|
|
Jimmy Rollins curled up to protect himself in the pile and took some ...
PHILADELPHIA - Jimmy Rollins curled up to protect himself in the pile and took some playful punches from his teammates. Brett Favre Authentic Jersey. One more win and the Fightin Phils will have another World Series trip to celebrate. Rollins lined a two-run double with two outs in the ninth inning off all-star closer <a href="http://www.shopped2u.com/"><strong>shox nz men</strong></a> Jonathan Broxton and the Philadelphia Phillies rallied past the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-4 Monday night for a 3-1 lead in the NL championship series. The defending champions can earn their second consecutive pennant with a victory at home in Game 5 on Wednesday night. Cole Hamels, last years NLCS and World Series MVP, will take the mound for the Phillies. Clayton Kershaw or Vicente Padilla will start for Los Angeles. "This is big," Rollins said. "The pressures all on them." Trailing 4-3, the Phillies started their rally with one out in the ninth when pinch-hitter Matt Stairs of Fredericton walked on four pitches against Broxton. Stairs hit a two-run homer off Broxton in Game 4 of the NLCS last year at Dodger Stadium. Broxton hit Carlos Ruiz with a pitch, but pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs looped a soft liner to third for the second out. Rollins, just 3-for-18 in the series to that point, ripped a 99 miles-per-hour fastball to right-centre and the ball rolled to the wall. Andre Ethiers throw toward the infield was high and off line, and Ruiz slid home without a play. Rollins pointed in the air as he rounded second and got mobbed by teammates at third base. Even Jamie Moyer, who just had surgery on his lower abdomen, limped out and joined the celebration. "Im all right. I had to curl up in the fetal position and throw some punches of my own," Rollins said before taking a cream pie in the face from a teammate. It was the second thrilling ending to a playoff game Monday. Hours earlier, Jeff Mathis hit an RBI double with two outs in the 11th inning to give the Los Angeles Angels a 5-4 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the AL championship series. It was the sixth time two post-season games have ended in walk-off fashion on the same day, according to STATS LLC. The previous time was Oct. 5, 2007, when Boston beat the Angels and Cleveland topped the Yankees in AL division series. Brad Lidge got two outs in the ninth to earn the win. Ryan Howard hit a two-run homer that gave him eight straight post-season games with at least one RBI, tying Lou Gehrigs major league record set more than seven decades ago. But J-Roll got the biggest hit for Philadelphia. "He likes the moment," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "He wants to be there, and he can control his adrenaline and he can handle the moment. The bigger the stage, the better he likes to play." Matt Kemp had a tiebreaking, solo homer for Los Angeles, and Manny Ramirez made a shoestring catch that prevented the tying run from scoring in the sixth. Before Rollins came through, Dodgers relievers hadnt allowed a hit in 3 1-3 innings. "Theyre a very tough lineup to go through," manager Joe Torre said. "You try to be careful. He almost dug himself out." Dodgers starter Randy Wolf pitched 5 1-3 effective innings against his former team while his "Wolf Pack" fan club sat in seats he left for them -- and rooted against him. George Sherrill struck out Howard with two runners on in the eighth and Broxton retired Jayson Werth on a fly ball to end the inning. At that point, Torre had made all the right moves one day after hearing criticism for starting Hiroki Kuroda in Game 3. Torre let Sherrill face Howard, even though he was 0-for-10 against Broxton. But Broxton couldnt nail down the four-out save. Now, the Dodgers are one loss from elimination. "He put some good wood on it and it went to the wall," Broxton said. "It was a good game, just let it get away in the ninth." Trailing 4-2 in the sixth, the Phillies got within a run on Chase Utleys RBI single. Shane Victorino tripled into the left-field corner as Ramirez nonchalantly chased after it. Victorino scored on Utleys liner to right. With two outs and runners at first and third, Raul Ibanez greeted reliever Hong-Chih Kuo with a liner to left on his first pitch. But Ramirez, known more for loafing than sensational grabs, saved the day -- momentarily -- for the Dodgers. Still, he was removed for defensive replacement Juan Pierre in the ninth. It was another brisk night -- seven degrees for the first pitch -- at Citizens Bank Park. Bundled-up fans kept warm by waving their "Fightin Phils!" rally towels and screaming "Beat LA! Beat LA!" They had plenty to cheer early when Howard ripped a 3-1 pitch to the seats in right, giving the Phillies a 2-0 lead in the first. Fans gave Howard a standing ovation and many chanted "M-V-P!" as he came out for the early curtain call. The streaking slugger has driven in a run in each of the Phillies eight playoff games this year. Gehrigs streak stretched over two World Series with the Yankees in 1928 and 1932. "Im just going to go up there and keep throwing my bat at the ball," Howard said. Making his first start since he lasted only 3 2-3 innings in Game 1 of the division series against St. Louis, Wolf gave up three runs and four hits. The Wolf Pack -- a group of fans who used to sit in the upper deck and cheer for Wolf when he pitched in Philadelphia -- was in the crowd. Wolf left them tickets, knowing they would root for their beloved Phillies. Philadelphia starter Joe Blanton allowed four runs -- three earned -- and six hits in six innings in his first post-season start after <a href="http://www.shopped2u.com/"><strong>Cheap GUCCI Handbags</strong></a> two relief appearances against Colorado in the first round. Coming off the most lopsided victory -- 11-0 -- in their post-season history, the Phillies jumped on the Dodgers in the first for the second straight night. But Wolf settled in and Los Angeles chipped away. Kemp, who started a two-run rally in the fourth by drawing a walk, put the Dodgers ahead 3-2 when he connected off Blanton in the fifth. Shaky defence by Philadelphia helped the Dodgers tack on a run in the sixth. Ramirez reached on third baseman Pedro Felizs throwing error, a ball that first baseman Howard couldve scooped. With two outs, Casey Blake looped an RBI single down the right-field line to give the Dodgers a 4-2 lead. Blake was 1 for 13 in the series before the hit. Blanton retired his first 10 batters before running into trouble in the fourth. James Loney and Russell Martin of Chelsea, Que., hit consecutive RBI singles to tie it at 2. Notes: Howard tied Mike Schmidts club record with his sixth career post-season homer. Howard has 14 RBIs this post-season and has reached base safely in 17 straight playoff games. ... Wolf was an All-Star with the Phillies in 2003 and started the first game at Citizens Bank Park in 04. ... Blake was 1 for 25 against Blanton before his RBI single. Matt Forte Jerseys. He was pulled out unscathed from under the rubble after more than 104 hours. A week after his brush with death, the 20-year-old decided it was time to repay his saviors, and joined the relief work as a volunteer. Brandon Graham Jerseys. Hes back on the disabled list. Sizemore was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday with a bruised right knee, an injury he sustained on a hard slide into second base last week. Terry Bradshaw Jerseys. The researchers compared the facial expressions from more than 4,800 photographs of sighted and blind judo athletes at the 2004 Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games. Replica Clay Matthews Jerseys. -- Washington Redskins free safety Kareem Moore will be sidelined four to six weeks after undergoing surgery on his sprained right knee. Ravens Authentic Terrell Suggs Jersey. The European Union is piling pressure on Internet companies to reduce the amount of time they hold users personal web searching data, saying in April that there was no basis for such information to be kept more than six months.PHILADELPHIA -- With his long, scraggly blonde hair, scruffy face and slender frame, Jayson Werth looks more like a surfer than a power hitter. Its easy to overlook Werth in Philadelphias potent lineup. Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins are the former MVPs. Chase Utley is the perennial all-star. Shane Victorino gets plenty of attention for his energy. But Werth fits right in with all the big boppers on the Phillies. Given the chance to play every day, the right-fielder had a breakout year. Hes carried his success into the post-season, helping the defending champions reach the World Series for the second straight year. Werth batted .268 with 36 homers, 99 RBIs and 20 steals, earning a trip to the all-star game in his first full season as a regular. Hes hitting .281 with five homers and 10 RBIs in nine playoff games. "Ever since he came to Philly, hes been getting better," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "The numbers that you see, to me hes more capable. I think he can even do better, because I think hes getting more consistent in <a href="http://www.shopped2u.com/"><strong>cheap adidas shoes for sale Free Shipping</strong></a> his at-bats and his pitch selection." Werths emergence has made it difficult for opponents to pitch around Howard, who was MVP of the NL championship series against Los Angeles. With Werth batting in the No. 5 spot, Howard has received just one intentional walk in the post-season. Pitching to either slugger has been a mistake. "I like hitting behind Howie, even though it seems like theres no one on base hitting fifth," Werth said, referring to Howards RBI ability. "But its exciting. I get to drive in a lot of runs and be a big part of the lineup right in the middle of it. Its a lot of fun, especially with this team." Werth is one of the most patient hitters in baseball. He had 91 walks in the regular season and led the majors in averaging 4.5 pitches per plate appearance. Werth, six-foot-five and 222 pounds, has long arms and long legs, which helps his plate coverage. He can hit for power to the opposite field and had 21 homers to centre or right. "As long as he stays in what I call a strong, balanced hitting position, this guy, he is legit, man," Manuel said. "Hes got a lot of power, and he hits the ball all over the fieldd. Replica Michael Oher Jerseys Hes got pull power, and he can hit the ball to right field, centre field, and hes developed into a very tremendous right-fielder. Hes been a big addition to our team, and he plays a big part in our success." Werth was one of former Phillies general manager Pat Gillicks best finds. After sitting out the entire 2006 season with a wrist injury, Werth signed a one-year deal for US850,000. Werth was drafted in the first round, 22nd overall, by the Baltimore Orioles under Gillick. The Orioles traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2000 for John Bale, and they dealt him to the Los Angeles Dodgers for reliever Jason Frasor in 2004. Werth played well in a part-time role in 07 and platooned with Geoff Jenkins for most of 08 until taking over every day down the stretch. Werth finished last year with a .273 average, 24 homers, 67 RBIs and 20 steals. He boosted his average to .309 in the post-season and signed a US10 million, two-year contract in January. Before he came to the Phillies, Werths career was in jeopardy because of a unique wrist injury. He spent a few months during the summer of 06 wondering if hed ever play again. "There was a time where I didnt know where I was at as far as my injury and what was going to happen," Werth said. "I was sitting at home in Illinois, fishing off my boat, not having any idea what was going to happen. Baseball was done unless something got taken care of." Werth originally sustained the injury while playing for the Dodgers in 2005. He broke his left wrist in spring training when he got hit by a pitch from A.J. Burnett. Werth played 102 games despite the injury, but his numbers dropped significantly. The wrist problems lingered in 06 and he couldnt play. Werth finally went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., in August, and Dr. Richard Berger diagnosed the injury as a split tear of the UT ligament in his wrist. "I was really hoping that the guys at Mayo Clinic knew what they were doing, and they did," Werth said. "They diagnosed it and they did the surgery, and really it was not that big a deal, although it was very rare. I saw Dr. Berger was the only doctor at the time diagnosing and repairing my injury." ' ' '
|
Linear Mode
