Down 5-3 in the eighth inning, centerfielder Shane Victorino and pinch hitter Matt Stairs each struck 2 run homers and closer Brad Lidge made the lead stand for a Phillies 7-5 win and a 3 games to 1 lead over the Dodgers in the NLCS and to the threshold of the World Series.

Meanwhile, in the American League, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays shockingly pounded lefthanded ace Jon Lester and the Boston Red Sox by a 9-1 score to take a 2-1 lead in their ALCS.

With a runner on and 1 out in the eighth inning and the Dodgers holding a 5-3 lead, Victorino slammed Dodger reliever Cory Wade’s first pitch out to rightfield to tie the game.  After 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz lined out to leftfield, catcher Carlos Ruiz singled to left. With 2 outs and a man on, pinch hitter Matt Stairs (batting for reliever Ryan Madson) took reliever  Jonathan Broxton to a 3-1 count before blistering a fastball out over the plate halfway up the rightfield pavilion for a 2 run Phils lead.

Starters Joe Blanton and Derek Lowe, pitching on 3 days rest, each pitched 5 innings with the Dodgers carrying a 3-2 lead into the 6th inning.  2nd baseman Chase Utley and 1st baseman Ryan Howard each drove in first inning runs for the Phils.  1st baseman James Loney doubled in a first inning run for the Dodgers and leftfielder Manny Ramirez and catcher  Russell Martin each drove in a run in the fifth to give the Dodgers the lead.

With Howard on 3rd base and leftfielder Pat Burrell on 2nd with 2 outs in the sixth inning, reliever Chan Ho Park wild pitched in the tying run for the Phils.   But Chad Durbin, in a rare blown relief effort, could get noone out in the sixth giving up 2 runs on 2 hits, including 3rd baseman Casey Blake’s leadoff homer as the Dodgers took a 5-3 lead.  Relievers Scott Eyre and Madson retired the Dodgers with no further damage in the sixth.  Madson held on to get credit for the win getting the Dodgers out in the seventh despite issuing a walk and giving up a hit. 

Tim Malcolm of Phillies Nation describes a great defensive play by 2nd baseman Chase Utley in the sixth inning which saved the game, and perhaps the Phillies post-season;

No play was as important — maybe all season — than Chase Utley’s one-man stumble.

The Chase, as I’ll call it from hereon, occurred with the sacks jacked and one out in the sixth. Chad Durbin had already checked himself out of the game, and Scott Eyre and Ryan Madson were walking the tightrope, put in precarious situations. Russell Martin lined one square to Utley, who snared the ball. With runners going and retreating, Utley hustled to beat Rafael Furcal back to the bag. The Chase was on, and by a second, Utley beat Furcal. By a second, we could have a different ballgame.

“I guess I was just in the right place at the right time. Everything happened so fast. I just tried to get there before the runner did.”

Utley has made some incredible plays, especially in the postseason, but none has been as important.

With the Phils now holding a 7-5 lead, J.C. Romero replaced Madson to open the eighth and issued a leadoff walk followed by getting a double-play.  Lidge entered with 2 out in the inning and gave up a double to Manny Ramirez and got Martin on strikes only to see Martin safe at 1st base and Ramirez at 3rd on the 3rd strike wild pitch.  Loney the flied out to end the inning.  Lidge then easily retired the Dodgers in order in the ninth to seal the win and making the Phils 85-0 this season when holding a lead after eight innings.  Broxton, who gave up Stairs’ winning 2 run homer in the eighth — the first homer he allowed since July 2006, was charged with the loss.

The teams have the day off on Tuesday before Cole Hamels and Chad Billingsley oppose each other Wednesday in what could be the clinch game for the Phillies.  It is the final of the 3 games in L.A.  The series will return to Philadelphia on Friday and Saturday for games 6 and 7 if necessary.

For the scores, boxscores and recaps on Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s games, click here and here.

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The Dodgers’ offense pounded lefthander Jamie Moyer for 5 first inning runs on 5 hits and a hit batsman while sending 9 men to the plate.  Shortstop Rafael Furcal chased Moyer in the second with a leadoff solo shot.  The Phillies offense mounted threats in only the second and seventh innings, both falling short, as the offense took a siesta for the rest of the game as the Dodgers put game 3 in the win column by a 7-2 score.

AP sports writer John Nadel described the Dodgers’ first inning for Yahoo sports;

The Dodgers had a 1-0 lead by the time Moyer had thrown five pitches on singles by Rafael Furcal, Andre Ethier and  [Manny] Ramirez. Casey Blake singled in another run before [Blake] DeWitt lined a 2-2 pitch into the right-field corner to clear the bases and send the towel-waving, blue-clad fans at Dodger Stadium into a frenzy.

After the 5 run outburst in the first, Furcal solo-homered to open the second and the Dodgers scored their 7th run in the fourth on a Nomar Garciaparra single after two 1 out walks.

Aside from catcher Russell Martin being hit by a pitch twice, Phillies centerfielder Shane Victorino nearly being leveled by rookie starter Hiroki Kuroda and the benches-clearing near-melee which resulted, there was not much to the game, surely not much good in it for the Phils who mailed in their offense through most of the game. 

1st baseman Ryan Howard went 2 for 4 with a run scored as he was involved in both innings where the Phils scored single runs.  In the second inning, he doubled to rightfield and scored on 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz’s single.

In the seventh, when the Phils mounted their only opportunity to do heavy scoring, Howard followed 2nd baseman Chase Utley’s leadoff double to leftfield with a single to right.  leftfielder Pat Burrell followed Howard with a single to shallow centerfield scoring Utley and putting runners on 1st and 2nd with still noone out.

Kuroda, who had pitched a gem until then only allowing the Phils a run on 2 hits through six innings, got the win although exiting a this point for reliever Cory Wade who struck out rightfielder Jayson Werth, got Feliz to fly out to centerfield and got pinch hitter Greg Dobbs to ground out to shortstop to end the threat.

The 45 year old Moyer deserves a pass for the 1 1/3 inning pummelling he took on the merit of all he’s done this season with a record of 16-7 and 3.71 ERA. But I’m seeing numerous blogs suggesting that he should not get another start in the NLCS, regardless of how many games it goes to.   I had hoped that Moyer would have had the kind of outings in the playoffs that would put him in contention for the CY Young award.  But off of both  the loss to Milwaukee in the Division round as well as the pounding he took here, I just don’t know regarding the Cy Young.

By and large, pitching has been a strong suit so far for the Phils in this series as well as in the Division series.  Clay Condrey was workmanlike in getting the side out in the second.  J.A. Happ held up through 3 innings in his post-season playoff debut giving up a run on 4 hits while walking 2 and striking out 2.  Scott Eyre, Chad Durbin and J.C. Romero who allowed only 3 Dodgers to reach through the final 3 innings, 2 on walks and 1 hit batsman.

The Phillies offense has to come alive again if they are to take this series.  Shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who is a woeful 1 for 13 including 6 strikeouts in this series, must regain his form from the Milwaukee series as the catalyst for the Phils offense.  I’ve seen this refrain on many a blog today; “as Rollins goes, so go the Phillies.”  To view the play-by-play on the game, click here and here.

On Monday, Joe Blanton is listed to start for the Phils while the Dodgers will bring back Derek Lowe on 3 days rest.  The teams have the day off on Tuesday before Cole Hamels and Chad Billingsley oppose each other Wednesday in the final of the 3 games in L.A.  The series will return to Philadelphia on Friday and Saturday for games 6 and 7 if necessary.

For the scores, boxscores and recaps on Monday’s and Tuesday’s games,  click here and  here.

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Brett Myers was shakey on the mound in his 5 inning outing, but found some hitting skills going 3 for 3 with 3 RBIs.  Centerfielder Shane Victorino drove in 4 other runs with a single and triple as the Phillies parlayed 4 runs each in the 2nd and 3rd innings pummelling Chad Billingsley enroute to an 8-5 win over the Dodgers in the NLCS game 2 on Friday.

Meanwhile, in the other league, Boston’s Daisuke Matsuzaka, off an 18-3 - 2.90 ERA regular season, shut out the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on 4 hits by a 2-0 score in Friday’s opener of the ALCS.  Dice-K walked 4 but struck out 9 over seven innings. 2 relievers bridged the Red Sox over the eighth inning to get to closer Jon Papelbon who closed out the ‘Rays on 12 pitches in the ninth striking out 2.

In a game where manager Charlie Manuel found out that his Mother passed away, and where Shane Victorino was told after the game that his grandmother died, Myers quickly put the Dodgers down in the first inning striking out 2.  Billingsley followed suit retiring the Phils in their half of the first, including 2 strikeouts.  2nd baseman Chase Utley was walked on 5 pitches, the 1st of 4 times in the game that he was walked.

L.A. was first to hit the scoreboard in the second on a single, double and a sacrifice fly.  The Phils responded with 4 runs in their half.  The Dodgers notched a 2nd run on 2 walks and a single after which the Phils responded with 4 more runs in their 3rd to take an 8-2 lead.

In the fourth, the game appeared to be taking a wild turn as a 3rd strike wild pitch with 2 outs gave the Dodgers new life.  With two men on, leftfielder Manny Ramirez nailed Myers’ 1-1 pitch to the seats in leftfield to draw the Dodgers to within 8-5.  But the Phils held on with some gritty relief pitching.

AP Sports writer Rob Maaddi describes the game for Yahoo sports;

Myers unnerved some of the Dodgers’ hitters [early]. He threw some high-and-tight fastballs in the first inning and the one really wild pitch that sailed behind Ramirez.

Myers knocked down Russell Martin with a fastball right before he struck out on a slow curve. That brought up Ramirez with two outs and nobody on.

Myers’ first pitch was in and the next one, a 94 mph fastball, was several feet behind the Ramirez. Never shy to tell a pitcher he doesn’t appreciate getting brushed back, Ramirez didn’t say a word and ended up striking out on a 3-2 slider.

Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley allowed eight runs—seven earned—and eight hits in 2 1-3 innings. The 24-year-old right-hander pitched 6 2-3 strong innings in a win over the Cubs in Game 2 of the division series.

Myers had a go-ahead RBI single with two outs in a four-run second inning, and his two-run single chased Billingsley in the third. Myers was 4-for-58 in the regular season and is a lifetime .116 hitter.

“It’s crazy,” he said.

Billingsley struck out four of the first six batters he faced, but quickly ran into trouble after fanning Pat Burrell and Jayson Werth in the second.

Greg Dobbs hit a soft single up the middle and scored when  Carlos Ruiz hit a double to left-center. Myers lined the next pitch to right-center to drive in Ruiz and give the Phillies a 2-1 lead.

Jimmy Rollins bounced a single up the middle and Myers chugged toward third. [Matt] Kemp misplayed the ball in center field or he could’ve thrown Myers out to end the inning. Rollins hustled into second on the play.

Victorino followed with a two-run single to left-center to make it 4-1. The Flyin’ Hawaiian slapped his hands after rounding first and the fans went wild.

Loney’s two-out RBI single to center cut it to 4-2 in the third. The Dodgers loaded the bases when Kemp reached on third baseman Dobbs’ fielding error, but Myers escaped the jam by striking out Blake DeWitt on a slow curve.

Pumped up by his pitching, Myers came through at the plate again. The Phillies loaded the bases with no outs. After Ruiz’s grounder forced Burrell at home, Myers slapped a liner past first baseman [James] Loney down the right-field line to give the Phillies a 6-2 lead.

Chan Ho Park came in and struck out Rollins, but Victorino tripled to right-center to make it 8-2. Los Angeles used two more pitchers to get out of the inning.

Victorino made a leaping catch of Casey Blake’s drive at the center-field fence to end the seventh.

“He hit it well,” Victorino said. “I just told myself, try to get back.”

Myers had thrown 102 pitches after five innings and replaced by reliever  Chad Durbin who gave up a sixth inning hit but retired the Dodgers on 10 pitches.   J.C. Romero retired 2 in the seventh and Ryan Madson finished out the the inning and retired the Dodgers in the eighth.  Closer Brad Lidge finished the Dodgers off in the ninth by striking out the side for his 2nd save of the series.   Billingsley, who gave up 8 runs in 2 1/3 innings, was charged with the loss.

For the scores, boxscores and recaps on Friday’s games, click here.

The teams have a travel day on Saturday before 45 year old veteran lefthander Jamie Moyer opposes rookie Hiroki Kuroda in Los Angeles on Sunday.   On Monday, Joe Blanton is listed to start for the Phils while the Dodgers have not yet determined their starter.

For the scores, boxscores and recaps on Saturday’s and Sunday’s games,  click here and here.

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Well-rested ace lefthander Cole Hamels tossed seven fine innings, 2nd baseman Chase Utley and leftfielder Pat Burrell hit homers off of Derek Lowe in a 3 run sixth inning and Ryan Madson and closer Brad Lidge easily shut the door in the eighth and ninth innings as the Phillies edged the  Dodgers by a 3-2 score in game one of the NLCS.

But amidst all of the media hype about Hamels’ pitching performance and the 2 homer, 3 run Phillies’s sixth inning, there were two factors in this game that spelled victory for the Phillies.

One was Hamels’ stickwork in the fifth inning following catcher Carlos Ruiz’s 2 out single to rightfield with one of his own right centerfield as Lowe needed 18 pitches to retire the Phils, 13 pitches just to get the final out.  After 15 more Lowe pitches in the sixth inning, the Phils had a 3-2 lead.  He obviously seemed rattled by Hamels’ single, only the 4th hit he gave up.  It apparently led to Lowe’s demise.

The 2nd factor was the absence of Manny Ramirez in impacting on the Dodger offense, despite his 2 for 4 game. 

While Manny’s first inning double, which was just short of being a 2 run homer, drove in rightfielder Andre Ethier who preceded him with a double, the inability of leadoff hitter shortstop Rafael Furcal and Ethier set up Ramirez through the remainder of the game, as well as his own pop out with a runner on and 1 out in the fourth were testament to Hamels’ mound performance in containing the main cog of the Dodger offense to earn his 2nd career post-season win.

As noted, the Dodgers notched their first run in the first and added another in the fourth as centerfielder Matt Kemp led off with a ground-rule double, advanced to 3rd on 3rd baseman Casey Blake’s ground out to shortstop.  Kemp then scored on 2nd baseman Blake DeWitt’s fly out to centerfield.

Lowe held the Phils in near total check until centerfielder Shane Victorino took 2nd on a two-base throwing error by shortstop Furcal.  Utley wasted no time in blasting Lowe’s very next pitch way out to rightfield.  After 1st baseman Ryan Howard grounded out, Burrell took Lowe to a 3-1 count before blistering a solo shot to the leftfield stands to give the Phils the lead which held as Hamels, Madson and Lidge shut the Dodgers down totally in the seventh, eighth and ninth.

AP Sports Writer Rob Maaddi notes for Yahoo sports;;

Burrell is in the final season of a $50 million, six-year contract and it’s uncertain whether the Phillies will bring him back. The way he’s swinging now, he won’t have a hard time finding a home.

Despite Burrell’s cold spells during the season, he with Utley were big factors in the Phillies’ early season run, was a factor in their late-season surge and has been big thus far in the playoffs with 5 for 15 including 3 homers and 5 RBIs.  And next to Ramirez, Burrell seems a bargain.

To his credit, Lowe pitched well in a losing cause but had no margin for error thanks to an offense shut down by Phils’ pitching.

Friday marks Pat Burrell’s 32nd birthday.  Here’s hoping that “The Bat” has a Birthday blast (or two, or more) on Chad Billingsley on the way to a commanding 2-0 lead in this NLCS.  The last time these teams met in post-season play in 1983, the Phils won by a 3-1 margin in games in what was then a best of 5 series.  The Phils had previously lost to the Dodgers in NLCS by identical 3-1 margins in 1977 and 1978.

Game 2 pits  Brett Myers against Chad Billingsley in another BiG Money game for Myers.  The teams have a travel day on Saturday before 45 year old veteran lefthander Jamie Moyer opposes rookie Hiroki Kuroda in game 3 in Los Angeles on Sunday.

For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Friday’s and Saturday’s games, click here and here.

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Shortstop Jimmy Rollins took matters right to Milwaukee’s Jeff Suppan launching a lead-off homer.  Leftfielder Pat Burrell and rightfielder Jayson Werth clubbed back-to-back homers accounting for 4 third inning Phillie runs with Burrell going yard for good measure in the eighth. Mid-season acquisition Joe Blanton tossed a six inning gem with reliever Ryan Madson and closer Brad Lidge nailed down a 6-2 win clinching the Phils’ spot in the NLCS against the Dodgers.

Burrell was unquestionably the offensive star of this show, going 3 for 4 with 2 homers and driving in 4 runs in a performance that recalled memories of the red-hot Burrell who sizzled through April and through most of May.  With 1st baseman Ryan Howard having gone 2 for 11 in the series while walking 5 times and striking out 5 times, and with 2nd baseman Chase Utley faring even worse at 2 for 15, Burrell was almost single-handedly THE run producer.   Against the Dodgers, the trio will have to come to life and the pitching will have to keep Manny Ramirez out of the offense.   Also advisable to hit plenty in Manny’s direction;  one could say that he’s been known to be defensively nonchalant.

MLB.com’s Ken Mandel recaps the game;

the Phillies’ dormant offense awoke with a clap, pounding playoff-tested Jeff Suppan and the Brewers, 6-2, in Game 4 of the National League Division Series…

Scoring all six runs via the long ball — the first ripple came on Jimmy Rollins’ second career postseason leadoff homer — the Phillies took control by the third, providing a nice cushion for Joe Blanton, who was making his first playoff start.

Pitching for the first time since Sept. 26, the right-hander dismantled the Brewers easily and efficiently. He retired 11 of the first 12 batters and didn’t allow a runner beyond first base until Prince Fielder erased his shutout with a leadoff homer in the seventh. He left after throwing 107 pitches.

The starting pitcher delivered a huge performance, the bats found their home run groove, and the Brewers and their fans were promptly taken out of the equation by the reigning NL MVP’s opening first swing.

AP National Writer Nancy Armour adds to the recap of the game for Yahoo sports;

The Brewers had their own offensive worries, though Blanton can take credit for most of those. The burly right-hander, acquired in July from Oakland, hadn’t pitched since Sept. 26 and was making only his second career postseason appearance. But he was in a groove from the minute he took the mound, thanks partly to Rollins’ leadoff homer.

“From the first batter, it really set the tone. It allowed me to get comfortable,” Blanton said.

After a first-inning single by [Ryan] Braun, Blanton retired his next 10 hitters, with only four balls leaving the infield. He finally wore out in the seventh, giving up a leadoff homer to Prince Fielder, who had been 0-for-12 in his first postseason. After J.J. Hardy followed with a single, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel replaced Blanton with Ryan Madson.

Hardy advanced to third on two groundouts, but Madson retired Jason Kendall on a popout to end the threat.

The Brewers added another run in the eighth on Braun’s two-out RBI single, and the Milwaukee fans—including the blue-collar truck driver in Miller ads who’s made it his mission to “take back the High Life”—stood and began clapping their Thunder Stix, sensing a change in momentum.

But Utley made a gorgeous, leaping catch of Fielder’s liner to second to end the inning.

For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Sunday’s games, click here.

The Phillies, who will now have 3 days of rest and will open the NLCS with the L.A. Dodgers on Thursday at Citizen’s Bank Park, seemingly have their starting rotation right where they want it.  Pitchers have not been announced yet, but I strongly suspect that a well-rested lefthander4 Cole Hamels will get the nod in the opener and Brett Myers will go in game 2.

The Phils and Dodgers have met 3 times in NLCS play with the Dodgers winning in 1977 and 1978 while the Phils turned the tables on the Dodgers and winning the 1983 NLCS.

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The Brewers put 2 quick first inning runs on the board Saturday when veteran lefthander Jamie Moyer walked the 1st 2 hitters, threw a wild pitch and saw a run score on a sacrifice and another on a single.  The Brewers scored single runs in the fifth and seventh innings and the Phillies scored their only run off of Dave Bush in the sixth.  They attempted a ninth inning rally loading the bases with none out.  But closer Salomon Torres and the Brewers benefited by interference on centerfielder Shane Victorino on a doubleplay to top the Phils by a 4-1 score and to live to play game 4 on Sunday. 

Meanwhile, the L.A. Dodgers got by the Chicago Cubs by a 3-1 score to sweep their Division championship round and will play the winners of the Phillies/Brewers series later this week when the NLCS begins.  It was the 2d straight season that the ubs were swept in the first round of playoffs.

The Phillies mounted easily their most potent threat of the game in the ninth inning 1st baseman Ryan Howard, pinch hitter Greg Dobbs and Victorino all singled to center, center and left respectively with none out against closer Salomon Torres.  3rd baseman Pedro Feliz came oup with the chance to do some real damage.  MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo describes what happened next; 

Charging toward second base when Pedro Feliz hit a routine double-play ball toward third, Shane Victorino never slid. Instead, he ducked his head and rammed directly into Brewers second baseman Craig Counsell, knocking him backward as he received Bill Hall’s throw — but not disrupting Counsell’s relay to first.

Hovering over the second-base bag, umpire Jim Joyce immediately called out Victorino for interference to complete the first half of the double play, and Counsell’s relay easily beat Feliz to the first-base bag to complete the trick.

Ryan Howard scored on the play and Greg Dobbs moved to third, before all six Division Series umpires gathered to discuss everything that had just transpired. After a brief conversation, the crew sent Howard back to third base and Dobbs to second, clearing a run off the board. Both outs stood.

With runners back on 2nd and 3rd with 2 out, Torres got catcher Carlos Ruiz to ground out to the pitcher to kill the threat and nail down the Brewers’ win.

Other than the ninth inning, the Phillies never got more than 1 runner on in any inning and scored their only run in the sixth as rightfielder Jayson Werth led off with a triple after which starter Bush was pulled in favor of  Mitch Stetter.  After 2nd baseman Chase Utley popped out to shortstop, Werth scored on Ryan Howard’s ground out and Carlos Villanueva took over and retired leftfielder Pat Burrell to end the inning on a grounder to 3rd base.

From then on, Villanueva and Eric Gagne held the Phils to a single base runner until closer Torres entered in the ninth.

Bush threw 70 pitches through 5 1/3 innings to earn the win.  Moyer lasted 4 innings giving up 2 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks to take the loss.  Moyer, who was charged with the loss, was pulled in the fifth inning for pinch hitter  Matt Stairs who flied out to centerfield.

Relievers Clay Condrey and Scott Eyre gave up the Brewers single runs in the fifth and seventh inning.

Mainly, this game was about the symtoms of sleepy offense which the Phils have exhibited throughout this series, even though they managed to win the first 2 games with clutch hits in key situations.  When the offense finally appeared to crank up in the ninth, the interference call on Victorino was a critical miscue.

For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Friday’s  and Saturday’s games click here and here.

On Sunday, the Phils will start Joe Blanton against Jeff Suppan.   If a 5th game is necessary on Tuesday back in Philadelphia, it will be a battle of lefties as ace Cole Hamels will oppose C.C. Sabathia.

For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Sunday’s games, click here.

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