By the 19th inning on Wednesday night, the Philadelphia Phillies had used up all of their actual relief pitchers. Unwilling to send in anyone else from his starting rotation, manager Charlie Manuel instead turned to 33-year-old Wilson Valdez, usually a backup infielder, who had started the game at second base.
Valdez came through with a hitless inning, and he picked up the victory after Raul Ibañez broke a tie with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 19th to end the longest game of the season — 6 hours, 11 minutes.
Valdez became the first position player to get a pitching win since catcher Brent Mayne in 2000 for the Colorado Rockies. Heck, at least Mayne had some major league experience returning the ball to the mound. Valdez's feat is much more impressive.
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