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Phillies Up 2-0 in NLDS, head to Milwaukee
The Phillies have finally managed to win their first two games of a postseason series since the year that they won it all. Phenomenal pitching has helped this Philly ball club to a 2-0 lead in the series against the Wild Card Milwaukee Brewers. Cole Hamels and Brett Myers have dominated the Brewer bats so far and the Milwaukee players have no answers for them. The Phillies have had the home crowd on their side and you can see a huge difference from this year compared to last year, when the Phils were shut out by the Colorado Rockies in the NLDS.
In the first game, the Phillies got the lead and Cole Hamels was able to make it last. Cole Hamels went 8 innings giving up only two hits in the game and he struck out nine, including Brewers Prince Fielder three times. The only runs came in one inning when Chase Utley drove a ball deep to center field and it seemed like Gold Glover Mike Cameron just did not see it as it bounced off of his glove. That allowed two runs to score and then a couple of batters later, Yovani Gallardo would walk Shane Victorino to give the Phillies the three runs they needed. That is all that Cole Hamels would need in the game as he was dominant from start to finish. Brad Lidge came on in the ninth and it took him 32 pitches to close the door. He gave up an RBI double to Ryan Braun and he had two runners on before striking out Corey Hart on a 3-2 fastball to end the game. The Phillies held on to win the game 3-1.
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In the second game, the Brewers had their stopper, C.C. Sabathia pitching. Sabathia was pitching on three days rest for the fourth time in a row and it did not bode well for him. He had trouble with his command early and after the Brewers took the lead in the first inning, the Phillies came right back with five runs off of Sabathia including Shane Victorino’s first career grand slam. The Phillies had a runner on 3 rd base with Brett Myers coming to the plate with two outs in the inning. Myers fought off Sabathia for a nine pitch at bat before walking him. Then, he walked Jimmy Rollins and served up a 1-2 fastball to Victorino and Victorino did not miss it. As for Myers, after getting into some trouble in the first inning, he came back strong for seven innings as he gave up two runs on two hits. C.C struggled mightily and maybe all that time on short rest finally got to him. He did not make it out of the fourth inning giving up five earned runs. The Phillies won the game 5-2.
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Now the Phillies head to Milwaukee and they have an opportunity to sweep the Brewers and look at a possible matchup with the L.A. Dodgers who are also leading 2-0 in their series. Milwaukee will send Dave Bush to the mound and Philly will counter with ageless wonder Jamie Moyer Saturday evening.
By Andrew Nuscis
Philadelphia Phillies & Tampa Bay Rays Correspondent
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