Phillies Recap: NLCS Game Two

National League Championship Series - Game Two
Los Angeles Dodgers 2, Philadelphia Phillies 1
W - Hong-Chih Kuo (1-0, 0.00), L - Chan Ho Park (0-1, 13.50), S - Jonathan Broxton (1)

On a very sunny and warm afternoon in Chavez Ravine, the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers play a very close game in the second of the National League Championship Series. Despite the hot weather, both veteran hurlers Pedro Martinez and Vicente Padilla tossed gems for their teams. In the end, a costly error by Chase Utley helped the Dodgers' bullpen outperform the Phillies' pen. After leading for most of the afternoon by the slimmest of margins, the Phillies let the late lead get away for a 2-1 loss. The Phillies missed a great chance to take a commanding 2-0 series lead, but will instead travel home with a split.

Game Summary: Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies got a superb start out of Pedro Martinez, who went seven strong innings for them. He allowed just two hits and never allowed a base runner to reach third base. It was a better start than the Phillies could have even hoped for, but it was wasted. In the eighth inning, the Dodgers mounted a rally and the Phillies used five pitchers to get through the inning. A big error by Chase Utley, on what would have been a key double play, allowed the tying run to score and then, several batters later, enabled the go-ahead run to cross the plate. Chan Ho Park took the loss for the Phillies, a day after a clutch performance by the righty.

Despite the bullpen's collapse, the Phillies' offense was really to blame, mustering only one earned run off of Padilla before being shut down by the Dodgers' bullpen. Ryan Howard showed up and provided all of the offense, with a pair of hits and a solo home run. Most of the rest of the order was dominated by Padilla, which before the game would have been hard to imagine. As a team, the Phillies managed just four hits and walk, and bounced into a pair of critical double plays late in the game to kill any chance for insurance runs.

Game Summary: Los Angeles Dodgers

Vicente Padilla continued his resurgence with the Dodgers, as he limited the Phillies to just one run on four hits and a walk in 7.1 innings. He struck out six hitters and cruised through most of the game. The only blemish came on Ryan Howard's first career postseason home run on the road. After that, it was smooth sailing, as the Dodgers dipped into their bullpen and got a win from Hong-Chih Kuo and a save from Jonathan Broxton. The game was just how the Dodgers would have drawn it up.

On offense, the Dodgers didn't muster a threat until Pedro Martinez was out of the game. Once he was, the shadows crept across the infield and helped spur their eighth inning rally. They faced five Phillies pitchers and put together three hits, two walks, and leveraged Chase Utley's error to keep their inning alive. A bases loaded walk to Andre Ethier proved to be the difference in the game, though they missed a great chance for more runs as Manny Ramirez popped up with the bases loaded to end the inning.

Phillies NLCS Previews
Overview, Rotations, Bullpens, Hitters

Game Previews: One, Two, Three, Four, Five

Game Recaps: One, Two, Three, Four, Five