Phillies go deep in taking Game 1

For much of the beginning of Thursday night's Game 1 of the NLCS, it looked as if James Loney's solo homer would be the only score of the game.

And then the fifth inning came, and Clayton Kershaw and Cole Hamels got rocked.

Unfortunately for the Dodgers, the Phillies out-slugged them, as a pair of three-run homers proved to be the difference in winning 8-6. The Phillies are now up 1-0 in the best-of-seven series.

The Kershaw-Hamels matchup was living up to it's billing through the first four innings. A solo homer to start the second by Loney gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead, and with the way Kershaw was throwing (one hit and two walks through four), it looked like the Dodgers may squeak it out.

But in the fifth, the wheels fell off of Kershaw's bus. It was pretty much your basic disaster, as Kershaw showed why it's hard to completly rely on a 21-year-old making such a big start. Raul Ibanez singled to start, took second on a wild pitch, and Pedro Feliz walked.

Having trouble locating the strike zone, Kershaw basically grooved one over the plate to Carlos Ruiz, who made him pay by cranking a three-run homer, making it 3-1. Still in the fifth, Kershaw stayed on to face Ryan Howard with two down, and Howard made him pay with a two-run double, and it was 5-1.

The Phillies now had all the momentum, as Hamels was mowing down the Dodgers with ease. As has been the case all year long, the Dodgers never quit, and put together a big inning themselves.

It started with a ground rule double by Russell Martin leading off. Rafael Furcal singled Martin over to third with one down. Andre Ethier hit a slow grounder that Jimmy Rollins threw into his dugout after getting the forceout at second, scoring a run and advancing Ethier to second.

Now it was Manny Ramirez's turn to show that he still can carry a team. In one swing, he answered all of that, hitting a two-run homer off of a changeup to make it 5-4, and Dodger Stadium was rocking.

The Dodgers would continue to get close, but could never quite get over the hump and grab the lead. In the sixth, two singles by Loney and Ronnie Belliard and a walk to pinch-hitter Jim Thome loaded the bases with two outs. Furcal had a chance to break through, but grounded out to end the inning.

Ronald Belisario and Hong-Chih Kuo were great in relief, and still only down by a run in the eighth, George Sherrill was given the ball to face the heart of the Phillies' order. For the first time as a Dodger, he fell flat on his face. A three-run shot by Ibanez gave them an 8-4 lead.

Needing another comeback, the Dodgers still fought back. With Ryan Madson in, Loney and Belliard again singled, and Martin hit an RBI single to make it 8-5. Raffy hit a deep sac-fly to right to make it 8-6.

Ethier singled to put Juan Pierre on third, and Manny again had a chance to make something happen. It didn't happen this time, as he grounded weakly to third.

Brad Lidge came on for the save and got a big double play from Casey Blake, who was 0-for-5, to put the game to bed.

At the end of the night, the Dodgers can both feel good for fighting back, and kick themselves for leaving 10 on base. The difference in this one was that with men on, the Phillies came through. The Dodgers left six of those men on with two outs in scoring position. At this point of the season, that won't get it done.

Kershaw will have better nights, but his final line was pretty ugly: 4 and 2/3 innings, four hits, five runs, five walks, and three strikeouts. If you saw the game, he was cruising along just fine, but the fifth just killed him.

The plan is simple today - get a win at all costs. I just can't see the Dodgers having much of a chance if they lose both home games, especially with the following three in Philadelphia.

Vicente Padilla will get the start against an old Dodger, Pedro Martinez. Two veterans who have found a second life this season going at it, so it'll be fun to watch.