Phillies, Yankees Still Alive

The hopes of those people who wanted to see a rematch of the 2009 World Series (not to mention my predictions for the League Championship Series) took a pair of deep hits this week, but both the Phillies and Yankees are still alive. I'll deal with the Phillies in a moment.

I didn't really expect, after their hideous collapse late in Game 1, blowing a 5-0 lead after 6 and losing 6-5, that the Texas Rangers would bounce back so well. They scored early in Game 2, rolling to a 7-2 win. Then the series shifted to Yankee Stadium, and the Rangers took Games 3 (8-0) and 4 (10-3), with Cliff Lee again displaying his mastery of the Yankee hitters in Game 3. The Yankees rebounded in Game 5 with a 7-2 win despite the Rangers picking up 13 hits -- 11 off CC Sabathia in 6 innings. What disturbed me was a quote I read in today's paper, from Rangers manager Ron Washington after Game 4: "We are not thinking about how we are going to close anyone out. If it happens, it happens. And if it don't, it doesn't happen."

That just sounds a little too casual for my tastes. The experience of the Yankees over the years means that they weren't just going to roll over and die. If you have a team like that down, you have to keep them down. Sure enough, now the series goes back to Texas. The advantage the Rangers have, on paper, is that even if they lose Game 6, they'll have Yankee-killer and postseason stud Lee pitching Game 7. Then again, too often in sports such advantages aren't worth
the paper they're written on.

Meanwhile, over in the National League, I was optimistic about the Phillies' hopes as their series moved to San Francisco tied 1-1, but their bats did not warm up in the three games out west. In Game 3 they were shut out by Matt Cain and looked lifeless. Game 4 was just a mess, between poor play and lack of timely hitting (except for a four-run 5th inning and back-to-back doubles by Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth in the 8th that tied the game at 5) and a number of questionable moves by Charlie Manuel, and the Giants won 6-5 with a run off Roy Oswalt (who came on in relief) in the 9th to go up 3-1.

Tonight, in the rematch of Game 1 starters Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum, a bobbled ball by Chase Utley (not officially scored an error because a forceout eventually was made at second base) gave the Giants a 1-0 first-inning lead. Halladay looked a little shaky, and Lincecum looked masterful. It looked bad. Then some poor fielding by the Giants helped the Phils score 3 in the 3rd. Halladay continued to struggle. Lincecum continued to make it look easy. Yet the Phils maintained a 3-2 lead and both starters were removed for pinch-hitters in the 7th. It was nerve-wracking to watch, so you can imagine how the Phils felt with their season filled with high expectations so close to coming to an inglorious end. But Jose Contreras and J.C. Romero combined for a scoreless 7th, Ryan Madson struck out the side in the 8th (and led me to make this proposition on Twitter), Werth homered in the top of the 9th and Brad Lidge closed out the 4-2 victory.

It was an especially gutsy performance by Halladay, who struggled with his command, an unpredictable strike zone (yes, the major league umpires continue to be subpar in the playoffs) and, as revealed after the game, a groin pull he suffered in the second inning. Without knowing any information at all, my guess is Halladay would not be available to pitch in relief in a possible Game 7. But if the Phillies don't pick things up at the plate, it will be a moot point.

Game 6 of the Yankees-Rangers series is Friday night. If the Yankees get to game 7 it would be played Saturday night. The Phillies and Giants are back at Citizens Bank Park Saturday (either a 3:57 pm or 7:57 pm Eastern start time, depending on whether there's an ALCS Game 7) and if they go to a 7th game it would be played Sunday night.