Joe Torre
Cliff Lee, Bats Propel Phillies to Easy 11-0 Laugher over Dodgers
Monday, October 19th, 2009 | Carlos Ruiz, Chase Utley, Cliff Lee, Hiroki Kuroda, Joe Torre, Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB, Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino, Sports | No Comments
Ugly – I think that’s the best word to describe it. The Phillies crushed the Dodgers 11-0 on Sunday night to take a 2-1 lead in the 2009 NLCS.
Dodgers Manager Joe Torre didn’t have Hiroki Kuroda available for the NLDS against the Cardinals because of an injury and he made a bold move by adding Kuroda to the NLCS roster against the Phillies. Kuroda had had a solid year – 20 starts, 8 wins, 3.76 ERA and 1.14 WHIP – and had even stymied the Phillies back on June – 2 hits and 3 walks in 6 scoreless innings of a 3-2 Dodgers win in L.A. But Torre calculated wrong big time in this situation. Kuroda barely got out of the 1st inning, and didn’t last much longer in the 2nd inning, as he gave up 6 runs – all earned – on 6 hits, the big one being a 2-run HR by Jayson Werth to cap-off a 4-run 1st inning.
And with Cliff Lee on the mound for the Phillies, the game was pretty much over after Ryan Howard’s triple plated 2 runs ahead of Werth’s HR to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. Lee was as dominant as ever – 8 innings pitched, 3 hits, no walks and 10 K’s. 114 effective and efficient pitches, and just like that Lee kept his spectacular regular season going with another solid post-season start. In 3 October playoff starts, Lee has given up just 2 ER (4 total) in 24 1/3 innings pitched. Throw in just 14 hits and 3 walks against 20 K’s and you are looking at the hottest playoff pitcher in baseball right now.
The Phillies bats stepped up to the plate as well. After the 4-run 1st inning, the Phillies continued to pund away at Kuroda with 2 more runs in the 2nd inning on a Jimmy Rollins double and a Ryan Howard RBI groundout. The Phillies tacked on 2 more insurance runs in the 5th inning on a Pedro Feliz run-scoring triple and a Carlos Ruiz RBI single. And the Phillies capped off their scoring in the bottom of the 8th inning on Shane Victorino’s 3-run bomb to deep right field. All in all, the Phillies scored 11 runs on 11 hits and 7 walks against 5 Dodgers pitchers. Victorino, Chase Utley and Ruiz each had 2 hits, while Victorino and Howard each had 3 RBI’s.
Game 3 starts tonite at 8:07PM EST on TBs. Randy Wolf will toe the rubber for the Dodgers while Joe Blanton will look to give the Phillies a commanding 3-1 series lead and a chance to close out the series at home in Game 5 on Wednesday night…
NLCS Starts Tonight – Hamels, Phillies v. Kershaw, Dodgers
Thursday, October 15th, 2009 | Clayton Kershaw, Cole Hamels, Joe Torre, Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB, Philadelphia Phillies, Sports | No Comments
It will be a rematch between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2009 NLCS that begins tonight in Los Angeles. It is only the 3rd time in almost 20 years that we have seen the same 2 teams in back-to-back NLCS series – the Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals played against each other in 2004 and 2005, and the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates did the same back in 1991 and 1992. MLB Playoff tickets will surely be tough to get a hold of with an epic re-match like this one.
This time, however, the Dodgers have home field advantage and that can go a long way as the Phillies showed in 2008. After taking the 1st 2 games of the 2008 NLCS in Philadelphia, the Phillies were able to close out the series in just 5 games without having to return home. The Phillies are looking to become the 1st World Series repeat champions since the New York Yankees won 3 in a row did so from 1998-200. The Yankees manager during that phenomenal streak? You got it – current Dodgers skipper Joe Torre.
Torre has decided to go with 21-year old Clayton Kershaw in Game 1 tonight. Kershaw will be the 3rd youngest starting pitcher in the MLB post-season history. Kershaw clearly has what it takes – in the Dodgers division-clinching win over the Rockies on the 2nd to last day of the regular season, Kershaw pitched 6 scoreless innings giving up just 3 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 10. In Game 2 of the NLDS against the Cardinals, Kershaw went pitch-for-pitch with Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright, giving up just 2 ER on 9 hits over 6 2/3 innings. He kept the Dodgers in the game, one which they eventually won in the bottom of the 9th inning.
The Phillies will counter with Cole Hamels who was instrumental in bringing the World Series rings to Philly last season. Hamels has not had the type of season to which he is accustomed (10-11, 4.32 ERA, 1.29 WHIP), but he can still be a dominating pitcher. He suffered the Phillies only loss in the NLDS against the Rockies, giving up 4 ER on 7 hits in just 5 innings of work in Game 2. Hamels is hoping he can turn it around against the Dodgers in NLCS Game 1 tonight.
Catch it all tonight at 8:07PM EST on TBS.
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