Game 1 Recap
The Phillies are now only three wins shy of getting to the World Series, as they won Game 1 against the Dodgers 3-2. You never want to lose home field in Game 1 of the series, especially with Hamels on the mound, and the Phillies took care of business.
The Phillies came out sluggish on offense, struggling with Derek Lowe’s sinker. The Dodgers got an RBI double from Manny Ramirez in the 1st inning, in what had to be the longest hit ball that wasn’t a home run in Citizens Bank Park history. A sac fly gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead, and the Dodgers were in control, as Lowe was dealing. Then came the play of the game in the bottom of the 6th inning. Shane Victorino was leading off, and hit a routine grounder to short. Due to Victorino’s speed, Rafael Furcal hurried the throw, and threw wide of the base, allowing Victorino to end up on 2nd, and an error charged to Furcal. The very next pitch, Chase Utley put into the ball into the seats in right field, tying the game at two. After Ryan Howard grounded out, Pat The Bat crushed a line drive home run to left field. Burrell has three home runs in his last two games now, all of which have been clutch. The three runs would be all the Phillies pitchers would need.
Hamels pitched another gem, and ended up with 7 innings pitched, only allowing 2 runs, striking out 8. Hamels got more and more comfortable as the game went on. He cruised through the 6th and 7th innings, which was important as the Phillies had just taken the lead. Madson got out of the 8th, retiring Manny on a line drive to 3rd. Lidge came in to record the save, and got it done with a 1-2-3 inning on only 13 pitches to give the Phillies the 1-0 series lead.
Game 2 Preview
Game 2 will feature a matchup between the Dodgers strikeout machine, Chad Billingsley, and the Phillies Brett Myers. We all know about Brett Myers up-and-down season. Myers pitched well in his start against the Brewers in the NLDS, but will be facing a tougher lineup this time. The Phillies need to get off to a good start this game, take the lead, and force the Dodgers to come from behind to win this game. The Dodgers have a lot of young players on their team, and if you get them into a situation where they start pressing, they are likely to struggle. Just as Game 1 was, this is another important game to win for the Phillies, as the next three games are in Los Angeles.
On offense, Chase Utley was called out coming into this series, and really delivered in Game 1. We need to get our big man, Ryan Howard going now. The Phillies were fortunate as Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, and Ryan Howard all went 0-4 in Game 1, and the Phillies still won the game. The Phillies will need those guys to hit if they want to win this series. Rollins, and Victorino really need to set the table for Utley, Howard, and Burrell to drive them in. When Jimmy Rollins is hitting, this team is very hard to beat.
Game 2 is Friday, 4:30 EDT, Myers vs. Billingsley. Series: 1-0 Phillies
In breaking news, Kotite's Corner has learned that Charlie Manuel's mother has passed away. The Kotite's Corner family sends our condolences to the whole Manuel family. No word yet on what Manuel's managing status will be for Game 2. Either way, let's come together as fans, and hope the team comes together to win this whole thing for Charlie.
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