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Deja Voodoo
By egrissom | October 20, 2009
Another day, another miraculous finish for the Phillies. This time the nearly-impossible-to-believe drama came from Jimmy Rollins, who roped a two-out double to right-center with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to turn a Dodgers’ lead into a walkoff win for the Phillies.
Ryan Howard put the Phils up 2-0 in the first with yet another home run, this one off of LA starter and former Phil Randy Wolf. Blanton was perfect through three innings, but the Dodgers got to him in the fourth when LA scored twice on RBI-singles by James Loney and Russell Martin to tie game at 2-2. A Matt Kemp homer off of Blanton in the fifth put LA up 3-2 and a throwing error by Feliz helped open the door in the sixth as LA tacked on an unearned run to extend the lead to 4-2. Wolf had lulled the Phils offense to sleep since the Howard homer — between the first inning homer from Howard and the start of the sixth inning the Phils managed just one two-out walk by Ruiz in the fifth. Victorino snapped the team out of it with a one-out triple down the left field line. Utley followed with a single to right that cut the lead to 4-3. Wolf left after 5 1/3 and the mighty LA pen shut the Phils down after that, for a while at least. Jonathan Broxton came on in the ninth to protect the one-run lead. Stairs drew a pinch-hit walk with one out and Ruiz followed and was hit by a pitch. With two outs and men on first and second, Dobbs popped a ball to third for the second out. It brought up Rollins and Rollins delivered, splitting the gap in right-center to clear the bases and give the Phils a 5-4 win.
It was hard not to think of what had happened in game four of the NLCS between the same two teams the year before. In that game the Phillies got to Broxton, too, as a two-run homer by Stairs in the eighth broke a 5-5 tie.
The Phillies lead the best-of-seven NLCS with the Dodgers three games to one after winning game four last night 5-4.
The Dodgers lineup against Blanton went (1) Furcal (SS/S) (2) Kemp (CF/R) (3) Ethier (RF/L) (4) Ramirez (LF/R) (5) Loney (1B/L) (6) Belliard (2B/R) (7) Martin (C/R (8) Blake (3B/R). That’s similar to the lineup that Pedro faced in game two until you get to 6-7-8. In game two it went Blake-Belliard-Martin, but Blake was dropped to eighth for this game. It sure doesn’t seem like Loney, who hit 13 home runs, should be your five-hitter protecting Manny against righties if you want to go to the World Series. He slugged .396 against righties. Loney is having a good series for LA, though.
The Dodgers had six players on the bench to start the game, lefties Jim Thome and Juan Pierre, righties Mark Loretta, Juan Castro and Brad Ausmus and switch-hitter Orlando Hudson.
Furcal led off the game and flew to center on an 0-1 pitch for the first out. Kemp grounded to third 2-2 for the second. Ethier hit a ground ball to first 1-2 and Howard took it to the bag for the third.
Eleven pitches in the inning for Blanton, eight of which were strikes.
He set LA down in order again in the second, pitching with a 2-0 lead. Manny grounded to short on a 1-0 pitch for the first out. Loney struck out looking 0-2 for the second. Belliard flew to left on a 1-2 pitch to set LA down.
Ten pitches in the inning for Blanton. 21 for the game.
Martin started the third and lined a 1-1 pitch to right-center, but Werth took it on a run for the first out. Blake grounded to short 2-1 for the second out. Wolf got behind 1-2 and hit the ball hard, but Howard took it at first and beat Wolf to the bag to end the frame.
Blanton was perfect through three. Eleven pitches in the inning, 32 for the game. Twenty-three strikes.
Furcal started the fourth and grounded to Howard on a 1-2 pitch for the first out. Blanton got ahead of Kemp 1-2 but lost him, walking him on a pitch outside to give LA their first runner of the game. Ethier was next and he crushed a 2-2 pitch to center, but Victorino tracked it down just in front of the wall for the second out. Ramirez was next and he ripped a 1-2 pitch down the third base line. Kemp would have scored easily if it had gotten to the corner, but it didn’t. It bounced off of the stands in left field and Kemp held third with Ramirez safe at first with a long single. Loney was next and Blanton got ahead of him 1-2 before Loney laced a single to right. Kemp scored to cut the lead to 2-1 with Ramirez taking second. It brought up Belliard with two outs and two men on. Blanton walked him on a 3-2 pitch that was low and outside to load the bases. Martin lined a single to left and everyone moved up a base. Ramirez scored and it was 2-2. Blanton got Blake to ground to second on a 3-2 pitch to leave the runners stranded. Utley made a strong and accurate throw, but there were some nervous Phillies fans as he did.
Long inning for Blanton. Thirty-seven pitches. Nineteen strikes and 18 balls. He had thrown 69 pitches in the game.
Wolf flew to left for the first out of the fifth. Furcal followed and he grounded to Utley. Kemp hit a 2-0 pitch just out to center, putting LA up 3-2. Ethier hit a 1-2 pitch hard, too, but Utley snared the line drive that looked ticketed for center field for the third out.
Blanton was up to 84 pitches after throwing 15 in the inning. Kemp, who got things going with a walk in the fourth, is the guy who got him again.
Ramirez led off the sixth with a ground ball to deep third. Feliz fielded and threw in the dirt to Howard. Howard tried to scoop the ball but didn’t come up with it and Ramirez was safe on the error by Feliz. Loney flew to left on an 0-1 pitch for the first out. Belliard was next and he blooped a ball into shallow left-center field. Rollins went back and tried to make an over-the-shoulder catch but couldn’t come up with it. Belliard had a single and Ramirez went to second. Martin struck out looking 1-2 for the second out, but Blake followed and he singled into right. Ramirez scored to make it 4-2 with Belliard going to third. Blake stole second with Wolf at the plate, but Wolf flew to center 2-2 to leave both men stranded.
Twenty-one and 105 for Blanton. Third straight inning that Blanton had been charged with runs. Two plays that could have been made hurt him in the inning, but the catch by Rollins would have been a fantastic play. The Phils let Blanton hit for himself in the bottom of the fifth.
Park started the seventh with the Phils down 4-3. Furcal hit a ball back to the mound for the first out. Kemp struck out swinging 2-2 for the second. Ethier walked on a 3-2 pitch that was in the strike zone, putting a man on for Ramirez. Park got ahead of Manny 1-2 and Ruiz gunned Ethier down to end the frame as the count went 2-2 on Manny.
Great throw by Ruiz, but it meant that Manny would lead off the eighth.
That wasn’t a problem for Madson, who pitched the eighth for the Phils still down a run at 4-3. Madson struck Ramirez out on three pitches to start the inning. Loney was next and Madson got ahead of him. He struck him out 1-2 and didn’t get the call, struck him out 2-2 and didn’t get the call before Loney reached on an infield single back up the middle. Belliard got behind 0-2 and hit a ground ball to short with Loney forced at second for the second out. No chance for a double play as Rollins had to come in on the ball. Belliard stole second as the count went 3-0 on Martin. He was actually out, too, as his leg was caught on Utley’s foot and Utley put the tag on in time despite an offline throw from Ruiz, but LA got the call. Martin walked to put two men on, but Madson struck Blake out swinging 1-2 to leave them both stranded.
Eyre started the ninth, facing switch-hitter Orlando Hudson who had been double-switched into the game in the bottom of the eighth. Hudson lofted a high fly ball to right that Werth took at the foul line for the first out. Furcal was next and he singled into center. Lidge came in to pitch to Kemp and Furcal stole second as Kemp struck out swinging 3-2 for the second out. Lidge’s 1-2 pitch to Ethier was in the dirt and blocked by Ruiz, allowing Furcal to take third. Ethier struck out looking 2-2 to leave Furcal stranded.
Fantastic day for the pen in relief of Blanton. They went three shutout innings, allowing two singles and two walks.
Loney and Martin are the only regulars for LA who have an OPS of .800 or better for the series so far. Loney is 5-for-14 with a homer and a walk. Martin is 4-for-12 with a double and a walk. Blake and Furcal are a combined 4-for-31 with four singles. Manny is 4-for-16 without a walk in the series. Ethier is the only player on LA with more than one walk — he has two. LA has outhit the Phils in the series, getting 30 hits so far to 28 for the Phils. The Phillies have six home runs to the Dodgers’ three, though, and 19 walks to nine for LA.
Kemp’s home run is the only extra-base hit the Dodgers have against Phillies pitching in the last three games.
The Phillies lineup against lefty Randy Wolf went (1) Rollins (SS/S) (2) Victorino (CF/S) (3) Utley (2B/L) (4) Howard (1B/L) (5) Werth (RF/R) (6) Ibanez (LF/L) (7) Feliz (3B/R) (8) Ruiz (C/R).
The Phillies started the game with six players on the bench, lefties Dobbs, Stairs and Bako and righties Francisco, Bruntlett and Cairo.
Rollins swung at Wolf’s first pitch in the first and singled to left. He was running on the 1-1 pitch to Victorino, but Victorino popped it up to second. Ethier took it right behind second base for the first out and Rollins had to hurry back to the bag. Utley swung at the first pitch and popped to first for the second out. Howard was next. Wolf didn’t get the call on a 2-1 pitch that had a lot of the plate and Howard hit the 3-1 offering out to right for a two-run homer that put the Phils up 2-0. Werth flew to right on a 3-2 pitch to end the inning.
Wolf threw 18 pitches in the first.
He set the Phils down in order in the second. Ibanez flew to left 2-2 for the first out. Feliz popped to right on a 3-2 pitch for the second out. Furcal made a very nice play for the third. Ruiz broke his bat hitting a ball that Furcal bare-handed behind second base on a big hop. Furcal made a strong throw to get Ruiz at first and set the Phillies down.
Seventeen pitches in the game had Wolf at 35.
Blanton led off the third and lined a 1-1 pitch to right for the first out. Rollins got ahead 3-0 on three pitches that all could have been called strikes before he flew softly to right on a 3-1 pitch for the second out. Victorino got ahead 3-0 and popped out to Blake in foul territory on a 3-1 pitch.
13 and 48 for Wolf through three.
Utley led off the fourth with the score tied at 2-2 and flew to right on a 2-1 pitch for the first out. Howard struck out looking 1-2. Werth struck out swinging 0-2.
After throwing 12 pitches in the inning, Wolf had thrown 60 for the game.
Ibanez flew to center for the first out of the fifth with the Phils down 3-2. Feliz swung at the first pitch of his at-bat and fouled out to Loney. Ruiz was next and he drew a walk on a close 3-2 pitch that probably was a strike. Despite two weak innings in a row, with Happ warming in the pen, Blanton hit for himself and grounded softly to short with Furcal fielding and tagging second to force Ruiz and end the inning.
After throwing 13 pitches in the inning, Wolf had thrown 73 for the game. Ruiz’s walk broke a string of twelve in a row set down by Wolf.
The Phils trailed 4-2 when they hit in the sixth. Rollins grounded to third for the first out. Victorino was next and he tripled down the left field line. Manny missed the cutoff man, but I don’t think they would have had Victorino at third anyway. Utley followed with a single into right, scoring Victorino to cut the LA lead to 4-3. Howard drew a walk on a 3-1 pitch to put men on first and second. That was it for Wolf and righty Ronald Belisario came in to pitch to Werth after throwing 28 pitches the night before in game three. Werth shattered his bat grounding an 0-1 pitch to third. Blake threw to second for one but Belliard dropped the ball and the Dodgers were unable to turn the double-play. With two outs and men on first and third, lefty Hong-Chih Kuo came in to pitch to Ibanez. Ibanez swung at the first pitch and lined a ball to left, but Ramirez took it at his shoestrings to leave the runners stranded.
Kuo was back to pitch the seventh and set the Phillies down in order. Feliz struck out swinging 1-2 for the first out. Ruiz hit a ground ball to short for the second out. Francisco hit for Park and got ahead 3-1 but flew to left field for the third out.
Lefty George Sherrill started the eighth for LA with a 4-3 lead. Rollins worked the count full but grounded out on a nice play by Blake at third for the first out. Victorino was hit in the back foot by a 2-2 pitch. Utley got ahead and swung at a terrible 3-1 pitch that was outside and in the dirt. He missed, but Victorino took second on the pitch. Utley walked and it put two men on for Howard. Howard struck out swinging 1-2. Righty Jonathan Broxton came in to pitch to Werth and Werth flew to right on a 1-2 pitch to leave both men stranded.
Broxton was back for the ninth with a 4-3 lead. Ibanez got ahead 1-0 and grounded out to second for the first out. Stairs hit for Feliz, setting up a rematch of last season’s confrontation with Broxton, and walked on four pitches. Bruntlett ran for Stairs at first. Ruiz was next and Broxton’s first pitch to him drilled him, putting men on first and second for the pitcher’s spot and Dobbs hit for Lidge. Dobbs fisted an 0-1 pitch softly to third for the second out. It brought up Rollins and he lined a 1-1 pitch into right-center. The ball rolled all the way to the way as Ethier chased. Bruntlett and Ruiz roared around the bases and each of them scored without a throw. 5-4.
Wow. Great inning for Manuel among other things. Stairs for Feliz and letting Ruiz hit was a great move. Again Stairs gets it done against Broxton, starting the rally with a walk. He’s been on the team all year long for a very tiny number of big at-bats. That was one of them and it worked out pretty well.
Rollins was 2-for-5 with a game-winning double and two RBI. He’s 4-for-19 with two doubles in the series.
Victorino was 1-for-3 with a triple in the series. He’s 5-for-15 with a triple and a home run in the series. Big hit for him in the sixth to break Wolf’s spell over the Phils.
Utley was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. 4-for-15 with four singles and three walks in the series. Good throws from him all night long.
Howard was 1-for-3 with a walk and a two-run homer. 5-for-13 with a double, a triple and two home runs in the set. Eight RBI for the Phils in the series. Nobody else on the team has more than four.
Ibanez was 0-for-4 in the game and is 2-for-14 with a home run in the series.
Werth 0-for-4 with a strikeout. 1-for-14 with a home run and two walks in the series. The Phils have scored 16 runs in the last two games and Ibanez and Werth have combined to go 1-for-14, although the one was a big homer from Werth off of Kuroda in the first inning of game three.
Feliz was 0-for-3 in the game and is 1-for-13 in the series. Werth, Ibanez and Feliz are a combined 4-for-41 in the series.
Ruiz 0-for-2 with a walk and a hit by pitch in the game. 5-for-10 with a double, a home run, four walks and a .667 on-base percentage in the series.
Stairs had a huge at-bat in the ninth, drawing a walk off of Broxton.
Francisco got a pinch-hit at-bat in the game and flew to left against Kuo. He’s 0-for-3 in the series.
Dobbs 0-for-1 in the game and the series.
No game today. Game five is tomorrow.
Here is a post from the end of last year that has the Phillies post-season pitching stats for 2008.
And here’s a post with the post-season hitting stats from 2008.
Topics: Playoffs |
October 20th, 2009 at 10:45 am
Two words: Just wow, man.
I’m going to refrain from any further analysis or musing. These playoffs defy reason.
October 20th, 2009 at 11:09 am
They sure do find a way to win, don’t they? Credit to everyone, but especially Manuel. Pretty amazing.
October 20th, 2009 at 11:14 am
I agree, amazing playoff series being a Phils fan. No other way to describe it. Just amazing to watch these games.
October 20th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Great game by the Phils last night. I never thought they would lose for some reason. I actually thought they would take the lead in the 8th with Howard batting, but I’ll take the ninth. The radio call by Frantzke is just great.
Big play by Vic in the sixth with a triple to left. I mean, who triples to left? Also, very nice to see Lidge continue to get meaningful outs.
I’ve been hard on Rollins all year and his lack of OBP, but he came up big last night.
This off day today really seems to favor the Dodgers. Momentum is clearly on the Phillies side right now after the blow-out and the come from behind. Today gives the Dodgers a chance to regroup. But, I still feel confident in Hamels, so lets go Phils.
October 20th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
I agree with everything, although I didn’t actually hear the radio call.
I’m pretty sure I have issues with the TBS announcers, cause in the eighth inning when Buck Martinez suggested that if Sherrill let Utley get on they would bring in Broxton to pitch to Howard and I was mostly rooting for Utley to get on so he could be wrong rather than so the Phillies could score. That could be a sign I’m losing it.
I think it’s a good point about Lidge keeping LA off the board.
Park looked great again.
Madson got some tough calls behind the plate.
Rollins amazing. Manuel, too, just stays with his guys whether they have a seven ERA or a .280 on-base percentage or whatever.
October 20th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
WOW
WOW
WOW!!!!!!
you guys said it all…
the Ump was kind of inconsistent in my opinion. and on top of it his zone did not favor Blanton. but it did work for Wolf. Blanton is great at keeping the ball down and did not get ANY calls down.
so then they could tee off.
and I mean…he did only give up 3ER in 6IP.
Not bad Joe…we just need a better ump for ya.
TBS announcers…UHHHH…Broxton vs Howard I yelled the same thing to my father: “Is this guy stupid!?!” does he even follow baseball?
the dude whistling the entire game during big plays was the only thing more annoying.
What an inning…great AB’s by everyone.
Padilla…come on guys…HIT HIM!!
Hamels, feels good for us.
Let’s Go Phils!!!
October 20th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
I bet Lidge would rather have 1 win in the playoffs than 10 in the regular season.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Agreed Jayfest. I really don’t care if he blew 11 saves in the regular season. If he saves the last game of the playoffs, I’ll be happy.
October 20th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
I thought Blanton pitched well, too. I really don’t believe people when they say it’s not hard for him to be jerked in and out of the rotation. I think it must be. The pen is scary, but I hope they just make Blanton a starter the rest of the way. Bruntlett and Cairo both on the roster still bugs me. I hope they add pitcher 12 if they make it to the World Series.
October 20th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
I know Manuel got a little nervous when he had to use Cairo in the outfield and use Lee as a pinch runner. I think the pitching is going reasonably well at this point, so I don’t see why they need 12 pitchers.
October 20th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Although it’s a bit early to start talking about rosters for the WS, I do think it’s reasonable to expect a 12th pitcher. Both the Angels and the Yankees have significantly better offenses than the Dodgers, so the need for the extra arm is there. That coupled with less of a need for a bench due to the Designated Hitter in the AL park (no need for double switches/pinch hitters) would lead me to believe they bring back either Walker, Myers, or Kendrick.
October 20th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Madson throwing in game two after throwing 31 pitches the day before didn’t appeal much to me. Neither did Park pitching back-to-back days after a month off. Manuel might have done it anyway even if he had pitcher 12, I suppose, but it does seem that the game the Phils lost in the series had a lot to do with their pen.
I don’t know what they would do if they made it to the World Series. Either way, if Francisco is the DH it means the best right-handed hitter on the bench is either Cairo or Bruntlett, take your pick, so let’s hope it doens’t matter a lot who the best right-handed hitter on the bench is.
Even with 12 pitchers they still have at least five (Francisco and Stairs) outfielders. Six if Cairo counts. Cairo is the only guy who can backup the infield without Bruntlett on the team if Dobbs can’t play the field, but I think I’d be willing to take that chance. Condrey and Walker both pitched well for the Phillies — if they’re healthy I think they could help.
On the other hand, Durbin seems to be pitching pretty well and is rarely used. So maybe Manuel wouldn’t use 12 if he had him.
October 20th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Re: Game 2
Something also to keep in mind is that it’s awfully hard to win baseball games scoring only 1 run. If you were to tell me before the playoffs started that the bullpen would melt down in the NLCS but that the Dodgers would only score a total of 2 runs in that game, I’d take it in a heartbeat.
October 22nd, 2009 at 1:23 pm
I was rooting for the Dodgers, but Congratulations to the Phillies and I hope they win the world series.