Game Recap:
Down to their last out in the top of the ninth inning, the Phillies scored three runs to beat the Rockies and advance to the NLCS.
What went right?
Shane Victorino was 2-5 with a home run and two runs scored.
Chase Utley was 1-2 with three walks and a run scored.
Ryan Howard went 1-4 with two RBI and a run scored.
Jayson Werth went 2-4 with a home run and two RBI.
Jimmy Rollins went 2-5.
Cliff Lee pitched well, allowing three runs on five hits in 7.1 innings. He walked three and struck out five.
Brad Lidge only pitched to one batter, but he struck him out to earn the save in the bottom of the ninth.
What went wrong?
Raul Ibanez went 0-3.
Pedro Feliz was 0-4.
Ryan Madson didn't have the best outing, allowing three runs to score (though only one was charged to him). He gave up two hits and walked a batter in two thirds of an inning.
Game Analysis:
Let me take a minute to breathe here...
Ho....ly...shit.
That was, other than the Matt Stairs home run game of last year's NLCS, the most dramatic baseball game I ever ever watched. Both teams went back and forth the entire night, and when push came to shove, the Phillies just had a little bit more than the Rockies, and they are on their way to the NLCS against the Dodgers.
The way the game started tonight, I thought it was going to be an easy one for the Phillies. Shane Victorino homered off of Ubaldo Jimenez in the first inning, and Cliff Lee got out of an early jam, and it was clear sailing after that. When Jayson Werth added a home run in the sixth, I felt better, but I realized that the Phillies had missed some chances on the bases as well. Werth and Raul Ibanez both struck out to end a bases loaded threat in the third inning, and while Cliff Lee was pitching well, he wasn't the same lights out ace that he was in Game One.
Lee gave up a run in the sixth inning, but it seemed like he was going to get out of trouble and pitch through the eighth inning when he got Todd Helton to ground to Chase Utley. However, Dexter Fowler's leap over Utley forced Chase to rush the throw to second, and three batters later, Ryan Madson had allowed three runs, and the Rockies had taken the lead. This was a punch to the gut, especially after the Phillies left the bases loaded again in the top of the eighth inning. It felt like this game was going to slip away like so many others had this year. The Phillies couldn't get it done with runners in scoring position when they needed to the most, and they were going to waste their ace in a clinching game in a best of five series.
It didn't get any better in the top of the ninth. Greg Dobbs was no match for Huston Street, and though Jimmy Rollins got on base with a single, a ground ball back up the middle by Shane Victorino retired him. Chase Utley was battling, but it seemed like all that was missing from this game was the third strike to end the game before a flight back to Philadelphia for Game Five tomorrow night. Instead, Chase stood there and walked, and the man the Rockies did not want up in that situation came to the plate. Street left a mistake over the dish, and Ryan Howard drove it into right for a two run double. Werth did the rest, and that's what makes this team so good. The Phillies never give up. They were down to their last out, hell, they were down to their last strike, and they didn't quit. Scott Eyre got into a little trouble in the bottom of the ninth, but Brad Lidge struck out Troy Tulowitzki. Series over. Bring on the Dodgers.
As I just mentioned, games like this are why I love this team. You can never give up on the Phillies, not for a second. They were down to their last out against a pitcher who had only blown two saves all season, and what did they do? They just scored three runs with two outs. I can't say enough about how Brad Lidge pitched in this series, either. Sure, he put runners on in Game Three, but he got out of it. Tonight, he came into a situation where there were two on, two out, and Colorado had their best hitter at the plate. It was the same situation as last night. What does Lidge do? He uncorks a slider from 2008 that makes Tulowitzki look foolish, and that was all she wrote. Yes, he's only pitched in two games so far in the playoffs, but if this is the Brad Lidge that the Phillies have pitching for them in October, the back end of the bullpen doesn't look so bad all of a sudden.
I have to give credit to the Rockies. This was one hell of a series, with three games decided by one run, and only one game that was out of reach. In the last three games, the home team had two men on in the bottom of the ninth inning with a chance to win the game. There was drama, clutch hitting, good pitching and enough high pressure moments for an entire season. The Rockies are a damn good team, but the Phillies just came through a little bit more than they did. Colorado took advantage of some of their chances, and the Phillies took advantage of just a few more. Huston Street didn't pitch like Huston Street, and that's probably what made the difference in the series. When your All Star closer loses two games and has an ERA of 13.50, you're not going to win many games, and that's what happened to the Rockies in this series. The Phillies were patient at the plate, made Street throw pitches, and then hit his mistakes. Colorado will be back, and they'll be better the next time they're here.
As for the Phillies, Game One of the NLCS is Thursday night against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Cole Hamels will more than likely be pitching for the Phillies, and I have no idea who it will be for the Dodgers. I'll have an NLCS preview up either tomorrow or Wednesday. For now, I'm going to drink and celebrate one hell of an NLDS win.
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