Phillies down to last hope

FROM THE MORNING CALL

SAN FRANCISCO -- Clutch hitting used to be the Phillies' way of doing things.

The Giants stole their M.O.

San Francisco scored their first three runs with two outs, took momentum with a two-run sixth inning and scored the game-winning run on Juan Uribe's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth to edge the Phillies 6-5 and take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven NLCS.

The Phillies did everything they could to stop the bleeding, including bringing in starter Roy Oswalt to face the heart of the Giants' order in the ninth.

But San Francisco got to him.

One-out, back-to-back singles by Aubrey Huff and Buster Posey (four hits) put runners at the corners for Uribe, who entered the game in the ninth as part of a double switch. Uribe hit a fly ball to left field that was deep enough to easily score Huff for the decisive run.

"They made sure they kept fighting back," shortstop Jimmy Rollins said. "They didn't roll over and say, OK. They took the lead. We're up 2-1, so let's sit on it. They kept playing. They've been getting the big hits."

To force the series back to Philadelphia, the Phillies have to win Thursday.

"I'd say if we like to play with our backs against the wall, I think we're standing right there now," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.

"We don't want to be in this situation, but we are," Rollins said. "We'll fight."

Game 5, featuring a rematch between aces Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum, is at 7:57 Thursday night at AT&T Park.

"That is the guy I want to have the ball," Phils center fielder Shane Victorino said of Halladay. "He always finds a way to show what he's all about."

The Giants jumped on a rusty Joe Blanton early and hit around Chad Durbin in the sixth before getting to Oswalt in the ninth.

Trailing by a run, the Phillies knotted the game at 5 in the eighth thanks to back-to-back doubles by Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth to start the inning. They missed out on a chance to take the lead back. Rollins popped out, Ben Francisco struck out on three sliders from Sergio Romo and Carlos Ruiz whiffed at a 79 mph slider that was about a foot off the plate.

With the Phillies ahead 4-3 in the sixth, Durbin started the inning.

A leadoff walk to former teammate Pat Burrell and a single by Cody Ross was a recipe for disaster.

Third baseman Pablo Sandoval, who hit just .268 during the regular season and lost his job to Mike Fontenot when the playoffs started, came into Wednesday's game with just one hit in six postseason at-bats.

But Sandoval laced a ball to the left-center field gap, which scored two runs and put the Giants back in front at 5-4.

"We took the lead, we had momentum on our side and all of a sudden we go back out there and they take it right back away from us," Manuel said. "I felt like walks, leadoff walks, did us in in the fifth and sixth inning. Definitely opened the door for the Giants.


Phillies hitters looked lost for the first four innings. They struck out six times against rookie Madison Bumgarner, half of which were looking. They stood frozen at the plate several times, and a few guys had some choice words for home plate Wally Bell.

But after falling behind 2-0, the Phillies finally figured out Bumgarner and put together a four-run fifth inning, ending their 14-inning scoreless drought, to take a 4-2 lead.

Four of the Phillies' first five batters in that inning reached base.


Ben Francisco and Carlos Ruiz hit back-to-back singles before Blanton's sacrifice bunt moved each of them up a base. Victorino smoked a ball up the middle that scored Francisco to bring the Phillies within 2-1. Third-base coach Sam Perlozzo, in gambling mode, opted to send Ruiz from second base. But center fielder Aaron Rowand fired a strike to Posey, who tagged Ruiz out at home.

Then Chase Utley, who came to the plate hitting .083 (1-for-12) in the series, singled to right, a hit that would have scored Ruiz had he been held up at third on the previous play.

"That was definitely a crucial play in the game," Victorino said of Rowand getting Ruiz at home.

That prompted San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy to bring in reliever Santiago Casilla.

But Placido Polanco doubled off Casilla, which scored Utley and Victorino to put the Phillies ahead 3-2 Casilla loaded the bases when he intentionally walked Howard and hit Werth with a pitch, sending Rollins to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded.

A wild pitch that bounced off the plate and over the protective screen into the seats allowed Polanco to score, which gave the Phillies a two-run cushion.

Rollins, still batting with two runners in scoring position, had a chance to extend the Phillies' lead, but his eight-pitch at-bat resulted in a strikeout on a 97 mph fastball.

"I just didn't execute," Rollins said.

The start was an ugly one.

After having not pitched since Oct. 3, Blanton gave up two hits, including a two-out RBI single, and threw two wild pitches in the first inning as the Giants took a 1-0 lead.

"Both [of those wild pitches] I tried to bury a little too much," Blanton said.

Blanton hit Ross to start the second, but got out of that.

He wasn't so lucky in the third.

After retiring the first two batters he faced, Huff singled and scored on Posey's double to left field, which put San Francisco ahead 2-0.

Oswalt said he would be available to start a possible Game 6.

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