Big 3 in place to start every NLDS game

FROM THE MORNING CALL

If you feel good when the Phillies have Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt on the mound, then you're going to feel really good about their chances in the best-of-five NLDS.

It's looking like manager Charlie Manuel will be able to use just "H20" as his starters in the first round of the playoffs.

Closer Brad Lidge is all for that.


"When you've got these three guys going, it gives everybody a lot of confidence," he said.

"That would be good to line up that way," Manuel added.

That's just about the understatement of the decade. But Manuel isn't one to get too amped up about things, so we'll leave that up to you.

Because the Phillies solidified the National League's best record when they clinched their fourth consecutive East Division title with an 8-0 victory Monday at Nationals Park, Manuel and Co. get to choose whether they want to play the best-of-five series in a seven- or eight-day span.

They're going with the eight-day setup, which will look like this:

Game 1 on Wednesday, Oct. 6, and Game 2 on Friday, Oct. 8, would be at Citizens Bank Park. Saturday, Oct. 9, would be an off-day. Games 3 and 4 (both on the road) would be Oct. 10 and 11, respectively. Tuesday, Oct. 12, would be a day off with Game 5 returning to Philadelphia on Oct. 13.

That set-up would allow Halladay, who is expected to not make his final regular-season start this weekend in Atlanta, to pitch Game 1 and, if needed, Game 4 on regular rest. Whoever would pitch Game 2, likely Hamels, would be available to throw again in Game 5 (if needed).

"This is what baseball is," Oswalt said.

He's right. This is what every player, every fan wants.

The Phillies, who lead the majors with 20 shutouts, are making it tough to pick against them, especially with the way their offense has been heating up.

In September, the Phillies lead the NL in batting average (.289), slugging percentage (.460) and are tied for first in doubles (50). They rank second in runs scored (134) and third in home runs (30).

The pitchers have been almost as hot this month. They lead the league in wins (20), are third in ERA (3.25), tied for first in saves (11) and are third in strikeouts (204). For the year Phils starters have won 68 games, the most since 1993, when they won 69.

Even Hall of Fame player-turned-analyst Dennis Eckersley is reluctant not to favor the Phillies, who are 29-15 in one-run games, to get to the World Series for a third year in a row.

"How can you not pick the Phillies?" Eckersley said for TBS MLB On Deck. "They've been to the World Series the last two seasons and this should be the third time."

The Phillies' first-round opponent has yet to be determined, but because they have secured the league's best record, they will get the wild-card winner, unless it's the Braves (MLB does allow divisional foes to face each other in the division series). If the Braves get in, the Phillies would play the Reds, who they are 5-2 against.

The wild-card winner could come out of the West, but things in that division are still very much up in the air, meaning the Phillies could play either the Giants, Reds, Rockies (a long shot) or Padres. The Phils are 6-1 against the Rockies, 5-2 against the Padres and 3-3 against the Giants.

There's no doubt in my mind that the Phillies' toughest matchup would be San Francisco. Their starting pitching, anchored by Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez, is outstanding. In the month of September, the Giants' pitching staff has a major-league best 1.84 ERA, leads the league in strikeouts with 197, has a league-low 47 walks and is holding hitters to an-MLB low .179 batting average.

The Padres, on the other hand, have been on a bit of downslide. Their highly touted pitching staff has an ERA of 3.95 in September, just eighth-best in the league. Opponents are hitting .259 against them (11th) and they've allowed 88 walks, third most in the NL.

Their hitters haven't fared much better. They rank 13th in the league in hitting (.237 BA), 10th in home runs (21), 13th in slugging percentage (.355) and 14th in on-base percentage (.297).

But the 2010 Phillies don't have players with the type of make-up that will be flustered by their opponent. And they subscribe to the seemingly tired, but effective mantras of "we focus on us" and "we take it one-day at a time."

Hard to argue with that.

It's even harder to argue with Shane Victorino when he says, "We're hungry."

That's exactly what Phillies fans want to hear … after they hear that H2O will have a chance to take over in the NLDS.

http://www.mcall.com/sports/mc-philscol-0928-20100928,0,2618850.column