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From : kcal9
Added: Oct 19, 2009
Lee dominated the Dodgers, Howard and Jayson Werth(notes) provided the big swings early and Philadelphia cruised past Los Angeles 11-0 Sunday night for a 2-1 lead in the NL championship series. We expect to win when we come to the ballpark, and thats kind of who they are, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. Lee provided another brilliant playoff start, striking out 10 and allowing only three hits in eight innings. Cliff Lee, what can I say about him? He was absolutely outstanding, Manuel said. Howard ran hard for a triple, Werth homered and the Phillies led 6-0 by the second inning. Howard made two headfirst dives during the romp—the All-Star first baseman has an RBI in all seven of Philadelphias playoff games this year, a record streak in a single postseason. Hes a big-game player, Werth said. Weve got a lot of guys like that here, guys that thrive in big situations. The Phillies came up with the most-lopsided win in their postseason history. Joe Blanton(notes) starts Game 4 Monday night against Randy Wolf(notes), who hasnt pitched since the opener of the division series against St. Louis. You never want to get your rear end kicked, Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. But you dont toss and turn and wonder if you made the right move. Its still only one game and were in position to tie the series tomorrow. The next two games in the best-of-seven series are set for Citizens Bank Park. Howard had three RBIs, including his two-run triple in the first. Werth followed that with a two-run homer, and that was more than enough for Lee. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner faced just two batters over the minimum. Lee gave up a pair of singles to Manny Ramirez(notes) and one to Ronnie Belliard(notes). Manuel planned to send Lee out for the ninth until he hit a single in the eighth and scored on Shane Victorinos(notes) three-run homer. Chad Durbin(notes) relieved to begin the ninth and pitched a perfect inning. Lee is 2-0 with an 0.74 ERA in three postseason starts, giving the Phillies exactly what they expected when they acquired him from Cleveland in late July. I dont know if I ever doubted myself, Lee said. I always had confidence in myself. After wasting a brilliant performance by Pedro Martinez(notes) in Game 2, the Phillies jumped on Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda(notes) right from the start. On a brisk 46-degree night—almost half the temperature at Dodger Stadium for Game 3 Friday—Philadelphias hitters had no trouble swinging hot bats. Every starter except Raul Ibanez(notes) had a hit and all nine starters scored a run. Victorinos home run to deep right field put an emphatic exclamation mark on the rout. The shot also let Phillies outscore the citys NFL team—the Eagles lost 13-9 to the Oakland Raiders. Making his first start in 20 days, Kuroda only got four outs. He allowed six runs and six hits. Dodgers manager Joe Torre chose Kuroda over Chad Billingsley(notes) even though Kuroda was unavailable for the first-round series against St. Louis because of a herniation in his cervical spine. They put me on the mound and I have to come through, but I didnt, Kuroda said through a translator.
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