Photo: D. Benjamin Miller / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

ANAHEIM, Calif.: Pinch-hitter Edmundo Sosa belted a two-out grand slam in the top of the ninth inning Friday night, erasing a two-run deficit and lifting the Phillies to a 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels at Anaheim Stadium.

Sosa’s first career grand slam, his sixth homer of the season, came on a 1-1 changeup from lefty reliever Sammy Peralta. It was the Phillies’ first pinch-hit grand slam in the ninth inning since Ozzie Virgil Jr. in 1983, according to The Good Phight.

The win left the Phillies (75-60) a game behind the Chicago Cubs for the top NL wild-card spot and three games ahead of San Diego, which holds the third spot.

A ninth inning that had everything

Trailing 3-1 entering the ninth, the Phillies got life when Angels closer Ben Joyce hit Alec Bohm with a pitch and walked Justin Crawford after an eight-pitch at-bat. Bryson Stott then drove a full-count fastball over the fence in right field, but Angels right fielder Wade Meckler scaled the wall and robbed him with a spectacular catch.

“I hit all of them,” Stott said. “I was like, ‘What the hell.’ Then I was very mad. And then I was super happy. It was like the biggest roller coaster ever. That was a big swing by Sosa.”

Joyce walked J.T. Realmuto with two outs to load the bases. The Angels then brought in Peralta, and manager Don Mattingly countered by sending Sosa up to hit for Brandon Marsh.

Sosa said he saw the opportunity coming. “I think I anticipated that at-bat,” he said. “I started imagining it when Joyce hit Bohmer. I trusted the opportunity would come and I might have a chance to come through. I stayed focused. I stayed calm and focused. I connected really well.”

Sosa’s slam marked the fourth time this season the Phillies have hit a go-ahead home run with two outs in the ninth inning.

“It’s ceasing to amaze me at this point,” Mattingly said. “It seems like we’ve done this a few times.”

Painter’s rough first, sharp recovery

Rookie right-hander Andrew Painter gave the Angels all three of their runs in the first inning. He threw 28 pitches in the frame, allowing two hits, two walks and wild-pitching home two runs as the Angels jumped ahead 3-0.

Painter settled down after that, allowing just one base runner over his next five innings, a walk in the sixth that was erased by a double play. The first inning remains a problem: Painter has allowed seven first-inning runs in two of his last three starts and carries a 10.0 ERA in opening frames this season.

“I’m happy with the way I bounced back,” Painter said. “It’s a common theme, struggling in the first inning. I have to figure it out. I hurt my chances to go deeper in the game.”

Bullpen holds, Bowlan closes it out

Jose Alvarado and Alex McFarlane each pitched a scoreless inning after Painter departed, keeping the deficit at two. The Phillies’ only run before the ninth came in the fifth against starter Reid Detmers, when Bohm and Bryan De La Cruz singled and Derek Hill drove in a run with a bunt hit.

With All-Star closer Jhoan Duran unavailable because of a stomach issue, Jonathan Bowlan handled the ninth. He worked through a two-on, one-out jam created by a hit-by-pitch and a rare error by Luis Arraez to earn his second save of the season.

It was a big rebound for the Phillies, who lost two of three in Seattle before arriving in Anaheim. Sosa also delivered a three-run double last Sunday as the Phillies rallied from a 4-0 deficit to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4, their ninth straight win at the time.

Cristopher Sanchez, who leads the majors with 16 wins, takes the mound Saturday night against Ryan Johnson.