The New York Yankees finally dispensed with the Los Angeles Angels to join the Phillies in a World Series matchup for only the 2nd time in MLB history.

The Angels attempt to come back, after trailing the Yanks by a 3 games to 1 deficit, fell far short in Sunday’s game 6 as the Yankees erased a 1-0 Angels lead with 3 runs in the fourth inning and 2 more in the eighth to  win the game and the AL pennant by a 5-2 score. 

And so, two powerhouse offenses meet in the first matchup between these two franchises since 1950 when the Yankees swept the Phillies in one of the closest, lowest-scoring series in MLB history. The 2 teams scored 16 runs between them in 4 games, the Yanks scoring 11 and those Whiz Kid Phillies scoring 5.  Baseball Almanac provides a summary of the 1950 series as well as its boxscores and series batting averages.

Both these 2009 clubs have power-laden offenses which can put runs on the board in a hurry via the long ball.  7 Yankee starters each pounded 20 or more homers with shortstop Derek Jeter close behind with 18.  1st baseman Mark Texeira led the Yanks with 39 homers and 122 RBIs.

The Phils had 5 starters each pounding 20 or more dingers with 1st baseman Ryan Howard leading them all with 45 homers, 141 RBIs while improving to a .279 BA.  2nd baseman Chase Utley, rightfielder Jayson Werth and leftfielder Raul Ibanez each had 30 or more round-trippers.  The Phils can also hurt an opponent with small-ball, via bunting, stealing bases and extra-base hits although these aspects are underplayed vs their power numbers.

Both clubs play mostly fine defense, although opponents are hesitant to run on centerfielder Shane Victorino and rightfielder Werth who have nailed a number of runners at home this season.

The Phillies, it must be remembered, took 2 of the 3 interleague games played with the Yanks in May of this season while somewhat roughing up the 3 top Yankee starters.  2 of those games played at the new Yankee stadium were decided by 1 run while the Phils won the opener by a 7-3 count in a game where 4 Phillies homered.  The Phils pounded A.J. Burnett for 3 of the 4 dingers.   The Phils also took a 4-2 lead into the ninth inning while reaching Andy Pettite for a pair of homers before losing by 5-4 on a 3 run Yankee rally.  They also managed 3 runs on 9 hits in eight innings against Yankee game 1 starter C.C. Sabathia who they previously pounded in the 2008 division championshp series against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The series opener on Wednesday is a battle of lefthanders as Sabathia appears in a rematch against the Phillies opposing his former Cleveland teammate Cliff Lee.  Lee is 4-4 lifetime against the Yankees from his days with the Indians.  Sabathia is 1-1 lifetime in 3 appearances against the Phils.   Sabathia carries a liftime ERA in 3 games of 4.35 vs the Phils while Lee carries a 5.02 ERA in 9 lifetime appearances against the Yankees.

In game 2, lefthander Cole Hamels is currently tapped to oppose Burnett, although columnists are indicating that manager Charlie Manuel will go to veteran Pedro Martinez, rather than Hamels, as the best chance of possibly sneaking out of Yankee stadium with 2 wins over the Yanks.  Martinez also translates into a mega-TV bucks across the nation for game 2.

A re-emerging Brad Lidge gives the Phils an edge in the all-important bullpen along with solid middle and set-up relievers.  The Yankees still have perennially consistent star closer Mariano Rivera, who went 2 innings in closing out L.A.  But the Yankees bullpen is an adventure between starter and Rivera-time.

Games 3, 4 and game 5 if needed will be played at Citizen’s Bank Park on Saturday through Monday before the venue returns to Yankee stadium for games 6 and 7 if necessary.

This promises to be a great series.  Go Phillies!

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Phillies lefthander Cole Hamels lasted just 4 1/3 innings.  But the Phils clubbed Los Angeles starter Vicente Padilla for 6 runs in four innings on Wednesday.  Four homers, including 2 by rightfielder Jayson Werth, led the Phillies who pounded the Dodgers by a 10-4 tally to clinch their 2nd NL Pennant in 2 seasons and set-off celebrations in Philadelphia.

With this 2nd Pennant in 2 seasons, the Phils have achieved not only a first in their franchise history but a rarity in Philadelphia sports history. The only other Philadelphia teams ever to make it to a Championship series 2 seasons in a row were the Eagles in 1948 and 1949 seasons, the 76ers with Wilt Chamberlain in 1966-67 and 1967-68 seasons and the Flyers in 1972-73 and 1973-74 seasons.

1st baseman Ryan Howard was awarded the NLCS MVP award.  Howard, who hit .333 for the series with 2 homers and 8 RBIs while going 5 for 15 in the series also collected a double, a triple. This blog noted after game 4 that Howard tied Lou Gehrig’s 7 decades old MLB record garnering at least one RBI in eight straight playoff games.  Howard’s RBI streak ended in Wednesday’s clincher when he failed to knock in a run.  He went 0-2 in game 5 as Dodgers pitching gave him little to hit resulting in his reaching twice on walks.

The Dodgers notched a first inning run off of Hamels on leftfielder Andre Ethier’s 2 out solo homer, but the Phils came back wth 3 runs in their first inning as Werth homered to right centerfield off of Padilla following 2 out walks to 2nd baseman Chase Utley and 1st baseman Ryan Howard.

The two teams swapped single runs in the second inning as Dodger 1st baseman James Loney reached Hamels for a leadoff homer and 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz followed suit with a leadoff shot off of Padilla.

After Hamels settled down somewhat retiring 6 of the next 7 Dodgers he faced in the third and fourth innings, Werth lead off the Phillies fourth with a single to leftfield and scored on Raul Ibanez’s double to deep centerfield.   That was it for Padilla who was relieved by Ramon Troncosco who first got Feliz to ground out to 3rd base before walking catcher Carlos Ruiz.  Hamels bunt sacrificed the runners up — Ibanez to 3rd base and Ruiz to 2nd.  Then Troncosco proceeded to hit shortstop Jimmy Rollins and was gone, replaced by reliever George Sherrill who plunked centerfielder  Shane Victorino, the latter hit batsmen forcing in the Phillies 6th run.  Sherrill finished the inning by striking out Utley with the sacks jammed. After four innings, the Phillies were up by 6-2. 

Hamels opened the fifth by getting 3rd baseman Casey Blake to pop out to rightfield before pinch hitter Orlando Hudson solo homered to narrow the Phils lead to 6-3.  Shortstop Rafael Furcal followed with a double to leftfield chasing Hamels and beginning a parade of Phillies relievers.  Lefthander  J.A. Happ notched the 2nd out and Chad Durbin the final out of the fifth.  Durbin went clean in the sixth inning to notch the Pennant-clinching win. 

Victorino padded the Phils’ lead to 8-3 with a 2 out, 2 run shot in the sixth off of reliever lefthander Clayton Kershaw, the originally schedule starter for game 5.

Chan Ho Park relieved Durbin and went clean on the Dodgers in the seventh inning.   Lefthander Hong-Chih Kuo replaced Kershaw for the seventh inning and opened by striking out Howard.  But Werth followed solving Kuo for his 2nd homer of the game, a solo shot to centerfield.  Kuo then fanned both Ibanez and Feliz to strikeout the side.  After seven innings, Phillies 9, Dodgers 3.

In the eighth, Park was chased giving up 2 hits to open the inning.  Ryan Madson came on to walk leftfielder Manny Ramirez to load the sacks with none out.  Centerfielder Matt Kemp followed capping the Dodger scoring with an RBI single to center — the run being charged to Park.  Madson then got Loney on a foul-out and struck out catcher Russell Martin.   Madson could almost see himself out of the inning, but still had to get past Casey Blake as the sacks remained loaded with Dodgers.   What ensued was a epic 9 pitch confrontation between Madson and Blake in a situation where one solid swing could have changed the game from a Phillies cruise into a nail-biter.   After 2 balls and 2 strikes including 4 fouls,  Madson coaxed a shortstop fielder’s choice  by Blake to end the only significant Dodger threat of the game.

Leading 9-4 in the game, the Phils capped their scoring as Rollins scored on a wild pitch after singling with 2 outs and going to 3rd on Victorino’s ground-rule centerfield double.

Then, all there was left was for suddenly rejuvenated closer Brad Lidge to close out the Dodgers in the bottom of the ninth.  He notched a strikeout, a foul out and a fly out to centerfield to cinch the game, the series and the 2nd NL Pennant in 2 seasons for the Phillies.

Interesting, former disgrunted BoSoxer Manny Ramirez,  who chose to shower and not to stick around with the team in game 4 after removed for defensive reasons, provided some offense for the Dodgers; 6 hits in 19 at-bats with a homer and 2 RBIs in the series, but he was largely not a factor in the offense against the Phillies.

The boxscores for both Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s league championship games in both leagues can be found here and here.

The World Series opener is tentatively set for Wednesday October 28, 2009, barring any weather-related postponements in either the ALCS final games or in the opener itself, in the stadium of the ALCS winner, either the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Angels.  This gives the Phils 7 days to rest, heal and prepare for the series.

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Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins came to bat with runners on 1st and 2nd base with 2 outs in the ninth and lined Los Angeles closer Jonathan Broxton’s 1-1 pitch for a 2 run game-winning double to right centerfield as the Dodgers blew a 4-2 lead.  Phils closer Brad Lidge won his first game of 2009 pitching striking out 2 in the ninth as Rollins’ walkoff double gave the Phillies a 5-4 win and a 3 games to 1 lead over the Dodgers in the NLCS.

Phillies Nation’s Amanda Orr best sums up the feelings of all Phillies fans on another clutch October playoff win:

Never doubt this team.  The Phillies were down to their last out, but another clutch hit led to another stunning victory.

Rollins was deservedly mobbed by his teammates, but the bullpen deserves some credit too.  The ‘pen threw three scoreless innings.  Brad Lidge earned the win, striking out two batters in 2/3 of an inning.

This game will go down as one of the most unbelievable endings in postseason history.

The Phils jumped out to a 2-0 first inning lead as Rollins led off with a single off of Dodger starter and former Phils lefthander Randy Wolf.  After center-fielder Shane Victorino and 2nd baseman Chase Utley both popped out, Wolf fell behind 1st baseman Ryan Howard by a 3-1 count. Howard bombed Wolf’s next pitch to rightfield to give the Phils the early lead.  Howard’s homer gave him eight straight postseason games driving in at least one run, tying Lou  Gehrig’s seven decades-old major league record.

Meanwhile, Phils starter Joe Blanton breezed through the 1st three innings and into the fourth retiring the first 10 hitters he faced before the Dodgers tied the score in the fourth.  Blanton got the first 2 outs of the inning issuing a walk to centerfielder Matt Kemp in-between.  But then leftfielder Manny Ramirez singled with Kemp reaching 3rd base. Ramirez went 1 for 4 for the game but scored 2 runs.  1st baseman James Loney singled to right driving in Kemp with Ramirez moving to 2nd base.  Blanton walked 2nd baseman Ronnie Belliard and catcher Russell Martin singled to leftfield driving in Ramirez — game tied at 2-2.

With 2 outs in the fifth, Kemp slammed Blanton’s 2-0 pitch out to centerfield to give the Dodgers a 3-2 lead and 3rd baseman Casey Blake ripped a 2 out sixth inning RBI single to rightfield driving in Ramirez with the 4th run after Manny opened the inning reaching on a throwing error by 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz.

The Phils pulled to within 4-3 as Victorino slammed a 1 out triple to leftfield and scored 2nd baseman Chase Utley’s RBI single to rightfield.   The seventh inning and top of the eighth passed uneventfully as both starters gave way to the bullpens.

The Phillies threatened in bottom of the eighth inning as Dodger reliever  George Sherrill hit Victorino with a pitch with 1 out.  The Flyin’ Hawaiian advanced to 2nd base on a wild pitch as Sherrill later walked Utley.  But Sherrill struck out Howard and then gave way to closer Broxton who retired rightfielder Jayson Werth on a fly to rightfield to retire the side and end the threat.

Lefthanded reliever Scott Eyre opened the ninth by inducing a foul out for the 1st out before walking shortstop Rafael Furcal.  With the runner on 1st base, manager Manuel went to closer Lidge who struck out Kemp and rightfielder  Andre Eithier to end the inning setting up Rollins’ game-winning heroics in the bottom of the ninth.

AP reporter Rob Maaddi recaps the Phillies’ ninth for Yahoo sports:

Trailing 4-3, the Phillies started their rally with one out in the ninth when pinch-hitter Matt Stairs walked on four pitches against Broxton. Stairs hit a two-run homer off Broxton in Game 4 of the NLCS last year at Dodger Stadium.

Broxton hit Carlos Ruiz with a pitch, but pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs looped a soft liner to third for the second out.

Rollins, just 3 for 18 in the series to that point, ripped a 99 mph fastball to right-center and the ball rolled to the wall. Andre Ethier’s throw toward the infield was high and off line, and Ruiz slid home without a play.

Rollins pointed in the air as he rounded second and got mobbed by teammates at third base. Even Jamie Moyer, who just had surgery on his lower abdomen, limped out and joined the celebration.

“I’m all right. I had to curl up in the fetal position and throw some punches of my own,” Rollins said before taking a cream pie in the face from a teammate.

And so the Phillies now stand 1 win away from a return appearance in the World Series.  Ironically, Lidge, who blew 11 saves during the regular season, has been golden in the post-season and registered his first win of 2009.  Broxton was hung with a loss and a blown save.

The boxscores for Monday’s league championship games in both leagues can be found here.

Both teams have Tuesday off before Wednesday’s rematch between lefthanders and Cole Hamels and Clayton Kershaw in what may be the decisive, series-clinching 5th game, the 3rd of the 3 games at Citizens Bank Park.

The schedules for Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s league championship games in both leagues can be found here and here.

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Phillies ace lefthander Cliff Lee struck out 10 and gave up but 3 hits to the  Dodgers on Sunday, 2 of them being singles by leftfielder Manny Ramirez, in an overpowering performance.  The Phils offense ground up starter Hiroki Kuroda and the L.A. bullpen as the Phillies pummelled the Dodgers by an 11-0 score in game 3 of the NLCS.

The Phils started pounding early and often scoring 4 first inning runs off of Kuroda who lasted 1 out into the second inning and gave up 6 runs, including 1st baseman Ryan Howard’s 2 run triple and rightfielder Jayson Werth’s 2 run bomb — both in the first and shortstop Jimmy Rollins’ RBI double in the second.  The 6th run of the game scored when lefthanded reliever Scott Ebert coaxed Howard into bases-loaded ground out to first base for the 2nd out. 

Then the Dodgers’ manager Joe Torre burned through starter Chad Billingsley in an already outta-control game.  Billingsley retired Werth on strikes to end the inning and pitched three more innings giving up 2 fifth inning runs on 3rd baseman  Pedro Feliz’s RBI triple and catcher Carlos Ruiz’s RBI single which followed.   Ruiz, through this series’ 3rd game, is hitting at an unreal .625 clip.  If he keeps going like this, he could be an MVP winner.  The Phillies lead mounted to 8-0. 

Meanwhile, Lee cruised through 8 innings in easily the most dominant, masterful performance of this post-season, in either league, throwing 114 pitches, walking none, striking out 10 while allowing only second and fifth inning leadoff singles to Ramirez and a seventh inning leadoff single to 2nd baseman Ronnie Belliard — the sum total of the Dodger offense.

The Phils scored 3 more garbage-time runs in their eighth inning against rookie reliever Ronald Belisario who walked Ruiz to open the inning.  Lee followed with some slick stick-work, to go along with masterful pitching,  singling to centerfield.   After Rollins grounded out,  centerfielder Shane Victorino’s 3 run rocket capped Phillies’ scoring.

Chad Durbin came on in the ninth to go clean shutting the lights on the Dodgers as the Phils took a 2-1 lead in the NLCS.

With the Phillies holding a 2 games to 1 lead in the series, Joe Blanton tries to work another win at home on Monday opposing former Phils lefthander Randy Wolf.  Both teams have Tuesday off before Wednesday’s rematch between lefthanders Cole Hamels and Clayton Kershaw the 3rd of the 3 games at Citizens Bank Park.

The schedules for Monday’s and Tuesday’s league championship games in both leagues can be found here and here.

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Pedro Martinez and former Phillies castoff Vicente Padilla dueled for seven innings in what turned out to be a classic pitchers’ duel on Friday.  The only tally registered was on 1st baseman Ryan Howard’s 1 out fourth inning solo shot.  But Padilla and the Los Angeles bullpen totally stymied and frustrated the Phillies other big guns while the Dodgers scored 2 eighth inning runs on 2 freak hits, 2nd baseman Chase Utley’s 2nd throwing error in 2 games and a bases-loaded walk by lefthanded reliever J.A. Happ.  Dodger closer Jonathan Broxton easily retired the Phils in the ninth on 2 grounders and a line out to right centerfield as the Dodgers nipped the Phillies by 2-1 on a late rally to take NLCS game 2.

There’s a lot of ink being spilled in the media second-guessing as to whether or not Phils manager Charlie Manuel lifted Pedro Martinez early — that he had thrown only 87 pitches when pulled for a pinch hitter with 1 on and 1 out in the eighth.  But Ben Francisco, who ultimately pinch hit for Pedro in the eighth, was coaxed by lefthanded reliever Hong-Chih Kuo into grounding to shortstop into an inning-ending doubleplay. I don’t know that we can blame Charlie for the early pull in this case, based on Pedro’s past.  Nor do I see that we can point to Utley’s 2nd error in 2 games as the thing that blew the game for the Phils.  The point is that, aside from Howard who went 2 for 3 with a solo homer, the NL’s highest scoring offense was befuddled by a mediocre pitcher — Padilla and could do nothing against a Dodger bullpen who got a big doubleplay against the pinch hitter for Pedro.  Bottomline — the offense mounted nothing and so the Phils lost.

AP’s Beth Harris recaps game 2 for Yahoo sports:

Martinez and Padilla dueled through seven innings in a matchup of castoffs.

Vicente Padilla pitched brilliantly for 7 1-3 innings and the Los Angeles bullpen did the rest. Hong-Chih Kuo threw three pitches, getting two outs and the win. Broxton worked a perfect ninth for the save.

Padilla allowed one run and four hits, struck out six and walked one. He exited to a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 56,000, tipping his cap as he walked off.

“It’s my first time playing in front of a big crowd like this in a game that’s more important than I’ve ever pitched in my life, and I was very emotional,” Padilla said through a translator.

“I was very happy with the way I pitched,” Padilla said. “Although we were losing, I knew that the guys were going to come back, and I think I’m more happy now because the team won.”

Howard’s homer in the fourth off Padilla accounted for the only run until the eighth.

The game began in 93-degree heat 16 hours after the Phillies won the series opener 8-6. The teams combined for 14 runs on 22 hits and 10 walks in that game, but offense was in short supply with Martinez and Padilla pitching.

Martinez struck out three and walked none in seven innings of his first postseason appearance since Game 3 of the 2004 World Series with Boston. The three-time Cy Young winner, who turns 38 later this month, proved ageless in the stadium where he made his major league debut with the Dodgers in September 1992.

Replacing guile with gas, Martinez only gave up singles to Martin and Kemp before turning it over to Park.

Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez, who went 0 for 4 with a strikeout…, twice got retired by good friend Martinez on weak popups.

Howard’s homer in the fourth off Padilla accounted for the only run until the eighth.

Casey Blake opened the eighth with a single off the outstretched glove of third baseman Pedro Feliz. Ronnie Belliard’s bunt single got past Chan Ho Park and first baseman Howard.

“The bunt was a huge play, the fact that it got by Chan Ho and it got over in no-man’s-land where Howard couldn’t get to it,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “It seemed like we couldn’t get out of the inning.”

[Russell] Martin followed with a grounder to Feliz, who made a good throw to Utley. But once again, the four-time All-Star threw away the relay after making just four throwing errors in the regular season. This time, it allowed pinch-runner Juan Pierre to score the tying run from the second.

“I had plenty of time to turn it. I just didn’t make the throw,” Utley said. “A lot of things could have gone differently, not just that play. Chan Ho made a good pitch to get a ground ball, which was what we needed, but we couldn’t turn it.”

After [Jim] Thome singled off Scott Eyre, Rafael Furcal drew a walk from Ryan Madson that loaded the bases.  Matt Kemp struck out before Happ relieved and walked [Andre] Ethier.

“He laid off it looked like some tough pitches away, and at 3-and-2 it’s tough when your mentality is swing, swing, swing to take a pitch, and it was huge,” Dodgers manager Joe Torre said.

Former Dodgers pitcher Park took the loss, giving up two runs and two hits in one-third of an inning.

The boxscores for Friday’s games in both leagues can be found here.

The two teams have Saturday off as a travel day with game 3 being on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park with Dodger’s Hiroki Kuroda facing ace lefthander Cliff Lee.

The schedules for Saturday’s and Sunday’s league championship games in both leagues can be found here and here.

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3 run homers by Phillies catcher  Carlos Ruiz and leftfielder Raul Ibanez, a 2 run double by 1st baseman Ryan Howard and a gritty save by closer Brad Lidge, preserving the win for starting lefthander Cole Hamels, led the Phils past the Los Angeles Dodgers by an 8-6 score in the NLCS opening game.

For Hamels, it was his 5th career post-season win against 2 losses in 8 playoff/world series starts.  He held the Dodgers to 1 run, 1st baseman  James Loney’s second inning solo homer, through four innings before the Phils busted a 5 run fifth inning against youngster Clayton Kershaw on a 3 run homer by Carlos Ruiz and a 2 run double by Ryan Howard.  Kershaw, who suffered streaks of wildness walking 5 in his 4 2/3 innings of work, came unglued after Ruiz’s blast walking Hamels and 2nd baseman Chase Utley and throwing 2 wild pitches.  The result of his wildness was that shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who reached on a fielder’s choice rubbing out Hamels, reached 3rd on the wild pitches before Howard drove both he (Rollins) and Utley home with his double.

The Dodgers came back in their fifth with 3 runs off of Hamels on a fielder’s choice grounder followed by a 2 run bomb to left centerfield by leftfielder  Manny Ramirez.

After tension-filled sixth and seventh innings with Phils clinging to their 5-4 lead against Dodger threats, lefthanded Dodger reliever George Sherrill began the eighth ining by walking Howard and Jayson Werth before Raul Ibanez padded the score with a 3 run shot to rightfield.  8-4 Phillies. 

But the Dodgers closed the gap with 2 runs off of reliever Ryan Madson in their eighth inning on 2 opening singles followed an RBI single by catcher Russell Martin and a sacrifice fly RBI by Rafael Furcal.  However, Madson recorded a huge final out in the inning getting Ramirez to ground out to 3rd base on a 1-2 pitch.

With the Phils leading 8-6 in the ninth, manager Manuel brought in closer Brad Lidge to close out the Dodgers and preserve a win for Hamels.   After centerfielder Matt Kemp opened with a single, Lidge induced a doubleplay grounder by 3rd baseman Casey Blake, 2nd-to-shortstop-to-1st.  With 2 gone, Lidge went full-count to James Loney before walking him.  But then, Lidge nailed 2nd baseman Ronnie Belliard for the final out on a pop up to shortstop to record his 3rd save of the post-season.

Philiies Nation’s Amanda Orr adds commentary and a few stats regarding the NLCS opener:

Carlos Ruiz…. is batting .348 with 10 RBI, five extra base hits, and eight walks in 18 postseason games.

Hamels…. gave up four runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings.  He struck out four and walked one.  He now has a 6.97 ERA this postseason.

Chad Durbin and J.A Happ picked up Hamels’ pieces.  Happ worked through a bases loaded jam without allowing a run to cross.  Chan Ho Park, who just returned from a hamstring injury, was excellent in his seventh inning relief appearance.  Park retired the three batters he faced and clocked 96 mph on the radar gun.   On the other hand, Ryan Madson was atrocious in the eighth inning. He was lucky he did not allow more than two runs.

The ninth inning brought on Brad Lidge.  Matt Kemp greeted him with a single.  When the lead-off runner reaches base against Lidge, it’s usually a bad sign.  However, Casey Blake hit a sharp ground ball to Utley.  Utley made a fantastic play on a short hop, and was able to turn the double play.  Ronnie Belliard flied out to end the game.

The boxscores for Friday’s games in both leagues can be found here.

Friday’s game 2 features Pedro Martinez in his 1st post-season appearance in 5 years.  He is opposed by former Phillies castoff Vicente Padilla.

The two teams have Saturday off as a travel day with game 3 being on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park with Dodger’s Hiroki Kuroda facing ace lefthander Cliff Lee.

The schedules for Saturday’s and Sunday’s league championship games in both leagues can be found here and here.

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