When Matt Stairs came to the plate in the 9th last night, everyone had inevitable flashbacks to his previous appearance vs. Jonathan Broxton, in game 4 of last year's NLCS in Los Angeles. Guess Broxton did too, as he obviously wanted no part of Stairs, hitting .190 this year, whom he walked on four pitches. Rattled? Maybe a bit, because he then plunked Carlos Ruiz. Then, with two outs and men on 1st and 2nd, Jimmy Rollins came to the plate. On a 1-1 count, J-Roll laced a ball to the wall in right center. Eric Bruntlett, pinchrunning for Stairs, scored easily, with Ruiz just behind him.
The Phillies poured out of the dugout and the Dodgers walked off. It was an awesome finish, a classic game, and another red-light moment for Jimmy Rollins, who just about defines red light on a team loaded with red light players.
Ryan Howard started the game with an emphatic two-run homer in the 1st, giving him RBI in eight straight postseason games. That ties Lou Gehrig's record. But Dodger starter Randy Wolf settled down after that and got the Phillies flailing at junk. The Dodgers meanwhile clawed back against Joe Blanton, getting their fourth run courtesy of a Pedro Feliz error. In the 6th, Chase Utley singled in Shane Victorino, who had tripled, to make it 4-3. There it stayed into the fateful 9th. Ah, the beauty of baseball, a game of 27 outs. One thing about the Phillies, they play all 27.
Brad Lidge got the win. Broxton blew the save and took the loss. Once again, the vaunted Dodger bullpen came up small. Brad Lidge, meanwhile, is--dare we say--perfect. On the other hand, the defensively-minded Phillies have been undone twice by their fielding. One constant in the series has been the electrifying atmosphere in the ballpark in Philadelphia.
The Dodgers now trail 3-1. To advance they have to win three straight. Maybe they do it, maybe they don't. The Phillies would have to lose three straight.
