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Lee dominant again as Phillies take 2-1 NLCS lead
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So who here wants Roy Halladay now?
Cliff Lee, the “consolation prize’’ when general manager Ruben Amaro was unable to trade for the Toronto ace continued last night to make the so-called experts look like rank amateurs, while the Phillies bashed starter Hiroki Kuroda and four relievers in an 11-0 romp that gives them a 2-1 lead in the National League Championship Series.. That’s the most lopsided win in Phillies post-season history.
Lee’s latest dominating performance--systematically taking apart the Dodgers in Game 3 by blanking them on three hits and no walks over eight innings, while striking out 10 -—is just the latest in what has been a memorable post-season. Through three starts encompassing 24.1 innings, Lee has surrendered just two earned runs, a 0.74 E.R.A.
That’s on a par with his August debut with the reigning champs, where he went 5-0, with an 0.68 E.R.A. after five appearances. ``Cliff Lee, he's pretty damned special’’ said Dodgers’ manager, Joe Torre, who hopes his pre-game statement that Game 3 is the pivotal one in any series, because it usually swings the momentum, doesn’t turn out to be true. ``He attacks the strike zone. He works fast,
``And he knows what to do with the lead.’’
After managing just four hits and one Ryan Howard solo homer in their come-from-ahead 2-1 Game 2 loss, the Phils wasted no time lighting up Kuroda and giving Lee a quick four-run lead. Howard’s two-run triple down the right field line, was followed by Jayson Werth’s mammoth two-run blast, setting the tone for the night inside chilly Citizen's Bank Park.
When Jimmy Rollins doubled home Carlos Ruiz to make it 5-0 in the second, Kuroda, who had allowed the Phils just two earned runs in 19 innings previously, was gone. Howard’s checked-swing grounder scored another, before the Phillies added two more in the fifth, then capped the night on Shane Victorino’s eighth-inning three-run homer off Ronald Belisario.
Meanwhile, Lee was in command from the start, solidifying his hold as the 2009 Phillies’ ace lefthander, an honor which belonged to Cole Hamels in 2008. Having a stopper like that who can take the heart out of an opponent, especially one which was coming off an emotional late-inning win, is invaluable.
``That's huge,’’ said Howard, who put his name in the record books by becoming the first player in baseball history to drive in a run in seven straight post-season games ``He goes out there, he shuts the other team down, gives us opportunities to go out there and just put runs on the board.
``Whenever you have a pitcher that has good tempo and good rhythm, you love playing behind him.’’
With Lee doing his job, while every single player in the starting lineup—including Lee-- scored a run, the Phillies moved halfway towards a return trip to the Series. They’ll try to extend the margin to 3-1 in Game 4 when righthander Joe Blanton takes the mound against longtime former Phillie Randy Wolf.
Over the last two seasons the Phils are 4-0 in Game 4’s, with Blanton taking the ball three of those times. He pitched the clincher in Milwaukee last year, then posted a no decision against the Dodgers in a game the Phillies rallied from behind to win on Matt Stairs’ pinch homer. But it was Game 4 in the World Series, where Blanton really made a name for himself, not only pitching the Phils to a 10-2 win and put them on the brink of a Championship, but slamming a home run to earn his bat a place in Cooperstown.
``If it’s 2-1 it can keep the series from coming back even,’’ said Blanton, looking at the bigger picture. ``If you’re down 1-2, it’s a big game to keep them from making a big step.
``Either way, it’s a really big game.’’
In less than 24 hours Joe Blanton and the Phillies will either be a win away from meeting either the Yankees or Angels in the World Series or else locked in what will essentially be a best-of-three series with the Dodgers, with potentially the final two games in L.A. But no matter what, they know one thing for certain.
They’ll have their newest savior, Cliff Lee, at their disposal at least once more.
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