Phillies, Rockies: Who Wants it More?
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This blog has followed the Phillies’ ride this season, from their 4-11 start, from their crushing list of injuries throughout the season, to their taking 12 of 18 games from the New York Mets, to their coming from 7 games back and winning 13 of 17 games down the stretch to tie the Mets for 1st place in the NL East after game 159. The teams swapped a win and a loss against their respective opposition in games 160 and 161 and went into the final regular season game tied for the division lead. But veteran lefthander Jamie Moyer and the bullpen Big 3 held Washington to 1 run while 1st baseman Ryan Howard pounded his 47th homer (4th omer in 4 games) and drove in 3 runs and shortstop Jimmie Rollins slapped his 30th triple of the season to go along with 30 homers, 94 RBIs, 41 stolen bases, 38 doubles as the Phillies took the division title with a 6-1 win over the Nationals.
Meanwhile, for the Mets, their veteran lefthander Tom Glavine lasted but 1 out in the 1st inning giving up 7 runs in the frame as the Florida Marlins used six pitchers against the Mets’ slumbering offense to nail down the 8-1 win which sealed New York’s late season collapse.
The Colorado Rockies also came from out of nowhere in a wild card race which seemed set once again to be a battle between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers.
But the Rockies rattled off an 11 game winning streak, including a 4 game sweep of the Dodgers and 3 game sweeps against the Padres and Dodgers, while winning 13 of their final 14 games, despite an injury list which rivals the Phillies,. They caught the Padres and forced the one game playoff which Colorado won on Monday by charging back from an 8-6 deficit to win by a 9-8 score in a wild 13 inning affair. Leftfielder Matt Holliday charged home on 3rd baseman Jamey Carroll’s flyout to rightfield and swiped the plate with the Rockies winning run on a controversial call while Padres’ closer Trevor Hoffman blew another money save.
Yahoo’s writer Jeff Mezydlo analyses some of the comparative team stats;
Philadelphia scored 892 runs to lead the NL for the second straight year, while Colorado was right behind with 860. The Rockies led the NL with a .280 batting average, while the Phillies ranked second behind Milwaukee with 213 home runs.
Colorado batted .327 as a team and hit 14 homers in going 4-3 against the Phillies this season, which included taking two of three at home in July and splitting a four-game September series in Philadelphia.
With each team boasting a strong offense in a hitter-friendly park, offense may dominate the series.
“I don’t think any ballpark is an issue about anything,” Phillies closer Brett Myers said. “Yeah, they’re hitter-friendly, so they say, but if you go out and think about that, you’re just going to choke.”
The series features two NL MVP contenders in Colorado outfielder Matt Holliday and Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins.
Holliday won both the NL batting (.340) and RBI (137) races and enters the playoffs hitting .407 (11-for-27) in his last seven games.
But Phillies 2nd baseman Chase Utley, a scant .08 points behind Holliday, put up some impressive stats of his own, in but 132 ballgames, having been on the DL for 20 games; .332 batting average — a career-best, 22 homers, 103 RBIs (one more than in 2006).
Throw the stats and the breakdowns away. This series is about who wants it more. I’m not predicting a winner at this point. These are two plucky teams. One thing that I feel sure of; this will go the full 5 games. Go Phillies!
Wednesday’s game one is a battle of two fine young lefthanders,
Jeff Francis (17-9) opposes Phillies ace Cole Hamels (15-5). In Thursday’s game 2, Mark Redman (2-4) opposes the Phillies’ fine rookie Kyle Kendrick (10-4).
For the scores, boxscores and recaps on all of Wednesday’s playoff games, click here.
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