Closing Cases

Colorado Rockies’ closer, Huston Street, squandered a two run ninth inning lead Monday night to send the Philadelphia Phillies back to the NL championship series. The NLCS is slated for Thursday night at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Phillies and Dodgers play a rematch of last season’s feature championship. Last night, the Rockies had a chance to even the series at two games each but could not contain a late Philadelphia rally in Colorado.
Brad Lidge earned his second consecutive save after he retired the Rockies’ final hope, Troy Tulowitzki, in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Phillies completed a 5-4 clamping of Colorado by scoring three runs in the top of the frame. First base All-star slugger, Ryan Howard, crushed a two-run double with two outs off Street. Howard scored on Jayson Werth’s second hit of the night, a single to center field, to put his team in front. Cliff Lee tossed seven solid innings for the defending champions but was not credited with the win. He scattered five hits, allowing three runs, one unearned. Seven-year Phillie, Ryan Madson, picked up his first post-season win.
The Phillies pen did not get the job done, and it will be hard for them to overcome a shaky bullpen in the next round. As atrocious as the Philadelphia bullpen has been, the Rockies fared even worse last night. Street was 35 of 37 on save chances this season. Huston flopped when the real pressure was presented. Colorado had lost just one time when leading after eight innings. Street began the ninth with a strikeout before he issued a single to Jimmy Rollins and full-count walk to Chase Utley. Rollings, Utley, Howard and Werth are the heart of Philadelphia’s order. The Phillies are loaded with offense and lead the majors in team homeruns this year. Street did not throw a quality pitch to Howard. The ball painted the lower corner and seemed to sail down and out. Ryan is just too good of a hitter to chance on the outside. Howard raked a double to devastate Rockies fans, and the Phillies never looked back. You do have to give Charlie Manuel and the Phillies credit for persevering and fighting through a two-run deficit to take the series in four games. The Phillies are the NL’s best road team and proved they could handle the extra season. They swept both games at Coors Field from the wildcard Rockies who finished with a respectful 74-42 record.
Tulowitzki has been Colorado’s charming heart and soul throughout the post-season and down the stretch of the regular season. He has come through time and again for the Rockies in the clutch. Again Monday, the clean up batter provided one of the key hits in the sixth to put the Rockies on the board. He ended the game and the season for the feel-good Rockies. Colorado’s go-ahead run came off the bat of former MVP, pinch-hitter Jason Giambi. Giambi smacked a single in the bottom of the eighth, and later scored on catcher, Yorvit Torrealba’s, double to center. At this point, the Rockies looked as if they were going to send the series back to Philadelphia for a decisive fifth game. During all the baserunning and Colorado scoring in the eighth, rookie Dexter Fowler made one of the most athletic moves of the playoffs. He hurdled over Utley trying to field a grounder at second, and reached the base safely. The promising first-year player has pretty decent instincts. Instincts aside, this was not the Rockies’ night. Manuel replaced strong hitting Raul Ibanez with Ben Francisco in left field with two runners on and Tulowitzki at the plate. Tulo blooped a fly that Francisco scooped for the second out of the frame. Fowler did score the tying run on Giambi’s pinch-hit. No one got rattled in the Phillies’ dugout when Torrealba drove in the go-ahead tally.
The Phillies only went deep twice in this series prior to Monday’s lashing. Last night, Shane Victorino sent Ubaldo Jimenez’ 99 mph heater into the stands during the first inning. Werth’s sixth inning knock of an 85 mph changeup gave the Phillies an insurance run in the sixth. They were the only runs Jimenez allowed in seven innings. He struck out seven Phillies. If Philadelphia goes head-to-head with a dominant hurler, the aggressive lineup may not be enough. The Phillies need to be efficient on the mound, starting with their World Series MVP from 2008, Cole Hamels. The bullpen has to be on the mark, ready to retire batters and sew up the rough spots. Lidge is still very much a question mark after his performance during the regular season. Pitching has to be functional and fierce in supplanting stud lineups. The Dodgers present an intriguing challenge, but if the Phillies return to the World Series, it will be an enormous trial to tackle their AL equivalent.

Parting points: The Jets’ defense—does it exist anymore? That Miami wildcat sure didn’t notice them last night.