Phillies move on to NLCS
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| Phillies outfielder Pat Burrell, top, is congratulated by teammates after a three-run home run. Philadelphia beat Milwaukee 6-2 to advance to the NLCS. Photo: Ben Smidt/Associated Press |
MILWAUKEE — The Philadelphia Phillies found plenty of power to go with their pitching, right in time for the National League championship series.
Jimmy Rollins led off the game with a home run, Pat Burrell connected twice and Jayson Werth added a solo shot Sunday to lead the Phillies to a 6-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers that clinched their first trip to the NLCS since 1993.
After winning this best-of-five playoff series in four games, the Phillies next face the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"I like our chances," manager Charlie Manuel said. "I think we can beat anyone in the National League, really."
During the regular season, the Phillies and Dodgers each swept a four-game series from the other at home.
Burrell, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard were a fearsome trio in the regular season for the Phillies, putting up the kind of numbers that make opposing pitchers shudder.
Howard made a case for the NL MVP, leading the league in home runs (48) and RBIs (146), and Utley and Burrell added 33 homers each.
"This is a time of year where you've got to go with who's hot, and I understand that. The bottom line is you've got to find a way to win," said Burrell, who wasn't sure if he'd be played Sunday.
"I don't doubt they know how important this is to me and how much I want, but at the same time, if guys aren't swinging the bat well, you've got to go with the hot hand. ... Fortunately, (Manuel) kept me in there."
Burrell lofted Suppan's 2-2 pitch so deep into the left-field stands that Ryan Braun barely bothered to chase it. He turned and started to jog toward the wall, but the ball was long gone by then. The Phillies weren't done, either, with Werth hitting a homer to make it 5-0. The sellout crowd at Miller Park booed Suppan, not letting up when Greg Dobbs flied out to end the inning.
It could have been even uglier for Milwaukee. The Phillies had runners at second and third with only one out in the second, but Suppan struck out Carlos Ruiz and Blanton.
Yovani Gallardo, who pitched Game 1 after missing most of the season with a knee injury, relieved Suppan and kept the Phillies in check, not allowing another hit until the seventh inning. But the damage was done by then.
"Joe and our hitters set the tone early," closer Brad Lidge said. "It's really hard to come back from this when you're down 5-0."
Burrell hit another monster homer to left in the eighth inning off Guillermo Mota.
The Brewers had their own offensive worries, though Blanton can take credit for most of those. The burly right-hander, acquired in July from Oakland, hadn't pitched since Sept. 26 and was making only his second career postseason appearance. But he was in a groove from the minute he took the mound, thanks partly to Rollins' leadoff homer.
"From the first batter, it really set the tone. It allowed me to get comfortable," Blanton said.
After a first-inning single by Braun, Blanton retired his next 10 hitters, with only four balls leaving the infield. He finally wore out in the seventh, giving up a leadoff homer to Prince Fielder, who had been 0-for-12 in his first postseason.
"All their pitchers threw the ball well the whole series. Their hitters swung the bats well and like I said, overall, they were definitely better than us and deserved to win the series," Braun said.
The Brewers added another run in the eighth on Braun's two-out RBI single, and the Milwaukee fans — including the blue-collar Miller delivery man who's made it his mission to "take back the High Life" — stood and began clapping their Thunder Stix, sensing a change in momentum.
But Utley made a gorgeous, leaping catch of Fielder's liner to second to end the inning.
Notes: Baseball commissioner and former Brewers owner Bud Selig threw out the first pitch. ... Sabathia pinch-hit in the third inning. ... Brewers 3B Craig Counsell made a nice catch on a popup off the Miller Park rafters.


