The Ticket Chest

Phillies Reach World Series with 4-1 Series Win over Dodgers in NLCS

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 | Andre Ethier, Brad Lidge, Charlie Manuel, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Jayson Werth, Los Angeles Dodgers, Manny Ramirez, MLB, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino, Sports | No Comments

For the 2nd straight post-season, it took just 5 games for the Phillies to eliminate the Dodgers from October playoffs in a dominating NLCS victory.  Overcoming another poor start from Cole Hamels (4 1/3 innings, 3 ER on 5 hits and 1 walk), the Phillies scored early and often to make it clear that they intended to defend their World Series title all the way to the end.

Jayson Werth led the Phillies offense – Werth’s 2-out, 3-run home run in the 1st inning gave the Phillies a 3-1 lead after Andre Ethier had put the Dodgers on the board 1st with his solo home run.  It was a great answer for the Phillies who quickly showed that they would not be denied.  Werth added a solo shot in the 7th inning and finished the night with crazy numbers – 3 for 4, 4 RBI’s and 3 runs scored.  Not bad, especially against his former team.  Shane Victorino also had a solid night in the win – 2 hits, including a 2-run HR in the 6th inning, with 3 RBI’s and 1 run scored.

The only negative was the starting pitching off Hamels.  Hamels made it into the 5th inning with a 6-2 lead, but after giving up a solo HR to pinch-hitter Orlando Hudson and a 1-out double to Rafael Furcal, Manager Charlie Manuel did not want to take any chances.  Manuel pulled Hamels for J.A. Happ and later Chad Durbin who got the Phillies out of the jam unscathed, still leading 6-3.  Manuel was forced to use 5 relievers, but knowing that if they won they would have a week of rest before the World Series started on Wednesday, October 28th, he wasn’t too concerned.  Brad Lidge even closed out the 9th inning in perfect fashion with 1 strike out.  Manuel should be feeling good about Lidge right now – in 5 playoff appearances this October (4 innings), Lidge has given up just 1 hit and 3 walks and no runs period.  He has saved 3 games and won 1 game and looks to have regained that form that makes him one of the more dominating closers in baseball.  Assuming the New York Yankees close out their ALCS against the Angels, it will be interesting to see how Lidge handles a World Series save situation in front of thousands of screaming fans in the Bronx – should be fun to watch.

The Phillies major concern should be starting pitching after Cliff Lee.  Hamels continues to struggle and who knows how Pedro Martinez or Joe Blanton will fare against a solid Yankees lineup.  The Phillies have been there before though, and their lineup is so deep and good, a Phillies-Yankees World Series should be fun to watch…

5-4 Walk-Off Wins in Each League Championship Game on Monday

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 | Alex Rodriguez, Alfredo Aceves, Andy Pettitte, Carlos Ruiz, Casey Blake, CC Sabathia, Chase Utley, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Derek Jeter, Howie Kendrick, Jeff Mathis, Jimmy Rollins, Joe Girardi, Johnny Damon, Jonathan Braxton, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Dodgers, Macier Izturis, Matt Stairs, MLB, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Raul Ibanez, Ryan Howard, Sports, Vladimir Geurrero | No Comments

MLB has gotta be loving this – two walk-off wins for the home team; two 5-4 scores; one series just about done and the other heating up.  I live for October baseball!

I am most excited about the Angels rallying to beat the Yankees 5-4 in 11 innings on Monday afternoon.  The Angels had struggled all game against Andy Pettitte as the Yankees built a 3-0 lead on solo homers from Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Johnny Damon.  Despite blowing some chances early, the Angels hung in there.  They cut the Yankees lead to 3-1 on Howie Kendrick’s HR in the 5th inning (that was the 1st home run given up by a Yankees pitcher in the playoffs this year) and then tied it up on Vladimir Guerrero’s 2-run bomb to left in the 6th inning.  And after Manager Joe Girardi pulled Pettitte with 1 out in the 7th inning, the Angels immediately capitalized with a triple by Kendrick and a run-scoring sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter Macier Izturis off Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain.  Just like that the Angels had a 4-3 lead and needed only 6 outs to get the series back in their favor.  Jorge Posada’s solo home run to center field put a slight damper on the Angels’ celebration, but the Angels gutted it out in the bottom of the 11th inning.  Girardi’s “over-managing” could be called into question with his decision to pull David Robertson (who had recorded the 1st 2 outs of the inning) for Alfredo Aceves.  Kendrick came through in the clutch with a single to center field and Jeff Mathis ended the game with a walk-off, 2-out RBI double to deep left field that plated Kendrick with the winning-run.  Props go to Kendrick for winning the game for the Angels on Monday.  On his triple in the 7th inning, Kendrick hustled right out of the box to get all the way to 3rd base with only 1 out.  And in the 11th, even though there was 2 out, Kendrick’s speed enabled him to score all the way from 1st on Mathis’ double.

The win breathes new life into the Angels, and Girardi’s decision to go with a 3-man rotation in the ALCS will be in the spotlight tonight as CC Sabathia gets the nod in Game 4 on only 3 days rest.  Sabathia pitched well on 3 days rest for the Brewers in 2008 (2-1, 0.83 ERA), but if he has an off-night, look for the critics to hand Girardi out to dry post-game.  Scott Kazmir has had a lot of success against the Yankees (6-5 record and 2.66 ERA in 14 career starts), so it should be a great game to watch on Tuesday night.

The NLCS game was also a back and forth game – a 1st inning Ryan Howard home run gave the Phillies an early 2-0 lead.  But then the Dodgers answered with 4 runs during the 4th through 6th innings on RBI singles by James Loney, Russell Martin and Casey Blake and a solo home run by Matt Kemp.  After a Chase Utley RBI single cut the Dodgers lead to 4-3 in the 6th inning, it looked like the Dodgers would even the series as closer Jonathan Broxton entered the game in the 9th inning.  Broxton (who had converted 36 of 42 save chances with a 2.61 ERA and 0.96 WHIP, but struggled on the road with an 5.81 ERA) even got lead-off hitter Raul Ibanez out, but laid an egg by pitching around Matt Stairs (Stairs had homered off of Broxton in the NLCS in 2008) and allowing him to reach on a walk.  Broxton made matters worse by plunking Carlos Ruiz to give the Phillies 1st and 2nd with only 2 outs.  Broxton got Gregg Dobbs to line out to 3rd base, but Jimmy Rollins crushed a 99-MPh fastball to deep center field that plated both Eric Bruntlett (pinch-runner for Stairs) and Ruiz with the winning runs.  Just like that, the Phillies had a walk-off win to take a 3-1 series lead.  The Dodgers have a huge obstacle to overcome.  They face Cole Hamels on Wednesday in Game 5 and if they are luck enough to win that one, they will have to beat Cliff Lee in Game 6 in Los Angeles just to get to a Game 7.  It’s not looking good for the Dodgers…

Enjoy MLB playoffs action tonight!

Phillies Deliver Knock Out Punch – Take Game 1 over Dodgers 8-6

Friday, October 16th, 2009 | Brad Lidge, Carlos Ruiz, Clayton Kershaw, Cole Hamels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Manny Ramirez, MLB, Philadelphia Phillies, Raul Ibanez, Sports | No Comments

The Phillies defeated the Dodgers 8-6 in Game 1 of the NLCS to take a 1-0 lead in the best of 7 series – home field advantage right back to Philly.  For the 1st 4 innings, it looked like we were going to have a pitcher’s duel between Cole Hamels and Clayton Kershaw.  Up until that point, the Dodgers led the Phillies 1-0 with the lone run scoring on a solo home run by James Loney in the 2nd inning.

But with the 5th inning came an explosion of offense – - Carlos Ruiz’s 3-run bomb to deep left gave the Phillies a 3-1 lead and Ryan Howard’s 2-run double increased that lead to 5-1.

But the Dodgers answered right back in the bottom of the inning with 3 runs of their own – 1 run on Andre Ethier’s RBI groundout and 2 runs on Manny Ramirez’s 2-run bomb to deep left center. 5-4 Phillies on top.

It looked like the Phillies had put the game away for good in the top of the 8th inning when Raul Ibanez’s 3-run HR gave the Phillies an 8-4 lead.  But the Dodgers answered in the bottom of the inning with 2 runs on a Russell Martin RBI single and a Rafael Furcal sacrifice fly.

Give some props to Brad Lidge for closing out the game in the 9th inning.  We only know about Lidge’s struggles in 2009 – 0-8 record, 7.21 ERA, 31 saves but 11 blown saves.  But after a lead-off single by Matt Kemp, Lidge induced a Casey Blake double play to pick up 2 quick outs.  And even after a James Loney walk, Lidge buckled down and got Ronnie Belliard to pop out to end the game.  Despite shaken confidence during the regular season, Lidge has earned the save in 3 of the 4 Phillies wins in the 2009 post-season, and he has yet to give up a run in 2 1/3 innings pitched.

Hamels notched the win, despite giving up 4 ER on 8 hits and 1 walk in 5 1/3 innings.  Kershaw struggled with his control too much on Thursday night – walking 5 and giving up 5 ER on 4 hits without even making it out of the 5th inning.

The 2 teams won’t have much time to dwell on Game 1, as they square off in Game 2 at 4:07PM EST today on TBS.  Pedro Martinez will take the bump for the Phillies against Vincent Padilla of the Dodgers.  It will mark Martinez’s 1st post-season start since he won a World Series game for the Boston Red Sox back in 2004.  It becomes a must-win for the Dodgers who do not want to go down 2-0 to the Phillies having to face ace Cliff Lee in Game 3 back in Philadelphia on Sunday…

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.