Professional Phils Play Big, Take Game 3

It was Charlie Manuel's managerial masterpiece as he painted each stroke with precision and excellence. His unorthodox meeting on the mound (normally it is the pitching coach) with Brad Lidge with 2 out in the 9th led to success for his flammable, fragile closer. Manuel's 9th-inning substitute Ben Fransisco caught the left field fly ball for the final out. With each unexpected turn, Manuel proved a mastermind in full-control of his Championship roster and hungry newcomers.

Even the sudden and unlikely injury to a key pitcher for the 2nd-straight game couldn't spoil Manuel's lock on this game. He merely shuffled his game plan, inserted Ryan Madson for an uncharacteristic 7th inning appearance and watched the pieces fall into place. Madson dominated ala October '08, Chad Durbin (of all people) recorded the 1st Phillies 1-2-3 inning in the 8th and then Brad 'Wild Thing' Lidge converted the 'don't look now' save as only he can to seal the win.

In Game 2 it was Happ struck on the knee by a line drive who needed an emergency replacement. This time it was Scott Eyre crumpled around his turned ankle in the 7th forcing Phils current closer Ryan Madson on early. Madson shined, rekindling his brilliance from last year's postseason, recording 1 inning with 2 big strikeouts.

Raul Ibanez was down 1 ball to 2 strikes in the top of the 4th with the bases loaded and the Phillies down 3-2. A strikeout would be a rally killer with nobody out at the time. It appeared headed that way, when Ibanez fouled one off, then another. Still alive, seeing more pitches from Colorado's starter Hammel, a hitter's advantage. Ball 2. Ok, progress, hanging tough. Ball 3. Wow, he worked it full, now he's seen 7 pitches and shifted the pressure to the pitcher, who once had Ibanez in a 1-2 hole. Ball 4. Tie game. Just like that. He didn't have to put the ball in play. Without swinging, Ibanez tied the game and neutralized a 3-1 lead and silenced the home crowd. It was the biggest at-bat of the game and it was all veteran. 14 years of professional baseball culminated in that at-bat in this, Ibanez's 1st-ever postseason stage. It was a great baseball story and showed the greatness of the game, that the tying run could advance without contact in a chess match moment of battle and resilience.

Carlos Ruiz, whose injuries to both wrists in September nearly sidelined him for the rest of the season, came up as big as he ever has. 'Chooch' was a hero last postseason, when he came out off of a career-worst .219 regular season to record game-winning hits and a .346 playoff OBP with 4 doubles and a HR. This year, he batted .255, but is 3-9 in this NLDS vs. Colorado, just as he was in 2007 in the NLDS against the Rockies. He was 2-4 with 2 RBIs in this crucial Game 3. It was gigantic. His 2-out RBI in the 4th after Feliz had grounded into a double-play put the Phils ahead 4-3 and lifted their spirits, willing them to victory.

In the 5th, Colorado failed to score for only the 2nd-time to that point in the game. It looked like more trouble when Todd Helton led off with a single, but then Joe Blanton got Tulowitzki to ground into a double play. It was a familiar sight as Rollins turned to Utley, who relayed to Howard at 1st to complete the 2nd out. It was clockwork because, like an Olympic basketball roster out of Europe, these guys have done it together so many times these past few years. It was a moment for a fan to take pause and delight at quite possibly the greatest all-around fielding infield in Phillies' history.

In the 9th inning, Huston Street came on in relief for Colorado. Street was 4-1 in 2009 with 35 saves in 37 tries. Like his counterpart in St. Louis, Ryan Franklin, who was beat in the 1st round of the playoffs by the Dodgers after a season of near perfection, Street lost the game, while 2009's least reliable closer Brad Lidge recorded his 1st save in his 1st postseason attempt. It was redemption and an ironic contrast to both his season and his NL closer counterpart's playoff performances.

The Phillies led off the top of the 9th with Jimmy Rollins, 0-4 with 2 strikeouts on the night. Rollins against Street. A year of career-lows for J-Roll vs. a career-high year for Street. Against the odds, Jimmy won the contest. As he has been countless times, team captain Rollins was the spark the Phillies needed. His leadoff single up the middle led to the winning run. It was Charlie Manuel's move next and he stunningly took the bat out of Victorino's hands. Victorino, who set an all time Phillies' record in single-season playoff RBIs in 2008, laid down an impeccable bunt between the 3rd base line and the pitcher's mound, which advanced Rollins to 2nd (scoring position) and took away the possibility of a double play. It was textbook baseball. No glory, all execution. Kudos the 'Flyin' Hawaiian.' Manuel the Maestro strikes again.

Next, it was Chase Utley's turn and what transpired calls to mind the lanky 2nd-baseman's heroics from last year's World Series. That fateful play in the final game against Tampa Bay, when Utley faked to 1st (something rarely seen in baseball, although 'pump fakes' in basketball are common) , then threw home to record the out on the lead runner and prevent a run from scoring. It was a pivotal play that will live on in Phils' folklore with Matt Stairs' storybook Home run.

Don't ever play poker with Chase Utley. Utley sold a foul ball off his leg as a base hit, ran hard without pause and nobody questioned it. It was ruled an infield single, a questionable call on a bang-bang play at 1st that went the gambler's way. The ball hit Utley's right leg while he was still in the batter's box and should have been ruled a foul ball, but home plate umpire Jerry Meals didn't call the ball dead.

"Chase Utley took off like it was nothing," Meals said after the game. "He gave no indication to us that it hit him. Whatever percent of the time, you're going to get a guy that's going to stop if it hits him." Utley said, "The ball might have caught me. Nobody said anything, so I ran hard. I check swung. The ball checked up in front of me. It might have hit my leg. But nobody made a call." That's half the story. The other half is that this team's Charlie Hustle sold it-- and good. It was that single which moved Rollins to 3rd and enabled him to score the winning run. Once again, Utley showed why he is baseball smarts, grit and diamonds all in one sweet hand of Texas Hold 'Em. Utley finished the day 3-4 with a walk and a 1st-inning HR [see picture], silent MVP of a crucial win for the Phils.

Finally, it was up to Ryan Howard, the cleanup man, the man Manuel said he'd most want to bat in such a situation. Howard has shown his poise this postseason. He has matured into everything you want out of your cleanup hitter. He hit a textbook sac. fly to left-center. Just as Victorino had shown perfect execution in his sacrifice for out #1 to advance Rollins to scoring position, Howard did the same for out #2 to score him. That was the winning run, as it put the Phillies ahead for good, 6-5.

The Phillies were league leaders in comeback wins again this year, as they were in 2008. "With this team, we're never out of it," Howard said. "We have the type of hitters from top to bottom in our lineup who can produce. We're never out of a game."

"I feel really blessed to be a part of this club," Ibanez said. "It's easily the most resilient club I've ever been a part of. We have no quit in us. We work well together."

“It was just an amazing game," said Shane Victorino. "And I was glad to be a part of it." 4 hours & 6 minutes of 9-inning baseball, the longest 9-inning NL postseason game ever. All-time MLB record postseason bad weather: 27 degrees on the field. "At one point," remarked Jimmy Rollins, "My fingers went numb." Enough drama between Eyre's injury and Lidge's 9th-inning save to fill a feature-length movie. The defending Champs came out on top and reclaimed home field advantage, which they had surrendered by losing 1 in Philly. Their road record prowess paid off and they now need to win only 1-- either Game 4 in Colorado or Game 5 in Philly-- to advance to Thursday's NLCS in Los Angeles. True, the Dodgers will have more rest, by several days, but the cooled off team doesn't always find it an advantage to be rested and rusty.

These Rockies are better than anyone expected. They are, as has been baseball's recent trend, the hot team that wins the wild card via momentum. They are toe-to-toe with the Champs in this round. Sunday's win, in the freezing cold (ala the tundra of World Series '08), via grit, execution and managerial genius, showed the true colors of our reigning heroes. They did exactly what needed to be done and now control their own fate from here to L.A.