Seahawks show.Last years top overall draft pick, Jameis Winston, is maturing as a pro quarterback, making good decisions and combining with stud receiver Mike Evans. The return of 2015 All-Pro running back Doug Martin from hamstring issues has been a huge boost.When Jameis takes care of the football, were tough, coach Dirk Koetter says. The main thing were doing better in the last few weeks is were getting turnovers and were not turning it over as much.PLAYOFF PROSPECTS: Unlikely, but watch out next year.---AP Sports Writers Fred Goodall, Steven Wine, Tom Canavan and Noah Trister contributed.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '