Yes, the Philadelphia Phillies last night thumped the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-4 and won their second-consecutive National League pennant. Woohoo! Cole Hamels gave up a solo home run to Andre Ethier in the 1st to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. In the bottom, though, Vicente Padilla, after getting two quick outs, walked Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. That set the stage for Jayson Werth, who belted a homer to right. The Phillies went up 3-1 and never looked back.
Padilla gave up six runs in three innings. Hamels was lifted with one man out in the 5th after an uninspiring start. The Dodgers threatened in the 8th but Ryan Madson prevailed. There were seven homers in the game. All three Dodger homers were solos. For the Phillies, Jayson Werth added a solo homer to his 1st-inning blast, Pedro Feliz showed sudden life with a solo shot, and Shane Victorino clubbed a two-run homer deep into left. Don't diss the 'take-and-rake' approach at the plate. According to Peter Gammons of ESPN, in the past 29 playoffs, teams that have outhomered their opponents are 26-3, while those with the higher slugging percentage are 28-1.
The best team won. The Dodgers' only strength coming into the series was their bullpen, and it turned out to be woeful. The beleaguered Phillies' bullpen came through. Manuel brought Brad Lidge in for the final three outs. When the game ended, on a fly to center by Ronnie Belliard, the first guys to reach the mound were Chooch, Madson, and Durbin. It was sweet, it was fitting.
Ryan Howard was the series MVP. Way to go, big man! Way to go, Phillies!
