Kody Clemens' walk-off single gives the Phillies a series-opening win over the Rays

PHILADELPHIA — Johan Rojas looked in his empty mitt, then slid to the ground and stayed there for a moment, his back pressed against the center-field fence and his head bowed.

He just robbed a home run. And then he didn’t.

The Phillies were three outs from a victory. And then they weren’t.

They won anyway Monday night, 2-1 over the Tampa Bay Rays. Even though Rojas’ glove hit the fence as he came down from a leaping catch and the ball popped out for a game-tying home run. Even though Bryce Harper had to settle for a single in the ninth inning after not running out a line drive that went off the left-field wall.

The Phillies won because — with the crowd chanting “Bud-dy! Bud-dy!” — recent call-up Buddy Kennedy worked a two-out walk to load the bases before Kody Clemens — with the crowd chanting “Ko-dy! Ko-dy!” — shot a single through the right side to score Harper for a walk-off victory.

It snapped a modest two-game skid and lowered the Phillies’ magic number to win the NL East to 12, pending the outcome of the Mets-Blue Jays game in Toronto.

And it rewarded Cristopher Sánchez for another brilliant start. For six innings, Sánchez dazzled, allowing four hits and blanking the Rays. His first pitch was a bowling-ball sinker at the bottom of the zone for a called strike. His best pitch? Go ahead and pick from almost any of his 38 bat-slowing changeups.

Sánchez’s favorite? Judging by the typically staid lefty’s arm pump and glove clap, it was the one that faded down and away for a strikeout of Dylan Carlson to end the fifth inning.

Consider it a snapshot of why the Phillies like their chances in October.

Because Sánchez is likely their Game 4 postseason starter. Repeat: Game 4. And good luck finding a Game 4 starter with Sánchez’s 3.33 ERA in 165 innings after his mastery of the Rays, his former organization.

The Phillies are 86-58 — and vying with the Dodgers for the best record in baseball — because of their starting pitching. Sánchez’s rise is a big reason why they have the National League’s best rotation ERA (3.65).

And the Phillies’ top four starters seem to be peaking at the perfect time. Consider how they have fared since the middle of August:

— Zack Wheeler: 1.74 ERA in five starts

— Aaron Nola: 2.43 ERA in five starts

— Ranger Suárez: 3.21 in three starts

— Sánchez: 2.14 ERA in five starts

The Phillies didn’t have a hit until there was one out in the sixth inning. But Kyle Schwarber made it count, with a titanic homer to right-center field that opened a 1-0 lead.

In the eighth, ace reliever Jeff Hoffman, making his first appearance in five days, wiggled out of a two-on, two-out squeeze by striking out Junior Caminero.

Carlos Estévez gave up the tying home run to pinch-hitting Brandon Lowe before the theatrics in the bottom of the ninth.