The Philadelphia Phillies blasted their way past the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-4 in the early hours of this morning (British time) to book a return date to the World Series.  Four home runs, including two by Jayson Werth, were swatted by the home team at Citizens Bank Park as they completed a 4-1 NLCS victory.Â
Cole Hamels didn’t give the Phillies an ace-type performance as they had hoped, conceding three runs in 4.1 innings, but he didn’t need to. Vicente Padilla turned back into a pumpkin (six earned runs in three innings) and Clayton Kershaw’s two-inning effort in relief was spoiled by a two-run shot by Shane Victorino. It was an abrupt end to the Dodgers’ season, yet they can have few complaints despite hitting three homers themselves in game five. The Phillies are a strong side and they now have a World Series repeat firmly in their sights.Â
Whether it’s the Yankees or the Angels who will meet them in the Fall Classic, they are going to have to play to their full potential if they are to have a chance of stopping the defending champs from successfully defending their world championship.
6 comments
There was certainly a lot of hitting out there last night – it looked like carnage! The Phillies will have to pitch a lot tighter in the World Series, you’d think. But then again, their pitching has been a question mark for some time, yet here they are in the World Series again…
While it’s unnatural for either of us to root for an AL West foe, when the Halos take on the Yankees tonight we have no choice but to get fully behind them, thundersticks and all I say. For the Yankees, desperation for postseason success is the only reason they agreed to the deal that Burnett got – so they’re going to be expecting a huge game from him.
Go Mariners (in 2010)!
Joe
Steve: pitching is an issue for the Phillies and they could have done with a more emphatic performance by Hamels, even though they won the game regardless. However, we’ve seen pitchers in the past come out of relative mediocrity and produce a great performance in the Fall Classic. Anthony Reyes and Jeff Weaver did it for the 2006 Cardinals and maybe someone like Joe Blanton or Pedro Martinez (the ’09 version) can do the same.
Joe: you’re dead right, rooting for the Angels doesn’t come easy! I’d love them to extend the series by at least one more game though. Burnett’s in a similar position to Hamels in fact: we all know he CAN be brilliant, but his team would be much more confident heading into the WS if he went out and showed it tonight.
Well, the Angels have kept the series alive with an exciting win in game five. Game six is Saturday night/Sunday morning.
Do you guys think an extended Yankees/Angels series will play to the Phillies advantage?
Will the Yankees/Angels be tired, and end up with rotation issues (say, if the Yankees use CC Sabathia in a game seven, he won’t be ready for game one of the World Series)?
Or do you think the Yankees/Angels will in fact be the team carrying the momentum into the series, with the Phillies sat at home for a week?
Hi Steve. It’s difficult to say. There’s been no definitive answer in recent years. Neither the ’06 Tigers nor ’07 Rockies lasted long in the World Series after sweeping their way into it and waiting for their opponents (in both cases the other Championship series went the full seven games). However, the Phillies beat the Dodgers 4-1 last year and sat back while the Rays battled to a 4-3 series win over the Red Sox, and it didn’t hurt them then.
I think in this case the key in terms of the length of the ALCS will be the impact on Sabathia, as you rightly point out. Burnett would likely be next in line to start the WS opener if they get there and that’s going to create a few nerves among Yankee fans.