Game 2: Utley integral

A few notes and observations before Game 2... I had hoped to write a little ditty about Chase Utley last night, but a couple of things happened. One, we were informed by the Phillies that the All-Star second baseman would be available on the podium at 11 a.m. on Thursday.

Yeah, Chase Utley on the podium. Imagine that.

Normally, Chase Utley is about as interesting as shoving a Bic pen into your middle ear when it comes to talking about baseball. The guy is just not into it, which I don’t understand but accept. Some people don’t like talking about their jobs—what are you going to do?

However, upon waiting to see if Utley would come into the clubhouse after the victory in Game 1 on Wednesday evening, I was told that he would not be discussing his work with the big media throng. Or even the smallish one that waited around, for that matter.

“He didn’t really do anything,” I was told.

For a second I thought it was me. Maybe I shouldn’t believe my lying eyes? Maybe something occurred in the game that I completely missed… you know, whiffed on. But then I took a nanosecond to scout the outline of the ballgame in my mind, and blurted out.

“He got a key hit, swiped a base that was huge and played defense,” came the blurt. “Plus, the last time he faced the Rockies in a Game 1 of a playoff series he struck out four times on 13 pitches. He’s an All-Star with a .154 average in the NLDS and a .213 playoff average.

“He was integral!”

By that point I was standing by myself in the middle of the clubhouse bantering out loud like a crazy person on the street. It could have been worse, though. Instead of talking about baseball I could have been imitating trumpet noises as if I were the acapella version of Chet Baker because who doesn’t like to do that when they are alone and talking to themselves?

The point remains, though—Chase Utley was a big part of the Game 1 victory for the Phillies. Yes, he rode a 3-for-37 from the regular season into the playoffs and struck out in his first two plate appearances to stretch his hitless streak to 18 at-bats.

“Zero-for-a week,” I said to no one in particular when Utley struck out a second time.

But his leadoff single and stolen base in the sixth inning broke the game open like a piñata. To that point the Rockies’ hard-throwing righty Ubaldo Jimenez had been dealing. He needed 46 pitches to buzz through the first four innings and looked as if he was going to settle in nicely. However, in the fifth inning an eight-pitch leadoff walk to Jayson Werth resulted in a pair of runs to set the table for Utley’s table-setting. With the second baseman in scoring position after the stolen base, Jimenez was like Randall “Tex” Cobb in that fight against Larry Holmes. Sure, he was standing, but please, for the love of God, someone throw in the towel or stop it or make the guy go down.

A long double by Ryan Howard and a crazy triple from Werth delivered the knockout punch.

And it all started with Utley…

Who didn’t really do anything.

Statage: Utley is 2-for-12 in opening games of the NLDS and 6-for-20 with two homers in opening games of playoff series.

Game 2: Phillies 8, Dodgers 5

There have been some close ones – that save from Game 1 of the NLDS and the clincher against the Nats stand out. But for the most part, Lidge has made it look easy. That’s 45 up and 45 down for the Phils’ closer. He’s a pack rat… he saves everything.

This time, though, Brad Lidge nailed one down to put the Phillies within two victories of the World Series. After this game, the next time the Phillies play at Citizens Bank Park it could be against the Rays or the Red Sox in Game 3 of the World Series.

Let that sink in for a moment…

If the Phillies do come back to Philly for the NLCS, it will be to close it out. But needless to say, these guys smell blood. They don’t want to come back here.

Certainly though, Lidge made it a little interesting in the ninth by giving up a pair of walks with less than one out. As a result, the tying run came to the plate and the go-ahead run waited on deck. But before anyone could say “Black Friday: The Sequel,” Lidge struck out Matt Kemp and Nomar Garciaparra with 45,883 towel-waving and screaming fans freaking out.

Still perfect.

Game 2: Phillies 8, Dodgers 5

Eighth inning: Easy as 1-2-3-4

Ryan Madson was back to getting outs in the eighth, notching a 1-2-3 frame with a pair of strikeouts. Apparently, that long, loud out by Casey Blake was nothing more than an aberration. Instead, it was clear that Madson was ready to get four outs in order to give the ball to Brad Lidge for another save chance.

On another note, it’s worth mentioning that the Phillies have not gotten a hit since the fourth inning and haven’t had a base runner since the fifth until Eric Bruntlett walked with two outs in the eighth. However, these Phils are all about manufacturing runs tonight… somebody look up the last time they scored eight runs without a homer.

Here comes Lidge.

End of 8: Phillies 8, Dodgers 5

Sixth inning: Calling on 'The Chad'

Brett Myers’ afternoon is finished. To start the sixth inning, Charlie Manuel went with Chad Durbin, a.k.a., “The Chad.” Against four hitters, Durbin got three fly outs to right and allowed an infield single.

Meanwhile, Myers stands to win the game despite some underwhelming pitching.

His line:

5 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 6 K, 1 HR, 1 WP – 102 pitches, 62 strikes.

It’s not pretty, but it has the Phillies right where they need to be. Better yet, the Phils’ bullpen is ready to take over and they have been pretty good during the playoffs. In fact, they have allowed four runs and two of those came in situations where the team was just playing for outs.

Playing for outs seems to be where we are at this point for the Phillies. If they get nine more they really are sitting pretty. I don’t have the info now, but I’m sure a whole bunch of stories will have stats on how many teams are able to crawl out of an 0-2 deficit and win a seven-game series.

End of 6: Phillies 8, Dodgers 5

Fifth inning: Working the count

Out of nowhere, Brett Myers posted his first goose egg on the board since the first inning. He also climbed over the 100-pitch plateau with two outs in the fifth. I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that Myers will not get a complete game. Heck, he might not even see the sixth inning.

Meanwhile, things appear to have settled down a bit with James McDonald on the mound for the Dodgers. Since entering the game with two outs in the third, McDonald has given up a pair of hits, walked one and took a turn at the plate.

Otherwise, we’re just reveling in the joy of a scoreless and quick inning here at the Bank. In the meantime it’s worth noting that Chase Utley got his fourth walk of the game and we’re just a little past the halfway point.

I bet he gets another chance.

End of 5: Phillies 8, Dodgers 5

Fourth inning: Revisiting the fastball

So how do you like your little ballpark now, Phillies fans? Additionally, it should be pointed out that today is Friday…

I’m not saying anything, I’m just pointing that out.

Anyway, a strikeout that could have ended the fourth inning turned out to be a harbinger. That’s because after Rafael Furcal reached on the strikeout-wild pitch and Russell Martin laced a two-out single, Brett Myers decided to remember what it was like to throw a fastball.

The problem with that wasn’t so much as the idea that Myers had gotten so far away from his heater and was relying on cutters and curves to get through the Dodgers’ lineup. That’s why it was a curious thing when Myers threw a straight-as-an-arrow fastball straight down the pipe with Manny Ramirez standing in the batters’ box.

Needless to say, the experiment failed when Manny hit one just over the patch of mums above the left-field fence.

Just like that and this game turned into a save situation.

Meanwhile, Myers beat out an infield single for his third hit of the game. Yeah, that’s right – Myers beat out an infield single for his third hit of the game.

Want me to write that one more time?

Myers beat out an infield single for his third hit of the game.

Here’s a fun fact from the TV folks at Fox:

During the playoffs Brett Myers is 4-for-5 with three runs and three RBIs and Ryan Howard is 2-for-17 with one RBI.

Yeah.

End of 4: Phillies 8, Dodgers 5

Third inning: Brett Myers - Professional Hitter

There’s an old sports saying that goes something like this: The series doesn’t start until the home team loses for the first time.

If that’s true, this could be one of those series where the home team wins every game. Or, the series could truly begin on Sunday night if the Phillies take care of business at Dodger Stadium with the chance to go for the sweep on Monday.

A Phillies sweep to go to the World Series? Really? What world are we living in? Does gas still cost more than $3 per gallon?

Did I just jinx it?

Anyway, Brett Myers gave back a run on a two-out single by James Loney. As is the case with just about everything in baseball, it wasn’t the hit that hurt Myers the most, it was the two-out walk to Andre Ethier and the one-out walk to Russell Martin.

Oh, those bases on balls…

Myers nearly waded into the mess up to his knees after Greg Dobbs booted a grounder with two outs to load the bases. After that, the pitcher got out of the inning with a strikeout on Blake Dewitt in which Myers seemed to throw nothing but curves.

As we all remember all too well, Myers got into the most trouble when he got away from his fastball and leaned on the deuce too much.

For one reason or another, Billingsley just seems to be finding trouble for himself. Pat Burrell laced the first pitch of the inning to left for a single before Jayson Werth lined an 0-2 pitch into the corner in left for a double. An intentional walk to Greg Dobbs to load the bases set up a force at the plate on a soft grounder hit by Carlos Ruiz.

That made it look as if Billingsley could wiggle out of it or, at the very least, that manager Joe Torre was going to bring in a reliever after the intentional walk. With Myers heading to the plate with one out and the bases loaded, it looked like an easy second out as well as the light at the end of the tunnel.

After all, why would Myers go to the plate looking to swing the bat. He has six hits going back to the 2004 season and once was told to go to the plate and leave the bat on his shoulder. Certainly in this situation – bases loaded and one out in a playoff game – Myers would be told to stand there and take pitches simply to avoid hitting into a double play.

But that would be too easy. It also would make sense.

Myers swung at the first pitch and hit one that rolled with all of the alacrity in which Burrell or Myers run the bases. The hit was slow and sloppy, which means in some weird sense it was perfect.

It also opened up this game as if it was a 10-pound trout with its tanned belly glistening in the sun. Myers’ ugly single sent two more runs scurrying home and also provided the impetus for us to watch the big pitcher go from first to home on Shane Victorino’s two-out triple.

Billingsley struck out four of the first six hitters he faced, but wasn’t around it to get four more outs.

Weird.

2 1/3 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 5 K – 59 pitches, 36 strikes.

I hope this game ends in time for me to catch my flight tomorrow morning.

End of 3: Phillies 8, Dodgers 2

First inning: 'Throw it at the mascot'

Another big crowd here at the Bank doing the big, “Beat LA!” chant and waving those white hankies. It looks like a great day for baseball here in Philadelphia even though there are some shadows splashed across the outfield grass. Perhaps they could be a problem until the sun drifts more to the west?

Anyway, Jim Eisenreich, the great hitter on the ’93 Phillies threw the ceremonial first pitch. Ol’ Eisey still looks like he can play. He very definitely could hit – especially in ’93. I still can’t believe that GM Lee Thomas was able to get Eisenreich for that club.

Speaking of getting it, it certainly looks as if Brett Myers has it this afternoon. His fastball looks like an electrical wire that was knocked to the ground and is shooting sparks and hissing like the meanest snake ever. Better yet, Myers looks as if he has, what ballplayers like to call, “The Ass.”

That means exactly what one would assume it means. As such, Myers crop dusted Russell Martin with one high and tight and buzzed one behind Manny Ramirez.

I wonder if he was trying to hit the mascot?

Nevertheless, Myers whiffed both Martin and Ramirez to end the inning and to send the crowd into screeching hysterics. He threw 13 pitches.

Aside from a two-out walk for Chase Utley, the Phillies went quietly in the first against big right-hander, Chad Billingsley. Like Myers, Billingsley notched two whiffs.

End of 1: Phillies 0, Dodgers 0

Pregame: Star struck

I have to admit that I don’t get star struck very often. In fact, these days I never do. The truth is Larry Bowa and Mike Schmidt helped me get over youthful affection for some of my baseball heroes when they proved that ballplayers really aren’t much different than regular folks. Worse, in many cases they are far less interesting than your friends, neighbors and family members.

But that Fernando Valenzuela… I’ll tell you what. My Uncle Jim has nothing on Fernando. Really – a guy who taught science for 30 years or a lefty screwball pitcher who could breathe through his eyes like the lava lizards of the Galapagos Islands.

Yep, that was Fernando. And as I ate a light lunch in the media dining room and sat across from the ex-Dodger great and Cy Young Award winner, I was regaled with tales about the proper technique and arm angle of how to throw the scroogie. I also was star struck for the first time since Eddie Vedder showed up for batting practice about five years ago for a game at the Vet.

Wouldn’t you know it that Eddie was so short and wiry that you can pick him up and put him in your pocket.

Fernando, not so much. However, the old lefty looks just like he did when he was pitching during the 1980s and ‘90s. The shoulder-length hair brought back by Javier Bardem in “No Country For Old Men, has been neatly shorn. Though he has put on a few more pounds I doubt Fernando has lost the zip on his fastball.

Anyway, here are a few things I learned about Fernando this afternoon:

No, he cannot breathe through his eyelids. This was a disappointing fact to learn.

Fernando was once a teammate with Jamie Moyer in Baltimore in 1993.

Nope, Fernando had no idea what a guy like me can do for fun in LA. Another disappointing fact to learn.

Gary Matthews chatted with Fernando earlier. I learned this when I walked up to Sarge and said, “Did you see that! That was Fernando Valenzuela!”

Fernando brought the heat at 90 mph and threw the screwball in the 70s. He had two pitches – a fastball which he changed speeds with and the screwball. If he threw the screwball to lefties, he’s plunk them, he said. Once, he drilled Roberto Alomar with one simply because he couldn’t control it.

Fernando has no idea why pitchers don’t throw the scroogie any more.

So yeah, how about that? Fernando Valenzuela. Not bad.

Anthem time. Check back after the first.

Pregame: Game 2 news and notes

Quick turnaround today and an even quicker one tomorrow bright and early before the sun even comes up. The cool thing is that tomorrow at this time I will be in California. Nope, that is not a state of mind… this time.

Anyway, we’re going to start with the sad news that Charlie Manuel’s mother, June, died this morning. As I write this Charlie is watching batting practice next to the cage, but there have been no official announcements whether or not the skipper will leave the team for a short time.

Nevertheless, Charlie can take solace in the fact that his mom raised a pretty good son. If a parent is judged by how much other people like and respect their children, then June Manuel did alright.

As far as the baseball goes, there were a few minor lineup tweaks for Game 2, which will begin at approximately 4:30 p.m. It looks like it will be a gorgeous day for a ballgame.

Phillies 11 – Jimmy Rollins, ss 8 – Shane Victorino, cf 26 – Chase Utley, 2b 6 – Ryan Howard, 1b 5 – Pat Burrell, lf 28 – Jayson Werth, rf 19 – Greg Dobbs, 3b 51 – Carlos Ruiz, c 39 – Brett Myers, p

Dodgers 15 – Rafael Furcal, ss 55 – Russell Martin, c 99 – Manny Ramirez, lf 16 – Andre Ethier, rf 7 – James Loney, 1b 27 – Matt Kemp, cf 33 – Blake Dewitt, 2b 30 – Casey Blake, 3b 58 – Chad Billingsley, p

Check back soon… going to make the rounds.

Ninth inning: Still perfect

Sometimes the most important weapon in a closer’s repertoire is his reputation. Better than a fastball mixed with a nasty array of sliders, the mere thought that a pitcher is unhittable is probably half the battle. For Brad Lidge at this point of the season, he’s known for that nasty slider and his perfect save record. With a perfect, 1-2-3 ninth – a complete 180-degree flip from yesterday’s ninth inning – Lidge saved his 43rd game in a row.

And he didn’t even break a sweat.

Lidge threw 35 pitches to six hitters yesterday for the tensest save in Phillies’ history since Mitch Williams used to pitch the ninth inning. This time, however, he needed just 12 pitches to nail it down and give the Phillies a 2-0 series lead and a chance to sweep it and advance to the NLCS on Saturday night.

Five more wins and the Phillies are in the World Series.

Game 2: Phillies 5, Brewers 2 Phillies lead best-of-five series, 2-0

Eighth inning: Save situations

Ryan Madson has a simple job here in the eighth inning… Keep the lead.

That’s it. All the lanky right-handed reliever has to do is get through the inning relatively unscathed so Brad Lidge can come in for the ninth and close it out.

Frankly, Madson has one of those jobs that no one notices until he doesn’t do it properly. But the fact is his job is every bit as important as Lidge’s. This time, Madson kind of got it done. The Phillies left the eighth with the lead intact, though the reliever only notched two outs before Charlie Manuel summoned lefty J.C. Romero.

The move became necessary when Madson allowed a two-out hit to Ryan Braun that brought up lefty Prince Fielder with two on and a chance to tie the game with one swing. Needless to say, it’s not a position the Phillies have been too unfamiliar with during the first two games of this series.

Baseball is about pitching and defense in the playoffs. In that regard, Romero had a short – and vitally important – outing in the eighth. He threw just one pitch. It was a fastball that got in on the hands of Fielder, broke his bat into tiny pieces and sent the ball rolling slowly toward Chase Utley at second.

Inning over. Lidge will get the ball with the lead in the ninth.

End of 8: Phillies 5, Brewers 2

Sixth inning: Settled in

Through six innings it appears as if we figured out the whole Jekyll and Hyde thing with Brett Myers. That is, of course, he can keep it together before turning things over to the bullpen. But after another 1-2-3 inning in the sixth, Myers has retired seven in a row and 16 of the last 17 for 79 pitches.

Size this up: Myers threw 21 pitches in the first inning and 58 from the second to the sixth.

Yes, it is safe to assume he has found his groove.

The same could be said for Shane Victorino, who doubled to deep center to lead off the sixth. At the same time, Victorino picked up the Phillies’ sixth double of the game, which tied a franchise record for most doubles in a post-season game. In Game 3 of the 1976 NLCS against the Big Red Machine, Garry Maddox, Greg Luzinski, Larry Bowa, Jay Johnstone and Mike Schmidt pounded out six two-baggers.

The Phillies last that game (and the series) when the Reds rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth. George Foster and Johnny Bench led off the inning with homers off Ron Reed before Ken Griffey singled in Davey Concepcion with one out off Tom Underwood.

Needless to say, it doesn’t look like the Brewers are going to morph into the Reds (or the Phillies) any time soon.

End of 6: Phillies 5, Brewers 1

Fifth inning: Break up the Brewers?

In a sense, the Brewers’ playoff run looks a lot like the one the Phillies had last year. They snuck in on the last day of the season thanks to a loss by the Mets, celebrated like crazy and are poised to be bounced out very quickly. Like in Philly, Milwaukee fans waited even longer for their team to make the playoffs. The Phillies ended a 14-year drought last season, while the Brewers knocked off a 26-year absence in ’08. Better yet, the Brewers switched leagues so this is their first trip to the National League playoffs.

But unlike the Phillies last year, the Brewers don’t seem to be regrouping for another run in 2009. That’s part of the reason why the club went after CC Sabathia at the deadline and fired manager Ned Yost two weeks ago even though they were tied for first in the wild-card race.

The Brewers are a flawed club that will have to make a bunch of moves this winter if they want to challenge the Cubs in the NL Central. That’s easy to say, but hard to do. More than likely Sabathia will be pitching for big money somewhere else next season. Heck, it could even be for the Phillies, who will have some cash to spend after a few big salaries come off the payroll.

Needless to say, the Phillies will have a spot for a lefty starter who throws around 250 innings per season.

In the meantime it will be interesting to see how the Brewers respond in Game 2 if they are down 2-0. That’s especially the case considering their best pitcher was beaten like a drum as they turn to Dave Bush.

Meanwhile, Myers appears to be in cruise control. After giving up a hit and a run in a shaky first inning, Myers has not allowed a hit since and has retired 13 of the last 14 he faced.

End of 5: Phillies 5, Brewers 1

Fourth inning: Loud and proud in Philly

I’m a little getting it together for this inning so we might as well double up… I had to grab a drink and a chocolate-chip cookie and chat with ESPN radio’s Mike Gill of the Mike Gill Show. If you’re ever in New Jersey, tune in and listen to Mike – he knows his stuff. Meanwhile, Brett Myers held the Brewers in check in the fourth, but the most important thing the pitcher did was force Sabathia to throw 10 more pitches during his second at-bat. Clearly the big lefty is laboring and after Myers’ latest epic plate appearance, Jimmy Rollins laced a two-out double.

That forced Sabathia to issue an intentional walk to Victorino. It alos pushed his pitch count even higher. Through four, the big fella has thrown 98 pitches.

And the Philly fans are screaming after each and every one of them. Typically I’m not one to pay much attention to the fans in the stands, but the hometown crowd here at the Bank has been stellar and smart during the first two games of this series. They cheered really loud during Myers’ at-bats, gave Victorino a curtain call, stayed on top of every bit of nuance and cheered like hell when Sabathia exited the game after giving up a walk to Chase Utley to load the based.

As he walked off, Sabathia appeared to say something in the direction of Victorino. It didn’t look like he said, “Nice hit, dude.”

Sabathia’s line: 3 2/3 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 5 K – 98 pitches

End of 4: Phillies 5, Brewers 1

Third inning: Victorino's grand slam

According to whiz kid Kevin Horan of Phillies.com, Shane Victorino clubbed the first-ever post-season grand slam by a Phillie. In fact, the Phillies have only hit 45 playoff homers, a list in which Lenny Dykstra tops with six, followed by Gary Matthews and Greg Luzinski with five each.

My partner in crime at CSN.com, Andy Schwartz, pointed out that the chart should show:

Dykstra, 6*

Victorino is quickly climbing the charts with his second post-season blast. He also hit one in Game 3 at Coors Field last season for the Phils’ only run in the deciding game.

Needless to say, the affable (and boisterous) centerfielder will undoubtedly have a lot to chirp about amongst his teammates on the charter to Milwaukee after the game. Better yet, Victorino needs a triple and single for the cycle. In his first two innings he already has a double, stolen base and the slam.

Good move by Charlie for putting Victorino in the No. 2 hole and sliding Jayson Werth down to sixth.

Meanwhile, Myers sailed through the third inning with his second straight perfect frame. Perhaps he needed to shake out the jitters in the first inning in order to settle in? If so, it worked.

CC Sabathia whiffed the next two hitters after Victorino’s slam, but Werth smacked another double and then swiped third . Interestingly, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard account for four of Sabathia’s five strikeouts.

End of 3: Phillies 5, Brewers 1

Second inning: Charlie says, 'Relax'

In the playoffs, the game is all about pitching and defense. Actually, those two things are not mutually exclusive. The stat geeks all seem to agree that half of good pitching is really defense and the best indicator of how good a pitcher is comes from the whiffs-per-nine-innings ratio. So when the game is all about pitching and defense it makes it difficult for the guys in the throes of a hitting slump. For the Phillies, that means Pat Burrell and Jayson Werth.

Burrell’s late-season swoon has been well documented. In fact, if the left fielder is back with the Phillies in 2009, I’m just going to write a whole bunch of stuff about a massive hitting slump and save it for the inevitable moment when he goes into the tank. Why not? It happens every season.

Burrell’s woes are exclusive to the last two months of the season while Werth has slowly been falling into a slide of the last two weeks. Though he has five hits and a homer since Sept. 20, Werth has whiffed 13 times during that span, including a hat trick in Game 1.

As a result, Charlie Manuel dropped Werth from the No. 2 spot in the order to No. 6 tonight.

“It might help Werth relax a bit,” Manuel said. “He's been trying too hard. I told him to slow down and stay on top of the ball more, relax. Also, I like Victorino hitting second off CC. Left-handers that throw hard, especially when Victorino makes the pitcher bring the ball down, he can have strong games at times.”

Guess what? Charlie might be on to something.

Werth smacked an 0-1 offering to left-center for a one-out double to start a game-tying rally highlighted by Pedro Feliz’s double just inside the chalk line in left.

That was where it ended for the Phillies. Myers has thrown 32 pitches through two, while the Phillies’ plan to get Sabathia to throw, throw, throw and then throw some more appears to be working as the big lefty fired 51 pitches to this point.

The fans really got into a nine-pitch at-bat from Myers, who worked the count full, fouled off three pitches and then walked. Jimmy Rollins followed with a four-pitch walk to load the bases.

Then it happened...

... and my question was, "Has a Phillie ever hit a grand slam in the playoffs?"

Shane Victorino has. He just did it. I saw it... CC Sabathia laid one tight and Victorino put it in the left-field seats.

Is it over already?

End of 2: Phillies 5, Brewers 1

First inning: Here comes the heat

Harry Kalas threw the ceremonial first pitch and didn’t do too badly. Upon picking up the sign from Chris Coste, Harry laid one in there just off the corner. It looked like a fastball from here.

Just like Harry, Brett Myers came out throwing his fastball, too. Actually, that’s just about all Myers threw in the beginning of the game. The first 11pitches Myers threw were all the ol’ No. 1. Perhaps even the four pitches he tossed up there to Price Fielder during an intentional walk could have been considered fastballs, too. If that’s the case, Myers’ first 15 pitches were fastballs and it took until the fifth hitter for him to throw a breaking pitch.

The inning started and ended well for Myers, too. It was just the middle that was the difficult part.

After striking out Mike Cameron on three straight pitches, Myers walked Ray Durham on four straight. Ryan Braun followed with a double off the wall to make it second and third and forced the walk to Fielder.

That’s when Myers turned to his curve. That’s also when the trouble began. Myers walked J.J. Hardy to force in a run and looked like he was on the verge of an early knockout when Corey Hart bounced one back to the mound for an inning-ending 1-2-3 double play…

The ol’ 1-2-3.

The Phillies’ plan seemed to be to force CC Sabathia to throw a lot of pitches. To a degree that worked as the big lefty chucked 17 in the first, including one that turned into a double down the for Shane Victorino. But after Victorino swiped third base with one out, Sabathia whiffed Chase Utley and Ryan Howard to end the threat.

And the inning.

End of 1: Brewers 1, Phillies 0

Pregame: Myers needs to be in control

Batting practice just ended and the crowd is slowly filtering into the park for Game 2. It looks as if it will be a brisk, breezy early autumn night for baseball. It definitely feels like October.

Obviously, CC Sabathia takes most of the headlines for tonight’s game, which is understandable. The guy is (probably) the best pitcher in the game right now. But be that as it is, the pitcher who likely will have the greatest impact on tonight’s game won’t be Big CC… it will be Brett Myers.

It’s a given that Sabathia will pitch well. If the lefty isn’t just short of brilliant, he’ll be a rung slightly below. Myers, on the other hand, has been the proverbial Jekyll and Hyde this season. When the Phils’ righty isn’t mowing them down with rows of goose eggs, he’s been just dreadfully awful. Just take a look at his season splits: before the All-Star Break and his exile to the minors – bad. After that – good.

But there are a few blips on the screen for Myers and whether or not they prove to be an anomaly or an indicator of something bigger will be determined tonight. After beating the Brewers with a two-hit complete game in which he threw just 95 pitches on three-days rest on Sept. 14, Myers was lit up like a pinball machine in his last two starts of the season.

Against the Marlins on Sept. 19 Myers was roughed up for 10 runs in four innings in a 14-8 loss. He followed that one up by giving up six runs in 4 1/3 innings against the Braves on Sept. 24.

“I think the first two innings are important for Brett,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “I think if he gets his rhythm down and he’s moving his fastball, if he can locate his fastball in and out, then he should be able to handle his breaking stuff.”

But Myers will need both his fastball and curve to be successful, Manuel says.

“His two big pitches have to work for him. His breaking stuff has to be on the outside part of the plate to these right-handers,” Manuel said. “If his command is good, then he has a chance to pitch a good game.”

There is some concern, of course. Whether Myers; two bad outings to end the season were simply a matter of leftover fatigue from pitching on short rest or merely a matter of improper mechanics has not yet been determined.

We’ll learn about that tonight.

Pregame: Here comes Big CC

Back at the ballpark again where the Phillies look to take a 2-0 series lead against the Milwaukee Brewers in the best-of-five NLDS. As anyone who would read this site knows by now, the Phillies held off the Brewers to win Game 1, 3-1, behind one of Cole Hamels’ best outings ever. Who knows… maybe it was the best outing by a Phillies pitcher in a playoff opener ever, too. Certainly Curt Schilling against the Braves in Game 1 of the 1993 NLCS has to rate up there – that was the one where Schilling whiffed the first five hitters of the game on his way to 10 whiffs as the Phils went on to win in the 10th on Kim Batiste’s game-winning hit.

But if the Phillies are going to get that commanding two-zip lead tonight, they will have their work cut out for them. After all, Big CC is going.

Big CC, of course, is CC Sabathia, the defending American League Cy Young Award winner who joined the Brewers in a deadline deal that Phillie Geoff Jenkins mused was the greatest deadline acquisition ever.

Without a chance to dive into some research I’m going to say it’s a tough statement to argue with. Certainly the raw numbers bear that out. In 17 starts since joining the Brewers, Sabathia went 11-2 with seven complete games, 128 strikeouts in 130 innings and a 1.65 ERA.

In just that short amount of time it’s not unreasonable to peg the big lefty as a viable NL Cy Young Award candidate. In that regard the reason has less to do with the numbers than the impact. After all, when the Brewers were reeling and limping through the first part of the month, Sabathia took the ball whenever asked. In fact, he worked on short rest in three consecutive starts to close the season, seemingly willing the Brewers into the playoffs for the first time since 1982.

Sabathia will make his fourth start in a row on short rest tonight.

“We know we have our work cut out for us,” Pat Burrell said. “This guy has been phenomenal for them all year. You see [pitchers work on short rest] all the time, but you don’t see guys who come over and dominate the way he has.”

Charlie Manuel told a story the other day how he and pitching coach Dick Pole nearly got fired in Cleveland for campaign so hard to get Sabathia on the team out of spring training in 2001. All Sabathia did that season to justify Manuel’s argument was go 17-5.

Nevertheless, Manuel is curious to see how strong his former protégé pitches on short rest again.

“I think they’ve pitched him a lot. I’m kind of anxious to see when his stuff when the game starts,” Manuel said. “But he has a tremendous feel for a pitch. He has a changeup and a slider and he can bury a slider on righties and he can reach up and go 95, 96 with something on it.

“And he’s very much in control of himself.”

Yes, the Phillies will have their work cut out for them. Then again, we all will.

Phillies 11 – Rollins, ss 8 – Victorino, cf 26 – Utley, 2b 6 – Howard, 1b 5 – Burrell, lf 28 – Werth, rf 7 – Feliz, 3b 51 – Ruiz, c 39 – Myers, p

Brewers 25 – Cameron, cf 5 – Durham, 2b 8 – Braun, lf 28 – Fielder, 1b 7 – Hardy, ss 1 – Hart, rf 30 – Counsell, 3b 18 – Kendall, c 52 – Sabathia, p

Check back closer to game time…