MLB: Phillies Take Round One
Posted on | October 10, 2008 | No Comments
It looked like Derek Lowe and the Los Angeles Dodgers were in complete control. They’d touched Cole Hammels for two runs early and Lowe was cruising, getting ground ball after ground ball off the bats of the Phillies.
Then the sixth inning happened.
Chase Utley went yard for a two-run homer and then pat Burrell followed up with a solo shot. Ball game.
That’s how Hamels and the Phillies bullpen would need to secure a 3-2 win and a 1-0 series lead in the NLCS. Hamels took the win after throwing seven strong innings. Madson gets the hold thanks for pitching a scoreless eighth inning and Lidge gets the save for shutting down the Dodgers in the ninth.
Lowe was relieved in the sixth inning and took the loss.
Is it panic time for the Dodgers? Certainly not. This game was much more important for the Phillies. But the Dodgers do need to win Game Two or they will head back to Los Angeles under a lot of pressure to win every game at home.
Meanwhile, the ALCS will kick things off on Friday night in Tampa. It will be the Rays against the Red Sox, of course. And the Rays will send Josh Shields to the mound while the Red Sox will counter with Dice-K.
Obviously both of these teams want to win Game One. But I think there’s added pressure on the Rays. They don’t want to lose homefield advantage to the Red Sox and they certainly don’t want to be forced to win Game Two or go to Boston down 2-0.
But then again, this Rays team has proven time and time again that they can overcome adversity, and they should never be counted out. But they aren’t used to these kinds of stakes either.
In the end, if the Rays are going to the World Series (and I think they are) then the path there will be a whole lot easier if they win Game One.
Related posts:
- MLB: Phillies and Red Sox Take Control
- MLB: Phillies Celebrate, Rays Wait
- MLB: Phillies Jump Out Ahead
- MLB: Here Come the Dodgers and the Phillies
- MLB: Mets and Phillies Surging Ahead
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