May 16, 2008: Jayson Werth’s three-homer game powers Phillies’ win over Blue Jays

Four days before his 29th birthday in May 2008, Jayson Werth was still trying to prove he belonged as a starting outfielder. A first-round pick by the Baltimore Orioles in the June 1997 amateur draft, Werth made his major-league debut on September 1, 2002 with the Toronto Blue Jays. Over the next three seasons, injuries limited his playing time and a severe wrist injury cost him the entire 2006 season.1

Healthy but still unproven, Werth signed with the Philadelphia Phillies on December 19, 2006. He appeared in 94 games in 2007, and entered the 2008 season scheduled to platoon in right field with newly signed lefty-hitting outfielder Geoff Jenkins.2

Two weeks into the season, Werth shifted to center when Shane Victorino was sidelined with a right calf strain. With regular at-bats Werth began to find his rhythm. When Victorino returned, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel continued penciling Werth into the lineup more frequently.3

Werth was manning center and Victorino was patrolling right on May 16, 2008, when the Phillies hosted Werth’s former team, the Blue Jays, on a cold wet Friday night at Citizens Bank Park. Coming off their first postseason appearance in 14 years, the Phillies were second in the National League East Division, a game behind the Florida Marlins. The Blue Jays were fourth in the American League East.

The game began under a persistent drizzle in what one writer called “one of the season’s rainiest, most miserable evenings.”4 Toronto sent 26-year-old left-hander David Purcey to the mound, freshly recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to make his second spot start of the season. Opposing him was 45-year-old southpaw Jamie Moyer, in his third season with Philadelphia after being acquired from the Seattle Mariners in an August 2006 trade.

Moyer quickly dispatched the first two Toronto batters. Álex Ríos followed with a single, but left fielder Pat Burrell nailed him at second trying to stretch it into a double.

Purcey, who arrived in Philadelphia a mere three hours before game time,5 set the Phillies down in order in the bottom of the first. Jimmy Rollins flied to center, Victorino grounded to third, and Chase Utley, one of only two lefty swingers in the starting lineup, flied out to deep left field.

In the second, Moyer again set down the Blue Jays with ease. Former Phillie Scott Rolen—a four-time Gold Glove winner and 1997 NL Rookie of the Year during his tenure in Philadelphia—flied out to deep right center. Philadelphia had traded Rolen to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2002, where he continued to perform at a high level before getting dealt to Toronto for 2008.6

Forty-year-old Blue Jay right fielder Matt Stairs lined out to center7 and Kevin Mench flied to short center for the third out.

The game moved to the bottom of the second and Philadelphia broke through with three runs. Purcey walked Ryan Howard and Burrell to start the frame. “I was just trying to make a perfect pitch the first couple of pitches, and then fell behind,” Purcey lamented later.8

Werth stepped in and powered Purcey’s second pitch over the right field wall for a three-run opposite-field homer, his seventh of the season. Purcey settled down to retire the next three batters in order, but the damage was done.

In the top of third, Moyer retired the bottom of the Blue Jays’ order on 12 pitches. “It helps,” Moyer said afterwards about the early lead. “It was nice to get a couple-run lead early and put some zeros up.”9

The top of the Phillies order returned to face Purcey in the third. Rollins reached on a bunt single and Victorino walked. With Utley—whose 14 home runs trailed only Lance Berkman of the Houston Astros among all major-league batters—at the plate, both runners took off and confusion ensued. Rollins stopped halfway to third, causing Victorino to hold up between first and second. As Rollins hustled back to second, Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun raced onto the field to tag out Victorino retreating to first.

Utley singled, advancing Rollins to third, and Howard followed with a sharp single to right, plating Rollins and sending Utley to third. Burrell walked—Purcey’s fourth free pass of the game—and the bases were loaded.

That brought up Werth again. He waited for his pitch, then blasted a grand slam over the right-field wall, extending the Phillies lead to 8-0 with his second opposite-field shot of the game. The crowd erupted with a standing ovation, summoning Werth for a curtain call.

Toronto answered in the fourth with two runs off Moyer. Aaron Hill singled and scored on Ríos’ double to left center, then Rolen drove Ríos home on a groundball single up the middle. One out later, pinch-hitter Shannon Stewart hit a line-drive single to right, but Lyle Overbay grounded out to end the inning.

Jesse Litsch came in to pitch in the fourth as Purcey’s day was finished. After the game Purcey was optioned to Syracuse, but not before hearing some encouraging words from manager John Gibbons. “You’re still young. It’s your second start. Just don’t worry about it.”10 (Purcey was recalled on July 26 to make 10 more starts and earn his first three major-league wins.) 

Litsch pitched a scoreless fourth and set down the first two Phillies in the fifth. Werth then stepped into the box for the third time. “Hitting a home run was probably on my mind,” he said after the game.11

Litsch fell behind in the count 2-and-1 before Werth pulled his third home run of the game over the left-center-field wall. “I hit an off-speed pitch and it was one of those things where everything clicked,” he said.12

It was the Phillies’ first three-homer game since Howard hit three against the Atlanta Braves in September 2006. Once again, the crowd cheered for Werth to emerge from the dugout. “That was special tonight,” Werth said later. “I never had a curtain call, and I had two. It was a special moment.”13

In the sixth Philadelphia tacked on another run. Chris Coste doubled to right center but was thrown out when he strayed too far off second on Moyer’s pop-fly to left. Rollins and Victorino followed with back-to-back doubles to make it 10-2.

Moyer pitched a scoreless fifth and sixth before yielding a third Toronto run in the seventh. Overbay singled with one out and Zaun walked. Brad Wilkerson lined out, but Marco Scutaro stroked a two-out single to left, driving in Overbay. Reliever Chad Durbin replaced Moyer and recorded the third out.

Werth had one last at-bat in the seventh against Jays reliever Brian Tallet. After working the count full, he popped up down the right-field line, where first baseman Overbay made the catch in foul territory.

Toronto collected two singles off Phillies reliever Clay Condrey in the ninth, but the Phillies closed out their 10-3 victory. Werth’s eight RBIs tied a franchise record, equaling Hall of Famers Chuck Klein in 1936 and Mike Schmidt in 1976 and Howard in his three-homer game in 2006.14

“Anything can happen on any given day, I guess,” said Werth.15 “I won’t forget this night.”16

Manuel was impressed with Werth’s performance. “I think it creates more playing time, doesn’t it?” he said.17

Werth did play more often as the season progressed and by mid-August was the everyday right fielder. He played in 134 games, a career high to that point, hitting .273 with 24 home runs and 67 RBIs. The Phillies went on to beat the Tampa Bay Rays for the second World Series title in franchise history.

Werth blossomed in Philadelphia over the next two seasons, earning his first and only All-Star selection in 2009. After the 2010 campaign he signed a seven-year free agent contract with the Washington Nationals. He spent the rest of his major-league career with the Nationals, appearing in his last big-league game in 2017, and retiring a season later.  

Acknowledgments 

This article was fact-checked by Troy Olszewski and copy-edited by John Fredland.

Photo credit: Jayson Werth, Trading Card Database.

Sources 

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for information including the box score and play-by-play.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI200805160.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2008/B05160PHI2008.htm

Notes

1 Marcus Hayes, “Phillies Get Additional Outfield Help in Werth,” Philadelphia Daily News, Dec. 20, 2006: 71.

2 Bill Evans, “Huge Offensive Night Should be Rewarded,” Glouster County (New Jersey) Times, May 17, 2008: C-1.

3 Evans, “Huge Offensive Night Should be Rewarded.”

4 Barry Federovitch, “We’re Not Werth-y,” Glouster County Times, May 17, 2008: C-1.

5 Cathal Kelly, “One-Man Wrecking Ball Crushes Jays,” Toronto Star, May 17, 2008: S-8.

6 St. Louis received third baseman Troy Glaus in the trade.

7 In August, the Phillies acquired Stairs in a trade for pitcher Fabio Castro. Stairs hit a go-ahead two-run, pinch-hit homer in Game Four of the NL Championship Series against Jonathan Broxton of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

8 John Lott, “Werth’s Three Home Runs Propel Phillies to Victory,” National Post (Toronto), May 17, 2008: S5.

9 David Murphy, “Werth Has a Blast Times 3,” Philadelphia Daily News, May 17, 2008: 46.

10 Lott, “Werth’s Three Home Runs Propel Phillies to Victory.”

11 Associated Press, “Werth a One-Man Wrecking Crew Against Jays,” Toronto Globe and Mail, May 17, 2008: S9.

12 Associated Press, “Werth a One-Man Wrecking Crew Against Jays.”

13 Todd Zolecki, “Shower of Power,” Philadelphia Inquirer, May 17, 2008: D1.

14 As of 2025, Kyle Schwarber held the franchise record with his four-homer, nine-RBI game against the Braves on August 28, 2025.

15 Associated Press, Werth a One-Man Wrecking Crew Against Jays.”

16 Zolecki, “Shower of Power.”

17 Federovitch, “We’re Not Werth-y.”