Phillies Recap: NLCS Game Three

National League Championship Series - Game Three

Philadelphia Phillies 8, Los Angeles Dodgers 0

W - Cliff Lee (1-0, 0.00), L - Hiroki Kuroda (0-1, 40.50)

It was a cold night in Philadelphia for the third game of the National League Championship Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies. However, the chill in the air didn't slow down the Philly bats, as they jumped all over Dodgers' starter Hiroki Kuroda early. Cliff Lee delivered yet another gem of a start for the Phillies and cruised through the game. By the time the Phils had finished scoring, they had wrapped up a big game three win by a final score of 8-0.

Game Summary: Los Angeles Dodgers

Hiroki Kuroda made the start for the Dodgers but he hardly finished it, as he was knocked around early and often. The Phillies offense rocked him for four first inning runs and tacked on another pair in the second inning. After just 1.1 innings, the Phillies had chased him from the game and forced the Dodgers to dip into their bullpen. Chad Billingsley, their former ace, came in for 3.1 innings of relief and allowed another couple of runs. It was an important game for the Dodgers' pitching situation, as they were forced to tax their bullpen.

On offense, the Dodgers did very little against Cliff Lee. Manny Ramirez has a couple of hits, but no Dodgers reached as far as second base before the seventh inning, when the game was well in hand. The Dodger order did work Cliff Lee's pitch count a bit, helping to ensure that Lee did not toss his second complete game of the postseason. However, the Dodgers looked confused at the plate and they did little else on the night. They did not work a walk, while striking out ten times.

Game Summary: Philadelphia Phillies

Cliff Lee was simply brilliant once again for the Phillies. He continued his postseason dominance by throwing eight shut out innings, allowing just three hits while fanning ten. He induced a double play and allowed only one runner to reach as far as second base. Lee did work with a slightly high pitch count, due to a lot of foul balls, but he did not struggle with his command. The lefty worked quickly through the Dodgers' lineup and had shut down innings every time the Phillies scored. His performance was one of the best ever by a Phillies pitcher in the playoffs.

The Phillies got right to work hitting Hiroki Kuroda early in the game. They strung together four hits in the first inning to take a quick 4-0 lead and sailed from there. Ryan Howard delivered again with a two-run triple, adding an RBI in seven straight playoff games, and Jayson Werth followed with a bomb to dead center field. In the second, Carlos Ruiz continued his hot postseason hitting with a double and later added a run-scoring single. Shane Victorino added the exclamation point with a three-run homer in the eighth. On the night, the Phillies hit everything, with runners in scoring position, and scored without relying on the long ball. It was a picture perfect offensive performance.

Phillies NLCS Previews

Overview, Rotations, Bullpens, Hitters
Game Previews: One, Two, Three, Four, Five
Game Recaps: One, Two, Three, Four, Five