Recap:
W: Cliff Lee
L: Hiroki Kuroda
An impressive offensive outburst from the Phillies, an onslaught no doubt that will be attributed to playing at home. Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Shane Victorino provided a serious punch in the middle of the order, while every Phillies starter managed to reach base (Ibanez the only one without a hit.)
The Dodgers will look to improve on their performance in Game 4. Despite good defense, the lineup hit an anemic 3-29 (.103), did not walk and struck out 10 times, while starting pitching let them down early. On their side is the fact that they will be facing Joe Blanton, who managed a 12-8 record with a 4.05 ERA. After facing Cliff Lee, Blanton will likely look like John "Way Back" Wasdin to Dodgers hitters.
Game 4 of the NLCS will be blogged tomorrow live at 8 p.m. and Game 3 of the ALCS will be blogged starting at 4 p.m. Join me, Zack Feldman, again on Wednesday night, for Game 5 of the NLCS and if necessary, Game 7 of the ALCS.
Good night, baseball fans!
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Top 9
Cliff Lee is out of the ballgame in favor of Chad Durbin. Charlie Manuel, whose age is showing more every day, apparently wanted Lee in the 8th only for his bat.
Loretta, in his first at bat of the night, lines out to left field. One away.
Furcal is retired for out two.
Ruiz makes arguably the best play of the night to close the game.
Final Score: Phillies 11, Dodgers 0
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Bottom 8
As the Collegian staff listens to Michigan J Frog on Youtube (Why? Don't ask.), Ronald Belisario replaces Troncoso, who threw two excellent innings, yielding only two walks while striking out three.
Casey Blake is also now out of the game in favor of Mark Loretta.
Carlos Ruiz walks to open the frame.
Cliff Lee, evidently going to complete the game from the mound, is given a standing ovation while approaching the plate.
Lee, in an attempt to show up the entire Dodgers offense (save M. Ramirez), singles up the middle to advance Ruiz to second. Two men on, no out.
Rollins grounds out, but in the process advances the runners to second and third. One out.
Shane Victorino just dented another baseball as well as the confidence of the Los Angeles Dodgers, with a three run home run. The ball sailed into the second deck at Citizens Bank Park.
Belisario mixes things up nicely by allowing a single to Chase Utley. Utley is now one of three Phillies with multiple hits tonight.
Utley forces himself to run to second base on a wild pitch to set up another possible run.
Ryan Howard advances Utley to third with a ground out. Two outs in the inning.
Jason Werth Grounds out to end the frame. Three outs to go for Lee and the Phils.
Phillies 11, Dodgers 0
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Top 8
James Loney now matches Furcal, Ethier and Kemp's 0-for-3 lines tonight, striking out to open the 8th inning.
Casey Blake flies out to center field, adding himself to my above statistic.
Russell Martin, joining his friends in the no-longer-exclusive 0-for-3 club, strikes out on high heat to give Lee his 8th shutout inning.
Going to what is likely the Phillies' last chance to pack additional runs on,
Phillies 8, Dodgers 0
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Bottom 7
Fighting his intention to swing at every pitch, Ryan Howard takes a leadoff walk. Howard is not expected to be a stolen base threat according to Collegian experts. It can be safely assumed he can score on any hit exiting the field of play in the air.
Jason Werth walks; Ryan Howard delays the game temporarily while moving to second base.
Raul Ibanez swings and misses at a well placed Trancoso fastball for out one in the inning. Despite two walks, Trancoso has effectively stopped the bleeding for the time being.
A 5-4-3 double play hit by Feliz ends the inning.
Phillies 8, Dodgers 0
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Top 7
A non-Manny Ramirez Dodger has reached base. It's not a miracle. It's in fact a single through Chase Utley, hit by Ronnie Belliard to lead off the inning.
Andre Ethier grounds out to second. One out and a man at second.
Ramirez, 2-2 before this at bat, was given a second chance after Lee's 1-2 pitch narrowly missed the plate.
After the second chance pitch, Ramirez waved carelessly at strike three, clearly establishing the Dodgers' intentions to not rally before it's too late. Two outs.
Remember Belliard reaching base with his clutch single in this 8-0 game? Well, he is stranded at second, as Kemp strikes out.
On one bright note (if one can call it that), Lee has been forced to throw more pitches, sitting at 97 after 7 innings. Expect to see one more from Cliff "The Dodger Silencer" Lee, followed by a nice curtain call.
Phillies 8, Dodgers 0
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Bottom 6
Ramon Troncoso, who has retired the only batter he faced in the playoffs so far, is in to pitch.
Jimmy Rollins is called out on strikes for out one.
Shane Victorino waved at strike three to represent out two in the inning.
Chase Utley was unable to get a two-out rally going, flying out to the center field wall. A little more power, better direction of the swing or a convenient bolt of lightning could have made this a 9-0 game.
Instead, midway through the 6th inning,
Phillies 8, Dodgers 0
***
Top 6
Russell Martin flies out to right field for the first out.
Why Billingsley is being pinch hit for by Orlando Hudson is beyond me, unless Hudson will be tossing his 70 mph fastball at the Philly hitters to conserve the bullpen.
Turns out Hudson's exception speed is useless since speed aside, he is an empty toolbox. Hudson too flies out to right field for the second out.
To demonstrate his own desire to cut his team's losses and save his base hits for game four, Furcal strikes out on three pitches.
Phillies 8, Dodgers 0
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Bottom 5
Ryan Howard flies out to right field. One out
Werth strikes out for the second out of the inning. Two down.
Ibanez walks in Billingsley's exciting display of how to make playoff games slower.
Ibanez scores on Feliz's near home run - a triple to right field.
With a runner on third and two out, Ruiz gaps an outside pitch to bring Feliz in.
Lee strikes out, but not before the Phillies put across two two-out runs.
The Phillies deserve to feel they have enough runs at this point. Don't overlook what a good team is capable of with two outs.
After all, Lee has allowed but two runners, both of whom happen to be Manny Ramirez.
Halfway through this one,
Phillies 8, Dodgers 0
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Top 5
Ramirez continues to swing a hot bat, singling to right field.
Manny: 2-2.
Other Dodgers: 0-11.
Kemp strikes out swinging at a pitch in the dirt, giving Lee the first out of the inning.
Loney, fresh off a grounded-into-double-play, narrowly missed a second one, failing only due to the slow nature of the ground ball. Two out.
Blake grounds to short in what is becoming typical Dodger fashion.
Quick outs and few hits are becoming the Dodger norm.
Phillies 6, Dodgers 0
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Bottom 4
Cliff Lee makes contact as solid as any of the Dodgers hitters have thus far, flying out to center fielder Matt Kemp.
Kemp catches Rollins's fly ball to center for out two.
BIllingsley has shut down the Phillies since taking over in the second inning, but walks Victorino with two outs.
Utley grounds out to conclude the fourth inning.
After 4 frames,
Phillies 6, Dodgers 0
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Top 4
Furcal, now 7-20 in the 2009 playoffs (though only 1-8 in the NLCS), strikes out on Lee's signature changeup after a lengthy 9 pitch at bat.
A 3-1 putout retires Belliard for the second out of the 4th for the Dodgers.
Ethier, one of the x-factors for the Dodgers offense, grounds out to second to end the frame.
Interesting to note is Utley's new inability to complete throws to 1st base.
With the Phillies looking to add more in the 4th,
Phillies 6, Dodgers 0
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Bottom 3
Belliard, playing deep on the outfield grass, throws Ibanez out at first, 4-3. One out.
Pedro Feliz keeps things moving with a 6-3 groundout.
Ruiz, sporting a 2.083 OPS (on base plus slugging) in the NLCS so far, flies out to right field, the first 1-2-3 inning for Dodgers pitching. Too little too late? The Dodgers need to wake up at the dish in inning 4 to begin closing the gap.
After 3 innings,
Phillies 6, Dodgers 0
***
Top 3
Casey Blake strikes out as Lee continues to dominate opposing hitters in the 2009 playoffs.
Russell Martin grounds into the 1-3 putout for the second out of the inning.
Kuroda strikes out on four pitches to conclude the top of the 3rd.
Though Lee has been arguably dominant thus far in the game, he has also been economical with his pitches, needing only 40 pitches to get through the first three innings. At his current pace, the Phillies could expect eight innings or possibly a complete game, helping to save the bullpen for game four.
Phillies 6, Dodgers 0
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Bottom 2nd
Carlos Ruiz, a big factor in games 1 and 2, leads off the inning with a gap double.
Cliff Lee misses his first attempt at a sacrifice bunt, but gets the second attempt down, moving Ruiz to 3rd base. Kuroda's throw nearly takes James Loney off the base. One out, one on.
Rollins, one of only 4 Phillies without a hit in the first inning, doubles up the right field line, scoring Ruiz and leading to a coaching visit to the mound.
Phillies 5, Dodgers 0
Kuroda's day is done. More on his final line after Rollins's fate on the basepaths is decided.
Scott Elbert, a 2004 draft pick of the Dodgers, enters the game to pitch. This is his first career postseason appearance. He inherits Rollins on second, who is still Kuroda's responsibility.
Shane Victorino, who began the damage in the first inning, walks to put men on first and second.
A wild pitch brings the runners to second and third with one out.
Utley, hitting .222 in the LCS before this at bat, walks to load the bases for baseball's hottest hitter, Ryan Howard.
Howard brings the 6th run across the plate by hitting a weak ground ball to first. Though Howard was tagged out, there are still two runners in scoring position for Werth, who will be facing Chad Billingsley.
Phillies 6, Dodgers 0
The final line on Kuroda:
1 1/3 innings, 6 hits, 6 earned runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout
Billingsley, a 12 game winner during the regular season, has an 18.00 ERA in five career innings spanning two career games in the NLCS, including a 0-2 record in those two games.
Werth ends the inning by striking out swinging.
After two complete innings,
Phillies 6, Dodgers 0
***
Top 2nd
Manny leads off the inning with a base hit up the middle. 1 on, no out.
Down early, the Dodgers are attempting to get something going to close the gap early. With a potent offense, the Dodgers don't have to worry if they keep chipping away at the lead.
A Matt Kemp lineout is the Dodgers' first out of the inning.
Loney grounds into the 3-6-3 double play to end the inning.
Cliff Lee in typical fashion has breezed through innings 1 and 2, throwing 29 pitches between the two -- the same amount needed for Kuroda to escape the 1st inning.
***
Bottom 1st
Kuroda, in just his second year in Major League Baseball, is 2-0 in his playoff career with a 1.46 earned run average.
Jimmy Rollins leads off the home-half of the first inning with a flyout to right.
Kuroda allows his first hit of the game to Shane Victorino, a potential threat on the bases.
Victorino moves himself into scoring position after stealing on a Kuroda fastball.
Utley, previously 1-8 in the LCS, singles to right, though Victorino was held up, setting up a 1st and 3rd situation with 1 out.
Ryan Howard hit his 12th career triple to right field, plating Utley and Victorino
Phillies 2, Dodgers 0
Jason Werth shot a Kuroda fastball over the center field wall. Werth's home run is his first in 8 career NLCS games.
Phillies 4, Dodgers 0
Kuroda, looking shaky following the onslaught of offense, began 3-0 to Raul Ibanez, ultimately getting to 3-2 before striking out Ibanez.
A 5-3 putout retired Pedro Feliz and the Phillies for the first.
After 1 full inning,
Phillies 4, Dodgers 0
***
After a failed bunt attempt designed to keep the corner infielders on their toes, Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal led off the ballgame by flying out to left fielder Raul Ibanez.
Ibanez grabbed the second out in impressive fashion; a sliding catch off the bat of Ronnie Belliard.
Andre Ethier, swinging a hot bat in the playoffs as of tonight's game, struck out on a half-hearted checked swing, giving Cliff Lee a 1-2-3 inning to open the game.
After 1/2 an inning, Dodgers 0, Phillies due up
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Zack Feldman of Framingham, Massachusetts here, bringing you the live updates from Game 3 of the NLCS between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The series, tied at one game apiece, has been all about key match-ups and late-inning rallies.
Game 1 saw the Dodgers keep Philadelphia close, trailing the Phillies by a score of 5-4 until former closer George Sherril uncharacteristically walked two important runners in the process of allowing three earned runs, giving the Phillies much needed insurance.
Final score of Game 1: Phillies 8, Dodgers 6.
Game 2 was a pitcher's duel in every sense, with former ace Pedro Martinez proving his capabilities in the twilight of his career, allowing only two hits in seven innings. Vicente Padilla, helped out by his slower-than-dirt curveball, threw 7 1/3 innings of stellar baseball in the no-decision. Chan Ho Park allowed two runs in the 8th inning, blowing Martinez's chance at a win and Philly's chance at a 2-0 series lead.
Final score of Game 2: Dodgers 2, Phillies 1.
How will things play out tonight?
Cliff Lee, ace of the Phillies' staff, will go against the Dodgers' Hiroki Kuroda in Game 3 at 8:07 p.m.
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