6. August 28, 1998, Phillies 4, Giants 3. The Giants, caught up in a race with Chicago and New York for the Wild Card spot, hosted the Phillies in an afternoon game at 3Com Park. Rolen’s first-inning single did no lasting damage, but, in the top of the eighth he stood in against John Johnstone with teammates at first and second while trailing 1-0. Rolen made it count. A fluky infield double allowed both runners to score and put the Phillies ahead 2-1. The next batter, Rico Brogna, singled Rolen home with a third run.
But the Giants fought back to send the game into extra innings. Rolen was the first batter in the 10th and, this time, he laced a legitimate two-base hit into the left-center field gap. Brogna’s ground out advanced Rolen to third, and when Charlie Hayes misplayed Mark Lewis’ weak grounder to third, Rolen scored the eventual winning run. Win Probability Added: +0.555.
5. June 1, 2002, Phillies 8, Expos 4. Rolen needed only two swings to personally polish off the Expos at Veterans Stadium. His first swing came in the sixth inning of what at the time was a 2-0 shutout being tossed by Expos starter Tony Armas. After Jimmy Rollins singled, Rolen ended the shutout with a blast into the left field seats for a game-tying home run.
One inning later, Rolen came up again, now with Travis Lee and Marlon Anderson on the bases. Still facing Armas, his second home run again sailed into the left field patrons, putting the Phillies decisively in front 5-2. Win Probability Added: +0.573.
4. Sept. 27, 1997, Phillies 8, Marlins 7. It was the final Saturday of the regular season, a postseason tuneup for the Marlins against the NL East’s last-place team. Rolen made it a game to remember.
The Phils held a narrow 4-3 lead when Rolen took Kurt Miller deep for a two-run fifth inning home run. However, the champion-to-be Marlins fought back and, entering the bottom of the ninth, the two teams were tied 7-7.
Kevin Jordan popped out to begin the ninth, bringing up Rolen. With a 2-2 count, he leveled a Rob Stanifer pitch into the left field seats for a game-winner. Win Probability Added: +0.580.