» Howard, Ibanez Homer as Halladay, Phillies Beat Cardinals in Playoff Opener

Howard, Ibanez Homer as Halladay, Phillies Beat Cardinals in Playoff Opener

Phillies ace Roy Halladay made a couple early first inning mistakes on Saturday; a walk to St. Louis 1st baseman Albert Pujols followed by a 3 run shot by leftfielder Lance Berkman. Halladay then gave up only 1 other hit, a second inning single, through eight innings retiring the next 21 Cards in succession. Kyle Lohse gave up a fourth inning Phillies run but kept them in check until the sixth inning when his roof fell in. Two sixth inning singles sandwiching a strikeout and Phils had runners on 1st and 2nd. 1st baseman Ryan Howard then gave the Phils a 4-3 lead with a towering shot to rightfield. Another single and leftfielder Raul Ibanez slammed a 2 run shot chasing Lohse and Halladay and the Phils had a 6-3. The Phils scored 3 more runs in the seventh on Howard’s sacrifice fly RBI, centerfielder Shane Victorino’s RBI single, his 2nd of the game, and Ibanez’s RBI single. They scored 2 more in the eighth on rightfielder Hunter Pence’s 2 run single to give Halladay a commanding 11-3 lead. Manager Manuel put Michael Stutes in the game to finish out the ninth, but he could only retire 1 as the Cards scored 3 in garbage-time. Closer Ryan Madson came on to strike out the final 2 hitters as Howard and Ibanez homered to back Halladay and the Phillies beat the Cardinals in the NL divisional playoff opener.

The Milwaukee Brewers beat the the Arizona Diamondbacks in the other NL divisional playoff on 1st baseman Prince Fielder’s seventh inning 2 run shot off of 21 game winner Ian Kennedy.

AP’s game recap for Yahoo sports provides highlights on Saturday’s game:

Halladay allowed three runs and three hits, striking out eight in eight innings. He didn’t allow a runner after Skip Schumaker led off the second with a single.

Rafael Furcal led off the game with a single and stole second. One out later, Halladay walked Albert Pujols on four pitches. Berkman drove the next pitch off the mini-scoreboard hanging on the facing off the second deck in right field.

Halladay retired his last 21 batters, and the NL East champions began their all-or-nothing postseason run with a comeback win.

…The offense bailed out Doc.

Howard shook off his season-ending strikeout last October to hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in a five-run sixth inning, sending Citizens Bank Park into a frenzy.

Lohse retired the first 10 batters before Chase Utley hit a double off the right-field fence in the fourth. The righty, who was 14-8 this season, ran out of gas in the sixth.

Down 3-1, Jimmy Rollins singled to start the inning. After Utley struck out, Hunter Pence grounded a single up the middle. That brought up Howard, who heard a lot of criticism last year for taking a called third strike with the tying run on second base to end the Phillies’ season against San Francisco in the NL championship series.

Howard worked a full count before launching a towering drive into the second deck in right-center to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead.

Victorino followed with a single. Ibanez then lined a two-run homer to right to end Lohse’s night.

Lohse allowed six runs—five earned—and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings.

Howard hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh, and Victorino and Ibanez each had RBI singles in the inning to pad Philadelphia’s lead.

The Cardinals scored three times in the ninth off relievers Michael Stutes and Ryan Madson, highlighted by Schumaker’s two-run double.