Their prize? A red-eye flight home to Philadelphia - expected time of arrival 4 a.m. - with a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citizens Bank Park to follow 15 hours later.
"I'm all wound up," Manuel said.
Three hours and 51 minutes after it began, Placido Polanco fielded a grounder and barely beat Troy Tulowitzki to third base to end the game. Polanco raised his hands in the air. It was over. The two teams combined for 35 hits and 14 pitchers used.
Utley delivered the biggest blow as his grand slam put an exclamation point on an already ridiculous seventh inning. Utley had five RBIs in the seventh and tied a career high with six RBIs. In 15 previous games since coming off the disabled list Aug. 17, he had six RBIs. The home run was his first since June 18.
The Phillies tied a season high for runs in an inning. In addition to Utley's blast, Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth both homered.
"We haven't done that in a while," said Ben Francisco, who had the pinch-hit, go-ahead single in the seventh. Utley batted only because Francisco kept the inning alive.
Of course, even a nine-run inning was hardly enough to prevent drama. This is Coors Field, after all.
In the seventh, Chad Durbin allowed three runs. In the eighth, Jose Contreras loaded the bases but escaped on a grounder to short.
The first batter Brad Lidge faced, Dexter Fowler, reached on an error by Howard. Carlos Gonzalez followed with a single to right. Fowler scored on a fielder's choice. Then, Lidge walked the tying run into scoring position. But on the 358th pitch of the night, Ryan Spilborghs hit the ground ball to third.
"In the end," Lidge said, "we were the last ones standing. It shows the character of our guys."
