The Philadelphia Phillies are on the verge of history with their 5-4 come from behind win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night in South Philadelphia. With the win, the Phillies have a commanding 3-1 series lead in the NLCS, and are only one win from their second consecutive National League Pennant in an effort to repeat as World Series Champions. Not many teams, especially in the National League, have reached the World Series two straight years. The Phillies are looking to become the first NL team to reach the World Series for the second straight season since the Atlanta Braves did so in 1995-1996. The Braves beat the Cleveland Indians 4-2 in the World Series in 1995 and lost to the New York Yankees 4-2 in 1996.
Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins is mobbed at third base after hitting a two-run walk-off double against the Dodgers in Game Four of the NLCS on Monday night.
The Braves performed the same feat in 1991-1992 when they lost in the World Series to the Minnesota Twins in seven games in 1991 and lost to the Toronto Blue Jays in six games in 1992. Prior to the Braves, the Los Angeles Dodgers performed this rare feat in 1977-1978 when they lost back to back World Series to the New York Yankees in six games both times. The last National League team to win two straight World Series titles was the 1975-1976 Cincinnati Reds. The Reds defeated the Red Sox in seven games in 1975 and the Yankees in a four game sweep in 1976.
Unless you live under a rock, you know how the Phillies have put themselves in the position they are in right now. With one out in the bottom of the ninth and the bases empty, Pedro Feliz was scheduled to hit for the Phillies Monday night. Feliz, who is hitting .148 in the postseason (.077 in the NLCS), was lifted for pinch hitter Matt Stairs. Stairs has 19 regular season pinch hit homeruns in his career and hit the biggest homerun in Phillies playoff history in game four of the NLCS in 2008 against Jonathan Broxton. Broxton has said often during the 2009 season that he would like to face Stairs again. This time the Phillies were trailing 4-3 in Philly, not tied at 5 in LA. Stairs dug in against Broxton, who did not throw one strike even remotely close to the strike zone. Obviously, the image of the Stairs homerun was still fresh in the mind of Broxton.
The Phillies mob Carlos Ruiz at homeplate after he scores the winning run Monday night in a 5-4 win over the Dodgers.
After Stairs took first, Manuel sent out Eric Bruntlett to pinch run for the power hitter as Carlos Ruiz stepped to the plate. On the first pitch of the at-bat Broxton threw a 96 MPH fastball inside to Ruiz, who took it off his elbow, putting the tying run at second and the winning run at first. The next batter to the plate, Jimmy Rollins, worked a 1-1 count against the overpowering right handed pitcher when lightning struck again in Philadelphia. Rollins laced a two out double into the right centerfield gap scoring Bruntlett as the tying run and Ruiz as the winning run. As Ruiz crossed the plate, the city of Philadelphia celebrated as the clock closed in on midnight.
The Phillies won the game 5-4 and took a 3-1 series lead with Game five slated to be played at 8pm on Wednesday night in Philadelphia. The reigning League and World Champions will send 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP Cole Hamels to the bump against former Phillie Vicente Padilla. Padilla threw 7.1 innings of one run ball in game two in LA for the Dodgers but did not factor in the decision as the Dodgers took the game 2-1. There is still a slight chance that the Dodgers might make a risky decision and throw Clayton Kershaw in game five, who was roughed up by the Phillies in game one, but they need to win this game. You never know what type of pitching decisions will be made with Joe Torre at the helm. As one of my close friends (a lifelong Yankee fan) said in reference to Torre on Sunday night: “It’s not hard to manage when you are up by 7 every night but when you are in a tie ballgame or trailing he is an idiot.”
Jim Vassallo is the creator of JAV Baseball. He also owns his own Internet Content company, JAV Freelancing. Vassallo coached baseball for three years at the high school level in New Jersey and has since joined the prominent D-III program at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. He can be reached at jim@javbaseball.com for questions and comments.
