Asked Hunter Pence why he choked up on the bat the other day.



His answer: "I was always a Barry Bonds fan and if it worked for him …"



Reasonable enough.



Pence has been with the Phillies for 39 games. The team is 28-11 in those contests. He entered Tuesday night's game, his 40th with the club, hitting .325 with eight homers, 24 RBIs and a .952 OPS.

You could probably say that Pence has been the best stretch-drive pickup in the majors.



But there have been other good ones, too:



Detroit righthander Doug Fister is 5-1 with a 2.88 ERA and a 0.994 WHIP in eight starts. The Tigers are 6-2 in those starts.