McAdam: Brandon Phillips goes from unwanted to delivering an improbable victory for Red Sox

ATLANTA -- Last winter and spring, Brandon Phillips couldn't have dreamed about Wednesday.

He was too busy being perplexed -- and yes, at times, a little bit bitter -- over the fact that he suddenly couldn't find work. Phillips found himself caught in the great Free Agent Freezeout of 2017-18, suddenly unwanted in an industry when he could still perform.

So Phillips sat and waited. He stewed some. Eventually, he got a call from the Red Sox in late June. He was stuck at Triple-A, but he vowed to enjoy the game that had spurned him, working with prospects and young veterans alike, sharing his knowledge and experience.

Only last week, Phillips was helping Rafael Devers, working back from a hamstring injury and a poor second half. Phillips was giving back to a game that had given him nothing months earlier.

The call-up to the big leagues wasn't guaranteed, but when it came Monday, Phillips happily accepted it, terming it a "blessing.'' Phillips would join the Red Sox for the final four weeks, maybe pinch-hit here or there, maybe get the occasional start. Mostly, he would be an onlooker to a team he had watched with admiration from 50 miles away.

But as often happens in the game, fate interceded Wednesday. With the goal of getting many of his regulars a day off, manager Alex Cora penciled Phillips into the lineup at second base. Sure, why not? It would be a nice reward for a player who had been a good teammate at Pawtucket, who had gratefully accepted a minor league assignment when no one else offered one, and who ignored more than one opportunity to opt-out of his deal and go elsewhere.

It wasn't exactly a pat on the head and a nod in recognition. But it was close.

So Phillips was determined to enjoy the day, in this, the city where he grew up. He had family and friends in his stands, and they were no doubt entertained by his hustle in the second inning, when, after a walk, he took third on a single, then made a mad dash home on a groundout, artfully sliding around the tag and scoring the Red Sox' first run.

If Brandon Phillips Big Day Out had ended there, it would have been cause for celebration and, yes, a little validation. See? He could still play the game. He could still have fun.

But there more -- much more -- still to come.

After the Sox had rallied for six runs in the eighth, the Braves stole the lead right back in the bottom of the inning with a Freddie Freeman solo homer. It appeared the eighth-inning rally was going to be something the Sox could only view as a moral victory on the plane ride back to Boston.

Then, Andrew Benintendi singled to lead off the ninth, and after Steve Pearce fanned, Phillips came to the plate.

Ninth-inning, Red Sox debut, potential tying run on base. This couldn't happen ... could it?

"(I just wanted to) hit something hard,'' said Phillips, recounting his approach off reliever A.J. Minter. "That was basically it. I just wanted to see something up and get something I could drive. He just left a ball up and I took advantage of it.''

https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/1037426536943476736

Understand that this was not any run-of-the-mill, just-clear-the-fence homer. This was a shot, belted way up into the left field bleachers. Everyone in the ballpark knew when he made contact. Phillips knew too. He leaned back for an instant, his mission accomplished and soaked it all in before he began his trot around the bases and into the hearts of any Red Sox fan watching.

Even as he celebrated with his new teammates, Phillips thought of his former teammates in Pawtucket, the ones who didn't join him in a promotion back to the big leagues.

"They really (reminded) me why I still play this game and why I play the game the way I do,'' he said. "I really learned from them, honestly, the way to approach the game -- the way they do. Just keep on having fun. You never know what can really happen.''

Who knows? Maybe you'll find yourself back in your hometown, airdropped into a pennant race and making yourself feel part of it all in a hurry.