It was widely reported before Game 5 of the NLCS the Phillies trailed 3-games-to-1 in the best-of-7 series, that in order for the Phillies to avoid being eliminated their Ace, Roy Halladay would have to shine like only he can. In a season where he became the 2nd person in baseball history to throwing 2 no hitters in the same season, Halladay would not achieve highest form on this night, yet-- implausibly against the reigning '08 & '09 Cy Young pitcher, S.F.'s Tim Lincecum-- they would win, nonetheless.
It was Ryan Madson who starred on the mound for the Phils. His 8th inning 3 S.O. against the
heart of the Giants' order-- Posey, Burrell and Ross-- was stunning, scene-stealing, magical. It also came on the heels of his manager, Charlie Manuel, revealing before the game that Madson was the only pitcher he was shy to use in game 5 due to his unorthodox 1 2/3 innings (rather than his usual 1 or less) of work the night before.As the Giants' fans came to their feet, ready for another winning hit from their beloved stars (they have 2 walkoff wins in the series), prepared to cheer their team into the World Series by the end of the night, a Giants highlight reel from the season played on fanovision. Orange pom-poms waved everywhere, engulfing the stadium in Giant mania.
"Don't Stop Believing" pounded from the speakers intended to ignite game-winning performance, which it did, only not from the home team:
"Great song," said Ryan Madson, who struck out the side. "That song pumped me up. When they started playing it, I got chills. It kept me loose. It took my mind off everything. I guess they probably won't do that again."
Madson's cutter was surreal. He threw 13 pitches, 10 for strikes, none of them even close to being hit cleanly.
Brad Lidge's 1-2-3 9th was a sigh of relief and reaffirmed the fact that his command is reliable and has been for months. Lidge is now 12-12 in postseason saves for the Phillies. Speaking after the game about himself and teammate Madson, Lidge sounded resolute:
"We just wanted to get in the game and finish off what he started," Phillies closer Brad Lidge said. "We were fired up. There was no way we were giving up anything tonight."
“The Giants are still in the driver’s seat, but we did a good thing today,” Shane Victorino said. “Our backs are still against the wall, but the atmosphere has been lifted. We have to keep it going.”
"It's about touching home plate as many times as you can." centerfielder Shane Victorino said after the game. "It's going to be loud [in Game 6 on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park]. It's what it's all about. I think the fans will help push us, being down 3-2 [in the series]. We're not going to worry about Game 7. We have to worry about Game 6 first."
Jayson Werth did it again in the field and at the plate. In the 4th, he threw out Cody Ross, who was trying for 3rd Base in a key play that ended in traded fist pumps and fired up roars between Werth and Roy Halladay, who acknowledged his right fielder as he came off the mound. At the top of the 8th, Werth hit a solo shot to right that tied him for the all-time postseason NL HR record at 13 (teammate Chase Utley has 11):
Most Postseason HR
NL History
| Jayson Werth | 13 |
| Jim Edmonds | 13 |
| Chipper Jones | 13 |
| Albert Pujols | 13 |
"We just kind of play in the moment," said Jayson Werth, who put his stamp on this game with a lightning-bolt throw from right field and a rare opposite-field AT&T Park homer. "I read somewhere the other day where [Ryan Howard] said his motto is 'no panic.' And I think that's pretty true for our whole team. I mean, we've got a bunch of guys that are professionals and know what they're doing. We needed to win a ballgame tonight. We went out and did it."
Halladay pulled his right groin muscle throwing a pitch to the 1st batter in the bottom of the 2nd
inning, it was revealed after the game. Legs are crucial to every pitcher, especially someone like Halladay who derives much power from his ability to push off the rubber. Unable to generate a strong push with his right leg and wary to “finish” his pitches for risk of further injury, Halladay did not have top velocity on his sinker or cutter.Brad Lidge said, “The guy was pitching on one wheel and he gave us six innings and left with the lead in a game we had to win or else. People won’t realize how great this was because there’s no statistic for it, but we, the guys in this clubhouse, do.”
"You know what? That's him, man," Shane Victorino said. "I don't know what kind of word you can put on him. I don't know if he's a superhero or what. But he's just that hard of a worker and that much of a gamer, and this says how much this means to him, I think. That's just the kind of guy he is."
“I felt like something was off because he wasn’t throwing as hard,” Raul Ibanez said. “He’s just a gamer. He has the heart of a lion. This was as impressive as anything I’ve seen him do. There’s only one Roy Halladay.”
Halladay told team athletic trainers about the injury after the second inning, and they instructed him to ride a stationary bike between innings so the leg wouldn’t tighten up. He never thought of coming out of the game.
“I was going to try to find a way,” Halladay said. “I just hoped that way was going to be good enough and fortunately it was.”
Manager Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee spoke with Halladay between innings, to make sure he could keep going.
“He was determined to stay in there,” Manuel said. “Once he got to 108 pitches, and once he got us to a place where I felt the bullpen could definitely have a chance of saving him, that’s when we got him out of there.”
"They'd have to kick me out," Halladay said. "I mean, I was going to find a way. You just hope that way is good enough to get you through."
"I'm proud we're still playing," said Halladay, after improvising his way through 6 amazingly effective innings in his team's 4-2 Game 5 win over the Giants. "I think that's first and foremost. I think all of us, at this point, have kind of put our own personal stuff aside, and go out and play as a team and try to accomplish stuff as a team. So I think that's a good feeling. It's a good feeling, as a team, to be able to fly home, knowing we're playing again."
Game 6 is Saturday in Philadelphia.
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