Phillies Recap: NLDS Game One

National League Division Series - Game One

Philadelphia Phillies 5, Colorado Rockies 1
W - Cliff Lee (1-0, 1.00), L - Ubaldo Jimenez (0-1, 9.00)

The opening game of the 2009 National League Division Series lived up to its exciting billing between the Philadelphia Phillies and Colorado Rockies. In what was an extremely windy and sunny afternoon in South Philadelphia, the Phillies jumped on Ubaldo Jimenez and were carried by Cliff Lee's strong start to a game one victory. It was not an especially sharply played game, as the weather made for some defensive adventures. However, the Phils found themselves on the right side of a 5-1 final decision and took game one of the five game series.

Game Summary: Colorado Rockies

Ubaldo Jimenez came out throwing some real smoke, often touching triple-digits on the radar gun. He went through the Phillies' order once without trouble, and matched zeroes with Cliff Lee over four frames. However, Jimenez seemed lose command and composure in the fifth inning, as the Phillies got to him for two runs. In the sixth, Jimenez was unable to record an out, as he surrendered several hard hit balls before being lifted for relief. The final line on Jimenez was five earned runs on nine hits and a walk over five plus innings. He did strike out four but the damage had already been done. The Rockies' bullpen came in to shut down the Phillies after that point, using four more pitchers to complete the final three innings.

The Rockies hitters looked like they were going to jump all over Cliff Lee early. They put together a pair of hits in the first and lead off double in the second, but failed to score. Lee avoided trouble in the second thanks to a generous call on a fly-ball double play, which saw Jayson Werth pegging Yorvit Torrealba at third base. On the afternoon, the Rockies managed just six hits and no walks off of Lee. Carlos Gonzalez managed a pair of hits on the afternoon and Troy Tulowitzki delivered an RBI hit to lead the way for their offense.

Game Summary: Philadelphia Phillies

When Ubaldo Jimenez came out firing hard strikes and locating his breaking pitches, it seemed like it would be a long day for the Phillies. The first time through the order, the Phillies were not especially patient. But that all changed in the fifth inning which started with a Jayson Werth walk. Raul Ibanez drove him in with a double, his first of two RBIs, and later scored on Carlos Ruiz's RBI hit. In the sixth inning, the offense picked up where it left off, scoring three more runs. The Phillies' three through six hitters were a combined 7/15 with four RBIs and all five runs scored. Most important, they did not rely on the long ball to score.

Cliff Lee seemed to get off to a shaky start, allowing a pair of hits in the first inning. But he settled down well, putting together a stretch of 16 straight hitters retired at one point. Lee commanded all of his pitches and threw a lot of first pitch strikes. The Rockies were able to get to him for one late earned run, that proved unconsequential. For the day, Cliff Lee went the distance, throwing a six-hit complete game. He did not walk a batter and fanned five hitters, including Garrett Atkins to end the game.

Phillies NLDS Previews

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