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Phillies advance to Fall Classic
Cole Hamels tossed seven innings of one-run ball to pick up his second win of the National League Championship Series - as well as series MVP honors - as the visiting Phillies topped the Dodgers 5-1 in Game 4 to advance to the World Series for the first time since 1993. Jimmy Rollins led off the game with a solo shot off L.A.'s Chad Billingsley, who lasted just 2 2/3 innings and surrendered the first three Phillies runs. The Phillies tacked on two more runs in the third on RBI singles by Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell and pulled away with a two-run fifth that was fueled by three errors by Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal. By Jay LeBlanc.
Rays a win away from World Series
Tampa Bay embarrassed the defending World Champion Red Sox on their home turf for the second straight night, blasting their way to a 13-4 win to take a 3-1 lead in the ALCS. Willy Aybar homered and knocked in five runs, Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena slugged two-run shots and Carl Crawford went 5-for-5 with three runs scored and a pair of RBI in the rout. Right-hander Andy Sonnanstine was the beneficiary, allowing three runs in 7 1/3 innings of work to earn the victory. By Jay LeBlanc.
Phils rally late, take 3-1 NLCS lead
The Dodgers led by two entering the eighth inning of Game 4 of the NLCS last night, but Shane Victorino tied the score with a two-run blast and Matt Stairs slugged a two-run shot of his own three batters later to lift the visiting Phillies to a 7-5 win and a 3-1 series lead. Brad Lidge got the final four outs to seal the win for the Phillies, who will send ace Cole Hamels to the mound Wednesday night as they look to make their first trip to the World Series since 1993. Earlier in the day, the Rays trounced the Red Sox 9-1 at Fenway to take a 2-1 ALCS lead behind four homers and a solid pitching performance by Matt Garza. By Jay LeBlanc.
Dodger bats come alive in Game 3
Back home and facing a 2-0 deficit in the NLCS, the Dodgers put up five runs in the first and rode another strong postseason outing by Hiroki Kuroda to a 7-2 Game 3 victory. The 33-year-old Japanese import, who tossed 6 1/3 shutout innings to earn the win in the decisive Game 3 of the NLDS against the Cubs, improved to 2-0 this October by allowing two runs on five hits in six-plus innings of work. Blake DeWitt provided the big hit with a three-run triple during L.A.'s first-inning outburst. Tempers flared in the third when Kuroda nearly hit Philly's Shane Victorino in the head. The benches emptied, but no punches were thrown. By Jay LeBlanc.
Shallow sac fly ends epic slugfest
Game 1 of the ALCS featured a thrilling pitchers' duel between Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tampa Bay's James Shields, and more of the same was expected in Game 2 with Josh Beckett taking the hill for the Red Sox and Scott Kazmir for the Rays. Instead, the A.L. East rivals treated fans to a five-plus hour slugfest that featured seven homers and 17 runs. The Rays edged the Sox 9-8 when Fernando Perez raced home on B.J. Upton's shallow sac fly in the bottom of the 11th, tying the series at a game apiece as the teams head to Boston. By Jay LeBlanc.
KILL - Shallow sac fly ends epic slugfest
Game 1 of the ALCS featured a thrilling pitcher's duel between Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tampa Bay's James Shields, and more of the same was expected in Game 2 with Josh Beckett taking the hill for the Red Sox and Scott Kazmir for the Rays. Instead, the A.L. East rivals treated fans to a five-plus hour slugfest that featured 24 hits, seven home runs and 17 runs. The Rays edged the Sox 9-8 when Fernando Perez raced home on B.J. Upton's shallow sac fly in the bottom of the 11th inning, tying the series at a game apiece as the teams head to Boston. By Jay LeBlanc.
Dice-K pitches Sox to Game 1 win
Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tampa Bay's James Shields went toe-to-toe in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series and Matsuzaka emerged victorious, blanking the Rays on four hits over seven innings while fanning nine to lift the Red Sox to a 2-0 win at Tropicana Field. In the N.L., the Phillies teed off on Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley for four runs in the second inning and four more in the third and held on for an 8-5 victory yesterday afternoon to take a 2-0 lead over the Dodgers as the series shifts to Los Angeles. By Jay LeBlanc.
KILL - Dice-K pitches Sox to Game 1 win
Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tampa Bay's James Shields went toe-to-toe in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series and Matsuzaka emerged victorious, blanking the Rays on four hits over seven innings while fanning nine to lift the Red Sox to a 2-0 win at Tropicana Field. The Phillies teed off on Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley for four runs in the second inning and four more in the third and held on for an 8-5 victory yesterday afternoon to take a 2-0 lead over the Dodgers as the National League Championship Series shifts to Los Angeles. By Jay LeBlanc.
Hamels, homers lift Phils in Game 1
Cole Hamels overcame a shaky start to toss seven innings of two-run ball and Chase Utley and Pat Burrell homered during a three-run sixth-inning rally as the Phillies beat the visiting Dodgers 3-2 to take a 1-0 lead in the National League Championship Series. Losing pitcher Derek Lowe breezed through the potent Phillies lineup for the first five innings before an error and a pair of gopher balls sent him to the showers in the sixth. Phillies closer Brad Lidge put a scare into the Citizens Bank Park crowd by allowing a pair of warning-track fly balls in the ninth before fanning rookie Blake DeWitt to nail down the win. By Jay LeBlanc.
ALCS & NLCS predictions
The four of us who write for this site - Jay LeBlanc, Nick Leco, Sean Raposa and Tom Stad - agonized over our Division Series predictions, crunching numbers and examining matchups while factoring in home-field advantage and playoff experience. Jay's girlfriend Amanda has a clue about baseball but that's about the extent of it, and just went with her gut feeling. Guess who correctly predicted the winners of all four series? Fortunately for the rest of us, the League Championship Series provide a mulligan. Here are the National Pastime staff's LCS predictions. Enjoy.
All-time October standouts
Last week we took a look back at a few of the all-time greatest single-game postseason performances. This week, as we get prepared for the League Championship Series, we'll celebrate the accomplishments of some of the all-time greatest postseason players. These guys were made for October baseball and continually came through in the clutch when it mattered most. By Nick Leco.
KILL - ALCS & NLCS predictions
The four of us who write for the site - Jay LeBlanc, Nick Leco, Sean Raposa and Tom Stad - agonized over our selections, crunching numbers, examining matchups and taking into account other factors like home-field advantage and playoff experience. Jay's girlfriend Amanda has a clue about baseball but that's about the extent of it, and just went with her gut feeling. Guess who correctly predicted all four series? Fortunately for the rest of us, the League Championship Series provide a mulligan. Here are the National Pastime staff's LCS predictions. Enjoy.
KILL - All-time October standouts
Last week we took a look back at a few of the all-time greatest individual postseason performances. As the Division Series wind down and we get prepared for the League Championship Series, we'll celebrate the accomplishments of some of the all-time greatest postseason players. These guys were made for October baseball and continually came through in the clutch when it mattered most. By Nick Leco.
Red Sox, Rays to battle for A.L. crown
Jed Lowrie singled in Jason Bay with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Red Sox to a dramatic 3-2 American League Division Series-clinching victory over the Angels last night at Fenway Park. Boston's win sets up an ALCS showdown between the defending World Series champs and their division rivals from Tampa Bay, who closed out their series against the White Sox with a 6-2 win earlier in the day behind two homers from B.J. Upton and some solid pitching by starter Andy Sonnanstine and relievers J.P. Howell and Grant Balfour. By Jay LeBlanc.
Phillies punch ticket to NLCS
Jimmy Rollins led off the game with a longball, Pat Burrell slugged two homers and Jayson Werth also went deep as the Phillies finished off the Brewers with a 6-2 win to advance to the NLCS against Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers. In the American League, Erick Aybar's RBI single in the top of the 12th proved to be the winning margin as the Angels extended their season with a 5-4 victory over the Red Sox at Fenway. The White Sox also survived to play another day by beating the Rays 5-3 behind another clutch performance by lefty John Danks. By Jay LeBlanc.
