Hiroki Kuroda was supposed to come back from his neck injury to provide a lift.
Well, he provided a lift alright... to the wrong team.
The Phillies looked more than happy to step in against Kuroda and pound the living daylights out of him. After taking a 6-0 lead in two innings, the Phillies added more against the bullpen in taking an easy one, 11-0. They now have a 2-1 lead in the NLCS, with Game 4 Monday.
After Cliff Lee shut down the top of the Dodgers' order to begin the game, it was batting practice time for his team. With one out, Shane Victorino singled and stole second. Chase Utley followed with a single for runners on the corners.
Next up was Ryan Howard, and he worked a full count. He then lined a triple into the right field corner to score two runs. Jayson Werth followed that up with a towering two-run homer to center, and it was quickly 4-0.
Looking for any sort of sign that he could get outs, Kuroda tried to go back out in the second but again got shelled. Carlos Ruiz doubled to lead off, and went to third on Lee's sacrifice. An RBI double by Jimmy Rollins was all Joe Torre could take.
Scott Elbert got his first taste of postseason ball, and he was pretty much miserable himself. Consecutive walks to Victorino and Rollins, including a wild pitch, set up an RBI groundout from Howard to make it 6-0. Chad Billingsley came on to end the inning by striking out Werth.
With a six-run lead, Lee was well on his way to a win. With the way he was throwing, he could have had a 1-0 lead and still got the win. He was everything the Phillies hoped for an more by trading for him during the season, as he put up eight innings of three hits and 10 strikeouts. For good measure, he threw in a single at the plate as well.
Billingsley had a chance to show that down the line, he could get a start. Everything started off well, as he retired 9 of the first 10 hitters he faced.
But, as has been the problem with him for much of the year, he hit a wall. With two outs in the fifth and facing the bottom of the order, he walked Raul Ibanez. A seemingly meaningless walk turned into an RBI triple by Pedro Feliz and an RBI single from Ruiz. Just like that, Billingsley reminded everyone why it's hard to trust him pitching consistently.
Not that it mattered, because for the second straight game, the bats were in hibernation. The last two games have seen them gather seven hits for one run (and to think they actually won the last game). I know Pedro Martinez and Lee were pitching really well, but they have to find a way to do better than that.
A couple of guys that need to get their bats going are Rafael Furcal and Matt Kemp. Combined, they're 1-for-14 with one walk the last two games. Ouch. Needless to say, that's not going to cut it. They both his high in the order, so they have to be more productive.
About the only positive from this game was that Manny Ramirez went 2-for-3, with his hits coming up the middle and to right. That means he wasn't trying to pull everything out of the park on every pitch. It's a good sign.
As for the rest of the team, they've bounced back all season long from getting beat, and that's what needs to happen now. Last year's team may not have been able to come back from this, but I believe this year's version can. Like I said before, they just need more production from a couple of their big bats.
Randy Wolf gets the ball tonight, and he hasn't pitched since Game 1 of the Division Series against the Cardinals on October 7. That start didn't go so well, and that can't happen tonight. He's a veteran who used to pitch for the Phillies, so the scene shouldn't faze him.
A loss tonight would mean the Dodgers would be down 3-1, and would have to run the table against Cole Hamels, Pedro, and Lee again. So yes, getting a win tonight is a must.
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