So the Dodgers leave Philadelphia down 0-2 in the NLCS. We kind of knew this might happen: both teams were undefeated at home in head-to-head match-ups in their regular season meetings. The problem for LA is that even with a 3 game sweep of Philadelphia at Dodger Stadium, we still need to go back east and win one more. And that scenario is by no means guaranteed. Our World Series dreams could be over on Monday night.
So what happened? How do we go from a 3 game sweep of Chicago, including two blowout wins at Wrigley, to this?
Well, maybe Phillie is just a better club than Chicago. I don't think their records would support that theory, but it's at least worth a thought.
More importantly, though, are the differences in how the Dodgers performed in this series verses the NLDS.
We played error free baseball against Chicago. That certainly hasn't been the case against the Phillies. The big mistake in Game 1 came in the 6th inning, when Rafael Furcal threw high and wide to first baseman James Loney, and a near-routine groundout turned into a double for Victorino on Furcal's throwing error. A huge error because on the next pitch, Chase Utley homered to tie the game 2-2. If Furcal had made the out, and all else had stayed the same, LA would have been looking at extra innings instead of a Game 1 heartbreaker. That error was the difference in the game.
We also hit the long ball against Chicago, something that's been painfully absent against Philadelphia. How many home runs did LA hit in Phillie? Answer: 1 (thank you, Manny!). How many homeruns did we have in 2 games at Chicago? Answer: 5 (including a James Loney grand slam).
Another big problem this afternoon against the Phillies is runners LOB. You can't leave 11 men on base and expect to win close games... Players like Kent, Garciaparra, and the entire bottom half of the line-up need to remember how to swing the bat if we want to make a series of it.
I'm also a bit disappointed that Saint Joe Torre let starting pitcher Chad Billingsley give up 4 runs in the second inning without even going to the mound to talk with him. Billingsley is only 24 years old! Can you imagine the pressure. A visit from Grandpa Joe would have done anyone good, but you could see that Billingsley needed something...
But, like I said earlier, we can never forget what happened in 1988! Miracles happen at Dodger Stadium. A 3-game sweep of the Phillies would be a great addition to Dodgers lore.
Let's Go Dodgers! We love LA!
