Oct 11, 2008 - 9:25 AM
0 shoutsBy Vince DiGregorio PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer
The Philadelphia Phillies' high-powered offense is starting to get in gear. What's strange is the players revving the engine.
The Phillies have 18 hits after two games in the National League Championship Series, with three players combining for half the total.
If you chose among the top six hitters in the lineup - Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burrell, Jayson Werth and Shane Victorino - as the three teammates most likely to be doing the damage, you'd only have one correct answer: Burrell.
The other two are Carlos Ruiz, who batted .219 in the regular season, and starting pitcher Brett Myers.
Myers got the call in Game Two of the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday and was the key to the Philadelphia's 8-5 victory, though it had little to do with the righthander's prowess on the mound.
He allowed five runs and six hits while walking four but was a key part to the offensive attack, going 3-for-3 and driving in three runs.
Myers had no explanation for his sudden offensive outburst.
"I actually looked in the dugout and shrugged my shoulders like I don't know what's going on," Myers said.
Myers had four hits in 58 at-bats during the regular season and already has four in this postseason, including one he got in the division series against Milwaukee.
"I've got four hits all year and I go out there and now I've got four in the postseason," Myers said. "I'm actually baffled as to what's going on, too. I just can't explain it."
Myers has three more hits in the NLCS than Howard, who is 0-for-8 after two games.
He has as many hits as Manny Ramirez, although the Dodgers' slugger did touch Myers for a three-run blast in the fourth inning on Friday.
The Phillies, who had scored in a total of seven innings over their first five playoff games, finally put together two big innings, scoring four runs in each the second and third in Game Two.
Both games at Citizens Bank Park were also played in relatively balmy weather this time of year in Philadelphia, with temperatures in the low 70's instead of the normally chilly October nights.
The only predictable thing in the series so far has been the passion of the Philadelphia fans, who had plenty of chances to go into a towel-waving frenzy to spark their team.
As the series shifts to Los Angeles, the Phillies are hoping the bats stay in the fast lane.
