Kuzul

Last night’s NLCS game followed a script very familiar to Phillies fans.

The team scratched out a first-inning run, helped along by the miscues of their opponent.  They got key contributions throughout the lineup.  The unexpected hitting star continued to shine.  They were patient and did some damage against an opposing reliever.  The relief ace was lights out.  And they won the game thanks to some late-game heroics.

Since 2008, the Phillies have seemed to follow that script several times en route to six series wins, two pennants and one World Series championship.  Except last night, it was the Giants who managed to follow the winning formula, and the Phillies who came up short.

It was the Giants who took advantage of two wild pitches to score a first-inning run.  It was the Giants who got big hits throughout their lineup.  It wasn’t Carlos Ruiz who continued to emerge as a postseason star—but rather Cody Ross.  Instead of the Phillies beating up on Jonathan Broxton, it was the Giants taking the lead against Chad Durbin.  It wasn’t Brad Lidge shutting down his opponents, but rather Brian Wilson who left the Phillies’ hitters looking helpless. 

And finally, it was the Giants who scored the winning run in the ninth inning.

And now it is the Giants who look poised to capture the National League pennant, which most people had pretty much handed to the Phillies before the postseason began.

The Giants look very similar to the 2008 Phillies right now.  Their lineup might not be nearly as dangerous—but as we’ve seen in the postseason, that doesn’t necessarily matter.  What does matter is that they’re receiving strong pitching performances, making all the necessary plays and coming up with key hits.

On the other hand, the Phillies look lost.  This series is starting to look an awful lot like the August series against the Astros where everything just seemed to go against the Phillies.  Their hitters are struggling.  The pitchers perform decently, but not quite well enough. The manager’s moves don’t work.  Umpire calls go against them.  (I’m certainly not blaming the umps for the loss, but that was one of the worst performances by a home plate umpire in awhile.  The strike zone had absolutely no consistency.)

Even when they appear to get a break, it doesn’t end up helping them.  Pablo Sandoval hit a ball that was ruled foul, but replays showed that it was probably fair.  (To be honest, that was about as close as a ball can come, and I don’t know if they could have overturned it even with replay).  Sandoval just came back and hit a double.

Or when a pitch seemed to hit Juan Uribe on the hand, but it was ruled a foul.  That didn’t stop Uribe from hitting the game-winning sacrifice fly.

So now the Phillies are trailing the series 3-1, and have to win three games against the Giants’ starting trio of Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez and Matt Cain.  Considering the way they’ve struggled at the plate, it doesn’t seem like a promising scenario.

There was a lot of debate over Charlie Manuel’s decision to start Joe Blanton last night instead of Roy Halladay on short rest.  I agreed with the move, even though it didn’t work out.

First, Blanton is a much better pitcher than people think.  He’s not as good as the “Big Three,” but he’s proven to be a solid major-league starter.  He’s won postseason games for this team before, and pitched well in the second half.  A start by Blanton was far from an automatic loss.

More importantly, if they had gone with Halladay on short rest, then they would have also had to go with Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels and then possibly Halladay again on short rest.  It seems like a bad idea to have the final four games of a series started by pitchers on short rest.

For those who suggested that they could just use Blanton for Game 5 or 6 instead, I don’t understand the logic behind that move.  If you don’t trust him in Game 4 matched against rookie Madison Bumgarner, then why would you trust him in a potentially more important game against Lincecum, Cain or Sanchez?

If there was a move by Manuel that should be questioned, it would be the use of Oswalt in relief.  While it isn’t unusual for a starter to be used in the bullpen between starts, the manager typically prepares the starter ahead of time, and tells him not to take his usual throwing session that day.  Supposedly, Oswalt had already thrown earlier in the day. 

I could understand using him if the game had gone into extra innings, and they were left with no other options.  But Manuel still had three relievers available.  Obviously, using the inconsistent Kyle Kendrick isn’t the preferred option (and they’d want to save him in case the game went long anyway), and I can understand saving Brad Lidge until they got a lead, otherwise he’d have to pitch multiple innings or be replaced. 

But why didn’t Manuel use JC Romero in the ninth?  I’d think that using an experienced relief pitcher would be a much better option than using one of his starters who had already thrown earlier in the day.  Was Romero unavailable for some reason?

Regardless, the game is over, and the Phillies are now faced with the task of winning three games in a row.  It is a difficult situation, but far from impossible.  The upside of going with Blanton last night is that they now have Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels lined up to start on full rest. 

The Giants’ starters may be imposing, but expecting the Phillies to win three straight games (two at home) started by their aces is far from unrealistic.

Hopefully starting tonight, the Phillies can remember how to get back to their winning ways.  Otherwise, they’re going to be faced with a script that has become very unfamiliar to them: Someone else celebrating a National League pennant.

Originally published on my blog: Stranger in a Strange Land

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The four teams vying for a World Series berth have one thing in common: they each have one (at least) of the greatest pitchers in recent postseason history.

Some are already postseason legends, while others are just beginning to etch their place in history.

The Giants-Phillies series has elicited the most reaction regarding sheer pitching prowess, but the other teams posses two of the top postseason pitchers of all-time. 

Many great pitchers buckle under the pressure of the playoff atmosphere, these guys feed off of it. 

Here are the top ten postseason pitchers available…

Begin Slideshow

It took a stellar performance from Roy Oswalt to beat budding start Jonathan Sanchez. Oswalt went eight masterful innings giving up only one run and striking out nine and allowing only six base runners. What Giants fans should be upset about is manager Bruce Bochy’s decision to pitch Sanchez in game two instead of Matt Cain.

Sanchez is an excellent pitcher—albeit with a proclivity for missing the strike zone. He pitched 6 strong innings, giving up three runs, two earned, before giving up to a mediocre Giants bullpen. Cain might have been able to last later into the game—and given the Giants a chance against Brad Lidge.

Contrary to popular belief, San Francisco’s AT&T Park is not a particularly spacious park to the right field. With Cain, a right-hander, left-handers will be given a platoon advantage with McCovey Cove looming nearby. Against a homerun heavy Philadelphia lineup, it might make a difference.

But with the way Oswalt was pitching, it would have taken a spectacular performance from either pitcher to beat him. Just food for thought.

What may have been more questionable is starting Mike Fontenot at third base over struggling Pablo Sandoval. The Panda had a serious off-year, but is still better than starting a below-average hitting second baseman at third.

Next up for the Giants is Phillies third ace Cole Hamels. This year Hamels has increased his fastball velocity from a pedestrian low-90s to a highly effective mid-90s heater. Coupled with his plus change-up, Hamels consistently gets above average strikeout numbers.

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I have heard too many analysts, as well as Giant fans, tell me how good this team is. How they are going to defy the odds, how “deserving” they are of this, when the fact of the matter is they aren’t.

Although the bulk of this is based upon my opinion, this article is well-researched and formulated. Like it or not, you can’t ignore these numbers.

The first comment I usually (and will) get by the Giants faithful is the fact that San Francisco won the NL West…to which my response is usually… and? Somebody had to win it.

Their next comment is usually along the lines of their 92-70 record, which again, appears impressive. Lets examine that.

Now before I get too deep, the main purpose of this article is to explain why the Giants have no business making it to the World Series, and whether or not they beat the Braves doesn’t really matter.

If the Braves had advanced it would be almost the exact same scenario. Before you go look at my profile and determine I’m a Padres fan…that doesn’t matter either.

Had the Padres advanced to the playoffs, they would not have had any more of a chance than the Giants or Braves. They too had no business being here.

I’m aware of that, you should be too. So why do the Giants have no chance? Why aren’t they as good as everyone thinks? Why won’t they win the NLCS and eventually the series?

They can’t hit. They can’t score runs. but more specifically here are five reasons the bus stops here.

1. Cody Ross is not your (and never will be) NLCS/World Series MVP. Sorry.

Yes, he is having an unreal streak of at-bats for the Giants this postseason, but lets look at the big picture…after Burrell, nobody else is doing squat. You don’t pitch to one/both of them, and one/both has a bad game, the rest of the lineup is averaging .66 RBI’s per game.

That’s right, the other seven are driving in LESS THAN A RUN PER GAME…and you want to compete with the No. 2 offense in the NL.

Tim Lincecum will be our MVP!! No, he won’t.

You guys will not consistently score enough runs for him to keep winning games. He isn’t going to strike out 14 guys every game, which is what you needed to beat the Braves and their horrid offense.

He also needed Cody Ross to man up against Halladay, and he did…but there’s nobody else there to back him up.

If we look back at the last six years NLCS/ALCS MVP’s we have:

Ryan Howard, CC Sabathia, Cole Hamels, Matt Garza, Matt Holiday, Josh Beckett, Jeff Suppan, Placido Polanco, Roy Oswalt, Paul Konerko, Albert Pujols and David Ortiz.

The first thing we notice? six pitchers, six hitters, so we’re fairly balanced. The next thing? I don’t see any Cody Ross caliber players?

The worst player on that list is Jeff Suppan, and he’s a pitcher, not an 8-hole hitter. Most of those guys are perennial MVP/Cy Young candidates.

The next (and probably most important thing) we notice? Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, Placido Polanco and Roy Oswalt are on that list….and they’re also on the Phillies. Not only that, Hamels was a World Series MVP as well (and he’s the number THREE starter).

To further emphasize the talent on the Phillies roster, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard are regular season MVPs…and we haven’t even mentioned the Phillies best hitter in Chase Utley. Oh…and somebody named Roy Halladay…who had a fairly decent postseason debut.

2. Their regular season record IS 22 games above .500, but their record against teams that can score runs is not. If we take the top three NL teams in runs we get the Reds, Phillies, and Rockies.

If we examine the Giants record against these teams, we see they are a very average 18-15. If we include the Red Sox (No, 2 in the AL) in interleague play we get to 19-17.

The Giants record against teams that can score runs tells us all we need to know about what kind of club they are…and they showcased that in the NLDS against the Braves.

After they won that series a lot of Giants fans began running their mouth about how they’re the underdog, and nobody is taking them seriously, insert final cliche here. Who cares?

Your team is built around a bunch of misfits, has-beens, and never was players, anchored by a dominant starting rotation in Timmy, Cain, and Sanchez (which I will not discount…they’re solid).

3. Playoff experience. This won’t require too much explanation for the bulk of you that have watched what the Phil’s have done in the last few years. They’re the real deal, and they’re only getting better.

When was the last time a ROOKIE CATCHER led his team to a world series? 1966. We have already seen a no-hitter this postseason, so you never know.

4. Home field advantage for San Francisco doesn’t exist. Moving from the Cracker Jack Box that is Citizens Bank Park to AT & T Park is only going to make it even more difficult to score runs.

Citizens bank was 10th in baseball with 1.125 HR allowed per game, while AT & T was 20th in the league with .885 homeruns allowed per game…and that was during the summer. Few balls will leave the Giants bats and make it through the thick October nights and into the bleachers.

If the Giants team was built on speed that would be one thing, but nothing could be further from the truth. No team in the Major Leagues stole fewer bases than the San Francisco Giants.

They tied the Chicago Cubs for the fewest steals in the league with a whopping 55. The Phillies on the other hand,  finished the regular season with 108 steals. Advantage: Philly.

5. The Phillies starting three are too good. Halladay will pitch on short rest, meaning a seven game schedule would consist of Halladay three times, Oswalt twice and Hamels twice. You beat Halladay once, what are the odds on beating him again…or two more times?

He lost 10 games in 33 starts…so on average he will lose one of the three games he pitches…and he’s already done that. Will one of the worst offenses in recent playoff memory be the team to knock Halladay around three times in a row?

I’m shaking my head because I know there are Giants fans that are claiming they can do it.

“SAN FRANCISCO OWNS HALLADAY!! HE IS 0-2 AGAINST US THIS YEAR!!” True, but that’s very flawed logic. First, the regular season game he lost didn’t feature Cody Ross. Meaning this second go around didn’t have the same players as did the first one.

Not to mention that game was only Halladay’s fifth start of the year. Lets look at who did the damage that game. Halladay allowed five runs in a 5-1 loss. So who tagged Halladay for those five runs? Two of them were driven in by Whiteside, two by DeRosa. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I haven’t seen their names on any lineups thus far in the postseason.

Of the 10 hits allowed by Halladay that first game, two were from Sandoval, two were from Renteria, two from Whiteside, and one each from Bowker, Torres, Huff, and DeRosa.

How many of these players were even in the lineup against Halladay the second go around? Torres and Huff. How much did they benefit from seeing him a second time around? 2-9, zero RBI’s. So take that “favorable” matchup for what it’s worth.

You want to focus on matchups? Cain lost his only start versus Philly this year by a score of 2-8. Bumgarner was 0-4 against the top three scoring NL teams I mentioned earlier.

Congratulations on making it this far, the Giants have clearly demonstrated they are the best of the worst teams eligible to fill this slot in the postseason. It would have been difficult to write this about the Padres, but they would have been swept in the first round before I even got around to it.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t go out there and cheer for your team, just be a little more humble about it. You’re fortunate enough to have gotten this far.

The Giants pitching staff should keep them competitive for the next few years, and Buster Posey caliber players will continue to emerge from a strong farm system that continues to develop talent.

If you guys pull it out, good for you. If not, try not to blame the umps.

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Even after just two games in this NLCS, one thing is as clear as ever: The two-time defending NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies have their hands full this time around.  These San Francisco Giants are not “your father’s Giants.”  This team has gotten it done all season long with pitching and timely hitting when necessary, and present a very tough challenge for the Phillies in the NLCS.

The Phillies, hoping to get to a third consecutive World Series, are playing a different type of game this time around and it has worked to fruition.  It’s been their pitching, not offense, that has brought them here. Their H20 rotation of Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt has carried them as their bats were often silenced this season.

The Giants on the other hand have an entirely different lineup than they did in the beginning of the season and caught fire down the stretch to rip the NL West away from the San Diego Padres.  Pitching alone may not be enough for San Francisco, but Cody Ross has made sure that pitching isn’t the only thing the Giants can do as well as the Phillies in this series.  

With two games in the rearview mirror, it’s now a best-of-five with the Giants holding home-field advantage, hosting the next three games in consecutive days.  This may go down to the wire.  Someone will need to swing the pendulum of momentum out West before the series shifts back to Philadelphia, if necessary.

Now, let’s go ahead and bear witness to some of the better performances over the weekend.  

Begin Slideshow

Surprise, surprise.  A 2010 playoff game ended up being all about pitching.

Game 2 of the National League Championship Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants ended up being a story of the two starting pitchers:  Roy Oswalt and Jonathan Sanchez.

Oswalt pitched an absolute gem, throwing eight innings of three-hit baseball, allowing only one run while striking out nine and walking three.

It was just what the Phillies needed to even up the series after the Giants did the unthinkable by beating Roy Halladay in Game 1.

Sanchez didn’t pitch poorly for the Giants, but he was still out-dueled by Oswalt.

In the first inning, Sanchez was wild.  He struck out the side, but only after three walks and an error, leading to an unearned run.

Sanchez then settled down and started mowing down Phillies batters, and his teammates eventually rewarded him when Cody Ross launched a home run off Oswalt in the fifth.

But the Phillies immediately retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth after a leadoff double and two sacrifice flies.

Philadelphia would hold on to the lead and extend it, eventually winning the game, 6-1.

So, what does this mean for each team?

San Francisco Giants

This certainly isn’t the end of the world for San Francisco.  They are still in very good shape.  At the start of the series, the Phillies had Hallday, Oswalt and Cole Hamels lined up to start the first three games. 

Staring down that murderer’s row of pitchers, the Giants teed off on Halladay in Game 1, earning the win and establishing confidence.

If they can hit Halladay, they can hit anyone.  Though they didn’t hit Oswalt last night, they should still be confident when they have to face him again.

Also, the Giants went into Philly and earned a split.  That’s about as good of an outcome as they could have hoped for.  Now the pressure is on the Phillies to win a game in San Francisco.

Philadelphia Phillies

That win was just what the doctor ordered for the Phillies.  Game 2 is too early for a must-win game in most playoff series, but it was just that for Philadelphia.

You can’t go down 2-0 heading to San Francisco and hope to win two ballgames against the Giants’ young arms.

Cole Hamels vs. Matt Cain in Game 3 on Tuesday afternoon will be the pivotal matchup in this year’s NLCS.

Whoever wins that game will be in the driver’s seat for the rest of the series.

While the matchup appears to be about pitching, it’s more about the offenses.

Can the Phillies build off their offensive success in Game 2, or will the Giants’ young arms return to form and shut them down.

Also, how will the lefty Hamels fare against the right-handed bats the Giants bring to the table.

Game 3 Prediction

Matt Cain and the San Francisco Giants will take their first home game in this series, 3-2.  San Francisco’s offense will do just enough against Hamels to earn a victory, while Cain will hold Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and the Philadelphia offense to few enough runs to get the win.

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When Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel walked to the mound in the eighth inning, talked with his starting pitcher, and walked back to the dugout, as a San Francisco Giants fan I was hoping this would be his Grady Little moment. Little, once the manager of the Boston Red Sox, infamously left ace Pedro Martinez on the mound in the 2003 ALCS and watched him implode against the New York Yankees.

But with the way Roy Oswalt was pitching, it was a fool’s hope. He was clicking on all cylinders, and there was little the Giants could do to make Manuel pay.

Oswalt was what Roy Halladay was not in Game 1: stifling. On the other side, Giants left-hander Jonathan Sanchez, who struck out 11 Atlanta Braves in his first postseason start, struggled out of the gate. Sanchez was a very dependable third starter this season for the staff that led the major leagues in ERA, winning 13 games. But if there was one knock on him it was his wildness. He led the majors with 96 walks in 193 innings, a concerning ratio. And the negative managed to rear its ugly head, in the form of three first-inning walks and 35 painful pitches.

He was all over the place, but the home plate umpire was too, calling clear balls strikes and clear strikes balls. One blown call came with the bases loaded. Entering his appearance against Jimmy Rollins, the 27-year old  had struck out two, walked two, and witnessed a throwing error by third baseman Mike Fontenot that brought Aubrey Huff well off the first-base bag. Forty-six thousand were on their feet as Rollins dug in, then they cheered profusely as umpire Dan Iassogna inexplicably called a 3-1 pitch that clearly nipped the inside corner a ball, allowing Chase Utley to walk home for the game’s first run.

Iassogna gave pitchers the outside corner throughout, but he was far from kind when they painted the inner portion. For Sanchez’s pitch to reach the inside corner, as a lefty the ball has to cross the plate somehow. But, Sanchez somehow managed to put that blown call behind him and allow just the single run, striking out Raul Ibañez to end the threat.

When the bases were loaded, the Giants were wary of Sanchez’s rough start, as reliever Guillermo Mota was loosening in the bullpen. But Sanchez forced Mota to sit back down in limiting the damage, and the bullpen didn’t stir for a while as he settled into a groove. A lot of pitches were thrown. Some more walks were issued and hits were allowed, but he persevered, putting up three straight zeros and then was rightfully rewarded for his efforts by an unsurprising bat.

Oswalt had cruised through the first four innings, pitching very effectively and economically to keep his pitch count low entering the fifth. With one out in that inning, Cody Ross stepped to the plate. The same bearded Cody Ross who slugged two inside fastballs in nearly the exact same section of the left-field seats in Game 1. Oswalt missed away with the first pitch, but then made a costly mistake.

A fastball was fired in, approaching the inside corner, right in Ross’ wheelhouse. And he didn’t miss it, crushing the pitch to nearly the same exact spot as Saturday night’s two. It was an amazing scene, and for the third time in as many nights groans from Phillies fans and screams of joy from Giants fans could be heard after liftoff.

Groans turned to cheers and cheers screams of joy turned to groans as Philadelphia quickly fought back, receiving a leadoff double by Shane Victorino just past a diving Fontenot at third and two sacrifice flies by their big hitters to snag a 2-1 lead. San Francisco now had to get another run out of Oswalt to have a chance of heading home with a 2-0 series advantage, but Oswalt made sure Ross’ majestic shot was all his opponent would muster.

His fastball was lively, sitting at a deceptively quick 93 on the gun all night. His sinker was sharp, and his changeup had its late movement. Sanchez managed to pitch into the seventh, which was a tremendous feat given his first-inning woes and early high-pitch count, but Oswalt was the man of the match. Tim Lincecum unquestionably led his Giants in Game 1, and Oswalt did the same for his Phillies, striking out hitters right and left to put together a superb outing.

Despite his excellence, it was only a one-run margin. That was, until the seventh, when the bullpen fell apart. Manager Bruce Bochy, who trusted Sanchez enough to pitch him in the do-or-die 162nd game against the San Diego Padres, sent him back out there to only pull him one batter in. His 100th pitch was slapped up the middle by Oswalt of all hitters, and then Sanchez, receiving a bevy of high-fives, took his seat on the bench and looked on in horror as the bullpen imploded.

After his replacement, Ramon Ramirez, allowed the Phillies third run to score, Rollins delivered the crushing blow against Santiago Casilla, lacing a double into the right-center gap to plate three teammates. The lead was now 6-1, and Philadelphia would go on to win by that margin, as Oswalt pitched the eighth and Ryan Madson handled the ninth to even the series.

The series now heads to San Francisco, with the Phillies bats hot and every Giant except for Ross not. He can’t do it all, and if the Giants are going to reach their first World Series since 2002 they need other bats to wake up so Oswalt’s performance can’t be duplicated.

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Anyone who thought that this would be an easy series…do you have your answer yet?

A day after the Giants eked out a one-point win on the defending National League champions, the Phightin’s turned around to pull off a 6-1 win to even up the series at one game apiece.

The only thing that was more ironic than the spelling of Cody Ross’ name spelled backwards (Sorry Doc), was another solo shot from Cody Ross on a pitch in the same place to break up another no-hitter tonight.

The man affectionately named “Little Roy” in Philadelphia, attempted to do it all with eight innings of work, only giving up three hits, striking out nine, with a 1.12 ERA, a hit and he scored a run as well.

The second installment of the three aces scored from second, running through the third base coach Sam Perlozzo’s stop sign to score the team’s third run of the night. When asked about what was going through his mind, Oswalt said that he read the ball well off the bat and had made up his mind to score. Halfway there he saw the stop sign, but it was too late to stop—his mind was made up.

Jimmy Rollins, who batted sixth, ended up in the right place, at the right time, clearing the bases in the seventh, on a double giving the Phillies a 6-1 lead that they would never look back on.

The last game Jimmy had a RBI in was on October 1st against the Braves, in which he also had four.

When asked if he saw any advantages to batting in that spot, he was very reluctant to commit his heart to the six-hole, but he did admit that, tonight, he was happy to be in that position.

Tonight, however, demonstrated to the Giants why it’s so hard to stop the Phillies. They will have to find a way to stop the offense of the Philadelphia Phillies for 51 more innings, while, simultaneously, defeating their lights-out pitching.

We saw the same thing last year in the World Series. The Phillies were able to take a lot of hype, compress it into a chip to place on their shoulder and take it into Game 1 to muster out a win. However, the odds were against them to be able to sustain that for another three games in a seven game series.

They sent their ace, who at the time was Cliff Lee, back out there to get them another win. But that’s all a seven game series would allow them…two wins.

The Phillies’ batters look to be heating up, even against Tim Lincecum last Saturday night. In the long run, though, if the Giants are going to beat the Phillies, they’ll have to shut them down—not outplay them.

If you let the Phillies get into a rhythm, it’s very rare you outplay them.

All in all, Game 2 is in the books and the Phillies won 6-1, the series is 1-1 and we’re catching a red-eye flight to San Francisco, for a Cole Hamels versus Matt Cain showdown at AT&T Park on Tuesday, October 19th.

The place to catch it, FOX; the time, 4:19 ET.

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A masterful outing by “Little Roy” Oswalt and a two-hit, four RBI night by shortstop Jimmy Rollins carried the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants, evening their NLCS at one game apiece.

To the delight of their hometown fans, the Phillies more resembled the team that was the hottest in baseball over the final two months of the regular season.  While their offense was not electric, they did come alive for eight hits, while drawing five walks and stealing three bases.

The key to the game was the dominance of Oswalt, who also more resembled the co-ace that was unbeatable at Citizens Bank Park the last two-plus months, save his sub-par performance in Game Two of the NLDS versus Cincinnati.  Oswalt would yield only three hits, while fanning nine and walking three in eight sharp innings.

Oswalt even took a no-hitter and a 1-0 lead to the fifth inning before he left a pitch where the volcano-hot Cody Ross could handle it.  Babe Ross deposited the inside fastball deep into the left-center seats to tie the game at 1-1.  The encouraging sign?  While Ross also drove one deep to center that Shane Victorino hauled in, the Phils did limit Ross to only one homer.

The Phillies did not exactly hammer Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez, who struck out seven and yielded five hits in his six innings.  They did take advantage of Sanchez’ early lack of control to manufacture a run in the bottom of the first. 

After Victorino struck out looking, Chase Utley—who switched spots in the batting order with Placido Polanco—coaxed a walk, and stole second.  Polanco followed with a soft bouncer to third baseman Mike (don’t call me Brooks) Fontenot whose slightly errant throw eluded first baseman Aubrey Huff.  With runners on first and third, Ryan Howard drew a walk from a full count.

Home plate umpire Dan Iassogna seemed to figure in the fortunes of the next two batters.  Jayson Werth was called out looking on a pitch that appeared to be around Werth’s shoulders.  In stepped Jimmy Rollins with two outs and the bases still jammed.  It appeared that Sanchez’ fourth ball to Rollins (“driving in” the game’s first run) got a little of the plate, but perhaps Iassogna owed them one.  The Giants’ lefty did come back to strike out Raul Ibanez, limiting the damage to just one run.

The Phillies responded to Ross’ blast with a run of their own to recapture the lead at 2-1 after five.  Victorino led off the bottom of the fifth with a rope down the left field line for a double, and advanced to third on Utley’s fly ball to Ross.  Polanco lofted a fly to medium center to score the man known as The Flyin’ Hawaiian.

The two-time defending NL champs gave their pleasantly surprised fans a bigger dose of small ball in the seventh to put the game out of reach.  Oswalt led off with a solid hit up the middle that served to take Sanchez out of the game.  Victorino bunted the pitcher over, and Utley was intentionally walked (curiously?) with the base open.

Polanco, liking the three-hole, singled cleanly up the middle. Oswalt, ignoring the stop sign flashed by third base coach Sam Perlozzo, came around to score to put the Phils up by two.  After a double steal by Utley and Polanco, and an intentional walk to Werth to load the bases, the stage was set for Rollins in the type of big spot he usually covets.

Although Rollins had registered a hit earlier in the game, it was only because third baseman Fontenot forgot to put his glove under a pop-up that any half-decent Little Leaguer would have camped under.  With a 2-0 count, Rollins attacked a borderline low pitch and drilled it to deep center, one-hopping the wall, and scoring all three runners.  6- 1, Phillies, and with the way Oswalt was dealing, the game was effectively over.

In the final analysis, the return to form from Rollins and the little ball displayed by an offense that often seems to wait for the three-run homer have to be good signs for the Phillies, as they still have to figure out ways to score against a great Giants pitching staff. 

Factor in the terrific outing by Oswalt—with Cole Hamels set to pitch Game Three— and it’s now a whole new series with the action resuming Tuesday afternoon in San Francisco.

GOLD NOTES:

Placido Polanco’s RBI single in the bottom of the seventh was the Phillies first hit in 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Babe Ruth, Rusty Staub, Willie Stargell, and…Cody Ross?  With his solo shot in the fifth, Babe Ross became only the fourth player to hit his team’s first three homers in a postseason series. 

Polanco may have been out of the baseline on the play in the first inning where Fontenot was charged with a throwing error.  The Giants did not appear to protest the non-call.

One of the biggest cheers of the night was for both manager Charlie Manuel and Oswalt in the top of the eighth.  With runners on first and second and two outs, left-handed first baseman Aubrey Huff stepped into the batter’s box.  Manuel came out to the mound to talk to Oswalt, who apparently talked Manuel into staying in the game.  He did, Manuel returned to the dugout to a nice ovation, and Oswalt retired Huff to end the inning.

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It was the matchup everyone was waiting for: Tim Lincecum vs. Roy Halladay. Roy Halladay pitched a no-hitter in this postseason’s first game, while Tim Lincecum threw a two-hit shutout complemented by 14 K’s.

In Game 1 of the NLCS, however, neither pitcher lived up to the expectations of a 1-0 game.

Roy Halladay gave up four earned runs in seven innings of work last night, including two home runs to Cody Ross. Tim Lincecum got the win, matching Halladay’s seven innings and giving up three earned runs. 

Neither pitcher was even close to being the player of the game. Both were in the shadows of Cody Ross, who had Roy Halladay’s number last night, bashing two homers off him. Lincecum gave up home runs to Carlos Ruiz and Jayson Werth. So, while the theme in Game 1 was supposed to be pitching, it turned out to be the long ball.

The Giants put the heavily favored Phillies behind in the series, 1-0, when Brian Wilson came in to get the save, striking out four out of the four batters he faced. 

But the Phillies do not need to worry. Between Oswalt and Hamels, I like the Phillies’ chances of winning the next two games.

Oswalt has a 1.74 ERA since joining the Phils earlier this year, and Hamels has been pitching much better this year than he did in 2009. Hamels looked great throwing a shutout against the Reds to finish off the sweep of the Reds. Additionally, Hamels knows how to pitch in the playoffs. When the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, Hamels was awarded the World Series MVP.

Although this is the first time the Phils have lost Game 1 of a postseason series in three years, they just seem to win every playoff series they are in. In the Phillies last seven postseason series, they have only lost one.

With Oswalt going in Game 2 against Jonathan Sanchez, one has to think that there is going to be a pitching duel. Oswalt has been dominant for the Phils this year, especially at Citizens Bank Park. Sanchez has been great against the Phillies this year with a 1.38 ERA against them. 

With Oswalt’s experience of pitching in the playoffs for the Astros, the Phillies have the edge in pitching experience for Game 2. Sanchez is a postseason rookie pitching in a hostile Citizens Bank Park. 

In Game 3, the pitching matchup will be Cole Hamels vs. Matt Cain in San Francisco. Hamels is one of the best playoff pitchers left in this year’s postseason. Cain is a postseason rookie just as Sanchez, but he is not bad for a first-timer. Cain gave up no earned runs in 6.2 innings against the Braves in Game 2 of the NLDS.

Cain was chosen to start by manager Bruce Bochy in Game 3 instead of Game 2 because of his 5.29 career ERA at Citizens Bank Park. He will start at AT&T Park, where he has had a career 3.16 ERA.

The Phillies have to hold the edge in Game 3 with Hamels, who seems to always be lights-out in the playoffs. I believe Cain will pitch a good game, but the Phillies have too much star power with the bats, and will manage to score enough runs for Hamels.

In Game 4, it’s Joe Blanton going for the Fightin’ Phils and Madison Bumgarner for the Giants. Blanton has been far from good this year and Bumgarner is not only a playoff rookie, he is a first-year Major League pitcher. In terms of pitching, I am going to give the Giants a slight edge, but pitching will not be as much of a factor in this game as in the first three.

If there is any game in this series that will be a slugfest, it will be Game 4.

Whichever team shows up to hit the ball in Game 4 will probably be the winner. If the Giants can get an early lead, I think they will win the game. The way the Phillies can win the game is if Blanton gives up fewer than five runs and the Phillies just hit the ball pretty well against Bumgarner. 

In Game 4, I believe the Giants have the best chance at winning the game.

If Game 5 is necessary, it will be a 50-50 toss-up, just like Game 1. Don’t expect another 4-3 game, think more along the lines of 2-0 or 2-1. Halladay will toss a great game and Lincecum should match him. With the game at AT&T Park, I like the Giants to win Game 5 with Tim Lincecum pitching a complete game.

If Game 6 is necessary, it will look very similar to Game 2 with Oswalt going against Sanchez. At Citizens Bank Park again, I have to stick with Oswalt in the matchup.

Oswalt has the experience of pitching in big NLCS games in Houston, and he has been brilliant at home for the Phillies this year. The X factor in Game 6 will be the home-field advantage for Oswalt and the Phils. I like Oswalt to outduel Sanchez and win Game 6 for the Phils.

If all of my predictions are correct and this series goes to Game 7, the pitching matchup between Hamels and Cain is the most likely scenario. If that is the case, the Phillies will be heavily favored to win Game 7. Cole Hamels will be dominant, there is almost no question about it. So Matt Cain will have to match Hamels with an absolute gem, and that is no easy task for Cain in Philadelphia.

The Phillies fans will be relentless and make it hard for Cain, along with the rest of the team. Cain has struggled in his career in Philadelphia and I don’t see that changing. Hamels will pitch a good Game 7 and the Phillies will score enough runs off Cain to pull off the win.

The Giants will definitely give the Phillies a run for their money in this series. But between the pitching, hitting and playoff experience of the Phils, they will find a way to win this series.

They always do. 

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