Dodgers vs. Phillies Game 5 inning-by-inning recap

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

FINAL SCORE: Phillies 10, Dodgers 4

Power-hitting and relief pitching separated the Dodgers and the Phillies. Surprisingly, the Phillies beat the Dodgers in both categories. The Phillies are the first team since the 1995-1996 Atlanta Braves to repeat as National League champions. The Dodgers’ defeat means there will be no Freeway Series again. But we are one New York Yankees victory away from a New Jersey Turnpike Series.

TOP OF THE NINTH INNING (Phillies 10, Dodgers 4)

Dodgers are three outs away from spending the offseason pondering how to improve their starting pitching staff. Brad Lidge in to try to close it out for the Phillies. Mark Loretta, batting for Belasario, strikes out swinging. Furcal pops to the catcher. Belliard flies to center and the Phillies are National League champions again. Stadium sound system plays a snippet of the Who’s ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ -- ``Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.’

BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH INNING (Phillies 10, Dodgers 4)

Ronald Belisario now pitching for the Dodgers. Ruiz flies to shallow center, Kemp making a sliding catch. Matt Stairs, batting for Madson, pops to Martin in front of the plate. Rollins singles to right-center. Victorino hits a deep drive to right-field, home run potential, but is ruled a ground-rule double on fan interference. Rollins takes third on the play. Belisario unleashes a wild pitch, Rollins scoring and Victorino taking third. Utley grounds to second.

TOP OF THE EIGHTH INNING (Phillies 9, Dodgers 4)

The Dodgers need baserunners. Like about seven of them. Belliard singles to left. That’s a start. Ethier singles to right, Belliard moving to third. Manuel goes to the bullpen again. Ryan Madson becomes the fifth Phillies pitcher of the night. He opens by walking Ramirez and loading the bases. Dodgers are a six-run home run away from tying this up. Kemp lines a single to center, Belliard scoring. Loney pops to third. Martin strikes out swinging. Blake, 2-for-18 in this series, hits a grounder to short, forcing Kemp at second. Dodgers pick a bad time to leave the bases loaded.

BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH INNING (Phillies 9, Dodgers 3)

Hong-Chih Kuo now pitching for the Dodgers. Howard is called out on strikes. Werth homers to left-center, his second home run of the game. The Phillies have now scored 22 runs on home runs this series. Ibanez and Feliz strike out swinging. Kuo strikes out the side, but the Dodgers head to the dugout with a six-run deficit.

TOP OF THE SEVENTH INNING (Phillies 8, Dodgers 3)

Dodgers down to their last nine outs. Chan Ho Park now pitching for the Phillies. Blake is called out on strikes. Juan Pierra, batting for Kershaw, grounds to third. Furcal flies to center. Dodgers down to their last six outs.

BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH INNING (Phillies 8, Dodgers 3)

Ruiz flies to right. Miguel Cairo, batting for Durbin, grounds to short. Rollins hits one down the left-field line, home run depth, but the ball falls about 10 feet foul. Next pitch plunks Rollins. That’s the second time Rollins has been hit in as many at-bats. That pitch, however, hurt the Dodgers a lot more than Rollins. Victorino homers to deep left field. The two-run home run gives the Phillies an 8-3 lead. Utley strikes out.

TOP OF THE SIXTH INNING (Phillies 6, Dodgers 3)

Kemp strikes out. Loney grounds to short. Martin hits a dribbler back to Durbin. Four up, four down for Durbin.

BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH INNING (Phillies 6, Dodgers 3)

It’s now or nothing for the Dodgers, so Torre summons Game 1 starter Clayton Kershaw to pitch to Howard-Werth-Ibanez. Kershaw walks Howard. Not the worst thing he could have done. But now that brings up Werth with a runner on base. Werth strikes out on a full-count pitch. Kershaw gets Ibanez to hit a double play grounder to second, but Belliard bobbles the ball and can only step on second for the forces. Ibanez is safe on first. Not technically an error, but definitely an error. Feliz swings and misses a 1-2 pitch, the ball gets away from Russell, but the catcher hustles to retrieve the ball and throw to first for the third out of the inning.

TOP OF THE FIFTH INNING (Phillies 6, Dodgers 3)

TBS commentator Chip Caray wonders how Hamels will respond to a 26-minute half-inning. The first batter he faces, Blake, pops to second. Orlando Hudson, batting for Sherrill, homers down the left-field line. That’s the Dodgers’ third home run of the game, all of them coming with no runners on base. There’s action in the Phillies bullpen. Furcal doubles to left. Charlie Manuel walks out to the mound. Hamels, with a three-run lead with one out in the top of the fifth, walks to the dugout. At least the Dodgers accomplished one pre-game goal: get into the Phillies bullpen early. J.A. Happ now pitching for the Phillies. Belliard walks on a full-count pitch. Ethier, representing the tying run, steps to the plate. He hits a fly to left. Manuel goes to his bullpen again. Chad Durbin now pitching for the Phillies. Ramirez now batting for the Dodgers. Ramirez fouls a 0-1 pitch off his left shin and hops away from the plate until the pain subsides. Ramirez hits a broken-bat roller back to Durbin. The Dodgers leave two crucial potential runs on base.

BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH INNING (Phillies 6, Dodgers 2)

Werth singles to left. Ibanez hits a deep fly to right that two-hops the fence for a double, scoring Werth. That’s it for Padilla. Joe Torre goes to his bullpen much earlier than he had hoped. Ramon Troncoso now pitching for the Dodgers. Feliz grounds to third. TBS uses a blimp camera to show Citizens Bank Park in all its glittering glory. So far tonight, no Phillies batter has hit that blimp. Ruiz walks. Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt heads to the mound for a conference with Troncoso. What are they discussing? Off-season vacation plans? Hamels successfully sacrifices, the runners advancing to third and second. Troncoso hits Rollins with a pitch, loading the bases. Torre comes out to wave in another reliever. George Sherrill now pitching for the Dodgers. Sherrill hits Victorino with a pitch, bringing home Ibanez. Utley is called out on strikes.

TOP OF THE FOURTH INNING (Phillies 4, Dodgers 2)

Ramirez, who doesn’t appear to have showered during the third inning, grounds to short. Kemp grounds to short. Loney walks. Martin pops to second.

BOTTOM OF THE THIRD INNING (Phillies 4, Dodgers 2)

Victorino pops to third. Utley is called out on strikes. Howard grounds to first. That’s six outs in a row for Padilla since Feliz’ home run.

TOP OF THE THIRD INNING (Phillies 4, Dodgers 2)

Furcal, 2-for-17 this series, grounds to second. Belliard pops to short. Ethier strikes out on a full-count pitch. Hamels has retired six in a row since Loney’s home run.

BOTTOM OF THE SECOND INNING (Phillies 4, Dodgers 2)

Pedro Feliz leads off the inning by hitting a drive to right. Now ready for lift-off. Feliz clears the right field fence for a home run. That’s four home runs to right in less than two innings. Carlos Ruiz grounds to second. Hamels is called out on strikes. Rollins strikes out swinging.

TOP OF THE SECOND INNING (Phillies 3, Dodgers 2)

James Loney homers to right. Right field is acting like an airport runway: Now taking off. . . .Russell Martin grounds to short. Blake grounds to third, Feliz making a fine running throw to first. Padilla flies to left.

BOTTOM OF THE FIRST INNING (Phillies 3, Dodgers 1)

Jimmy Rollins, Game 4 hero, leads off by flying to left. Shane Victorino hits tapper back to Vicente Padilla. Chase Utley walks. Ryan Howard, batting .379 in the postseason, walks on four pitches. Crowd chants, ‘Beat L.A! Beat L.A.!’ How about coming up with something original, crowd. Speaking of old hat, Jayson Werth just deposited a Padilla fastball into the right-field seats. Phillies grab the lead back, 3-1. Raul Ibanez grounds out to second. An inning that began with promise for the Dodgers now leaves them facing a two-run hole.

TOP OF THE FIRST INNING (Dodgers 1, Phillies 0)

TBS analyst Ron Darling says the Dodgers have to find a way to win ‘or go home.’ Actually, either way, win or lose, the Dodgers are going home. Game 6, should the Dodgers force it, would be played in Los Angeles. The Dodgers have a long way to go to ensure that game comes off. For the first time during the Philadelphia portion of this series, the weather doesn’t appear to be an issue. It’s 63 degrees and partly cloudy at game time. Phillies starting pitcher Cole Hamels opens the game with three balls to Rafael Furcal, then three strikes. One out. That’s how this series has gone for the Dodgers. Ronnie Belliard, moved up from sixth and seventh in the order by Joe Torre, flies to right. Andre Ethier homers to right field, which is just what the Dodgers needed: an early lead. Ramirez singles to right. Back-to-back hits. That’s been rare for the Dodgers as well. Kemp is called out on strikes. One runner left on base. Not so rare for the Dodgers.

Pre-game analysis

Saying a game is a must-win is a cliche, but it’s also true in this case for the Dodgers. They have to win three in a row from the Phillies to advance to the World Series, a tall task indeed.

Vicente Padilla, who hasn’t lost since coming to the Dodgers, will take on Cole Hamels. Can Padilla keep up the magic? We will find out soon enough. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. PT.

You can check out Diane Pucin’s live commentary on how TBS is handling the telecast of the game here.