Phillies outlast Dodgers in NLCS opener
Last Updated: Friday, October 16, 2009 | 2:04 AM ET
CBC Sports
Philadelphia's Carlos Ruiz hit a three-run home run against the Dodgers on Thursday. (Chris Carlson/Associated Press)The location may have changed, but the song remained the same in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, as the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the hometown Los Angeles Dodgers 8-6 in a slugfest on Thursday.
The Dodgers tried to make a game of it after going down 8-4 in the top of the eighth, scoring two in the bottom half of the frame, but L.A. couldn't complete the comeback and the defending champions took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Philadelphia left-fielder Raul Ibanez and catcher Carlos Ruiz both hit three-run home runs, while Ryan Howard drove in two of his own on a double in the fifth.
Dodgers left-fielder Manny Ramirez brought the home crowd to its feet with a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth to make it 5-4, but couldn't pull off the magic a second time as he grounded out to end the bottom of the eighth, leaving the tying run at first.
"It's like a prize fight, we just came up a little short," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said.
Phillies starter Cole Hamels picked up the win, while L.A. starter Clayton Kershaw took the loss. Philadelphia closer Brad Lidge continued his strong play in the post-season by picking up another save in the ninth, going a perfect 3-for-3 in the playoffs.
"The Dodgers are a great team. They come from behind a lot so you take everyone seriously," Lidge said. He was perfect in save attempts last season, but led the majors with 11 blown opportunities this year.
"Honestly, for some reason I've really been locked in this post-season. I felt really good mechanically. I feel like myself. I feel pretty comfortable right now," he said.
Last season, the Dodgers and Phillies met in the NLCS, and Philadelphia took the first two games at home on the way to a series win and an eventual World Series title.
L.A. has home-field advantage this time around, but it didn't matter much as Philadelphia took the opener once again.
Kershaw struggles
Dodgers starter Kershaw continued to struggle against the Phillies.
The 21-year-old came into the game with an 0-3 record and a 6.45 earned-run average in six career starts against Philadelphia. On Thursday, he was tagged for five runs over 4 2/3 innings.
"It looked like he tried to overthrow the ball, got frustrated out there. Unfortunately, it got away from him quickly," Torre said. "As far as the pressure of the game, he certainly can handle it, but sometimes things get away from you."
Kershaw surrendered four hits and five walks overall, with three strikeouts to his credit.
But more surprising was that Hamels, the reigning NLCS MVP, had some difficulty of his own.
The 25-year-old Phillies starter was 4-0 against L.A. heading into Thursday's game and had never surrendered more than two runs against the Dodgers, but gave up four runs off eight hits a walk over 5 1/3 innings on Thursday.
This included two home runs, which was the first time Hamels had given up multiple homers in a playoff game.
After L.A. took an early 1-0 lead on a solo homer from James Loney, Kershaw unravelled in the top of the fifth when Ruiz hammered a fastball over the left-field wall and Howard drove in two more with his double, making the score 5-1.
L.A.'s Andre Ethier drove in a run on a fielder's choice to make it 5-2 in the fifth before Ramirez's two-run shot cut the lead to one. It was his 14th homer overall in LCS play, which is an MLB record.
The Phillies would extend the lead to four in the eighth inning with another three-run blast, this time from Ibanez.
"I was trying not to do too much, stroke a line drive," Ibanez said. "Fortunately, I got it in the air and it carried out of the park."
Russell Martin and Rafael Furcal drove in runs for the Dodgers in the eighth, making it 8-6.
Veteran Pedro Martinez is scheduled to pitch for the Phillies in Game 2 on Friday. It will be the right-hander's first post-season start in five years, and the 37-year-old will square off against L.A.'s Vicente Padilla.
With files from The Associated Press
