Game Recap:
Behind two three run home runs by Carlos Ruiz and Raul Ibanez, the Phillies managed to take Game One and pull homefield advantage away from the Dodgers.
What went right?
Ryan Howard was 1-3 with two RBI and a run scored.
Raul Ibanez was 2-4, scoring twice and driving in three with a home run in the eighth inning.
Shane Victorino went 2-5.
Jimmy Rollins was 1-5 with a run scored.
Carlos Ruiz went 2-3 with a three run home run and a run scored.
Brad Lidge got into a little trouble in the ninth, but worked out of it for his third straight playoff save.
Every position starter either had a hit, scored a run or both tonight.
What went wrong?
Ryan Madson had a horrible eighth inning, allowing two runs on four hits.
If not for a few pitches and one play in the field, Cole Hamels would be in the top column, but he didn't make it out of the sixth inning, allowing four runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings. He walked one and struck out four.
Game Analysis:
Well, the Phillies have certainly developed a flair for the dramatic during this postseason, haven't they? After not being able to muster anything off of Clayton Kershaw through four innings, the Phils exploded for five runs in the fifth inning, only to have the Dodgers come crawling back in their half of the fifth. Thankfully, a three run home run off of George Sherrill in the eighth inning would provide all the runs the Phils would need tonight, despite the best efforts of Ryan Madson.
I'm not saying tonight was a perfect game. Not by any stretch of the imagination. However, a 1-0 lead in a best of seven series is very important, especially when you don't start with home field advantage. The Phillies took that away from the Dodgers tonight, and they did so against their best pitcher. Clayton Kershaw was lights out for four innings, and the the Phillies were able to get to him in the fifth inning. Raul Ibanez singled, Kershaw threw a wild pitch and walked Pedro Feliz, and it was clear that he wasn't right anymore. It became much clearer when Carlos Ruiz took a pitch over the left field wall for a three run home run. Despite that, Kershaw stayed in the game, walked Cole Hamels, threw two more wild pitches, walked Chase Utley then gave up a two run double to Ryan Howard. At age 21, you can't expect that much more out of him. When young pitchers get in trouble, they fall apart, and that's what happened tonight to Kershaw.
Of course, the Phillies didn't make it easy for themselves. Cole Hamels didn't pitch badly tonight, but two situations caused him trouble. He threw a bad pitch to James Loney in the second inning, and Loney took it out for a home run, and a botched double play by Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley allowed a run to score, which was then followed by a two run home run by Manny Ramirez. Overall, Cole pitched well tonight. If you take away those two mistakes, then he probably pitches into the seventh inning, but he still picked up the win, and he controlled the Dodgers for most of the time that he was in the game.
Ryan Madson, on the other hand, is another story. After Charlie Manuel pulled Chan Ho Park, Madson proceeded to give up two runs in the eighth inning, right after the Phillies managed to extend their lead to 8-4, thanks to a Raul Ibanez home run. Madson was off tonight, I don't know what was wrong with him. He pitched into trouble, and though he managed to give up two runs, he also got out of the eighth inning without letting Los Angeles get any closer. After that, Brad Lidge came in, and, despite giving up a hit and walking a batter, worked a scoreless ninth inning for the save. I don't know what happened to Lidge, but he's clearly more comfortable working in high pressure situations again. In the NLDS, he came into two games with no room for error, and tonight, even with a two run lead, he was able to shut the Dodgers down. It's not always pretty, but right now, he's getting the job done, and it looks like he's got his confidence back.
The best part about this game was taking home field away from the Dodgers. I said in my NLCS preview that the Phillies had to do just that, or this series could get ugly in a hurry. Now, they have the advantage, and their offense is clicking on all fronts right now. George Sherrill had allowed two runs since he came to Los Angeles; he allowed three tonight. Clayton Kershaw was being compared to Sandy Koufax on TBS; the Phils nailed him for five runs in a single inning. So far in the playoffs, the Phillies have hit with runners in scoring position, without runners in scoring position, and whenever they damn well please. If they can keep this up, they could be very tough to stop.
It was a good night tonight, despite the theatrics from the bullpen. Tomorrow afternoon, Pedro Martinez makes his playoff debut for the Phillies. He'll be facing Vicente Padilla (1-0, 0.00 ERA).
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