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Victorino, Myers give Phillies 2-0 NLCS lead

Oct 11, 2008 - 2:15 AM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- The Philadelphia Phillies are two wins away for the World Series, and they have Shane Victorino and Brett Myers to thank - both for their performances at the plate and in the field.

Victorino drove in four runs and Myers had three hits and three RBI at the plate while striking out six on the mound to lead the Phillies to an 8-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Two of the National League Championship Series on Friday.

Greg Dobbs, Carlos Ruiz and Myers each scored a pair of runs for the Phillies, who took a two-games-to-none lead in the series. Game Three is Sunday at Dodger Stadium.

"It's big for us to get up 2-0 at home," Victorino said. "(But) it's still a long series. Anything can still happen."

During the eight games between the teams in the regular season, neither lost at home.

The Phillies were already playing with heavy hearts entering the contest upon learning of the death of manager Charlie Manuel's mother earlier in the day. When the game ended, they were dealt another blow when Victorino was told his grandmother had passed away in Hawaii.

"It's definitely an emotional time around here," Victorino said. "It's tough for Charlie to lose his mom and I just lost my grandmother. They're in a better place. They're watching over us."

After the Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, the Phillies exploded for four runs in the bottom of the frame. Chad Billingsley started out strong by striking out Pat Burrell and Jayson Werth before Dobbs reached on an infield single.

Ruiz followed with an RBI double and Myers singled in a run before Jimmy Rollins' base hit was misplayed by center fielder Matt Kemp, putting runners on second and third. Victorino made Los Angeles pay for the miscue with a two-run single, giving Philadelphia a 4-1 advantage.

"That was a weird inning," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "Because (Billingsley) gets through Burrell and Werth, strikeout, strikeout, and then all of a sudden the wheels come off at that point in time."

The Dodgers got back a run in the third, but the Phillies again responded with four in the bottom of the inning. Myers plated two more with a single and Victorino added a two-run triple for an 8-2 advantage.

"I think (Billingsley) was trying to find his stuff with men on base," Victorino said. "You try to hit mistakes and I think we were able to do that tonight."

Victorino benefited from the offensive performance by the bottom of the Philadelphia lineup, as Dobbs, Ruiz and Myers went a combined 6-for-10 at the plate.

"It takes 25 guys to win a game," Victorino said. "To get the bottom of the lineup on base for the guys up top is a big thing."

Myers (1-0), who had four hits in 58 at-bats during the regular season, has gone 4-for-5 during his two postseason starts. The righthander did not fare as well on the mound, allowing five runs and six hits in five frames while walking four, but still picked up the win.

"I would have rather gone out there and thrown seven solid innings than get three hits," Myers said. "But it worked out for us to where those three runs I drove in made a big difference in the game."

The Phillies did their damage against Billingsley (0-1), who was charged with all eight runs - seven earned - and eight hits in 21/3 innings. The 24-year-old righthander struck out five and walked three.

Manny Ramirez, who struck out in the first after Myers threw a pitch behind him, got his revenge with a three-run homer in the fourth to pull Los Angeles within 8-5.

"It (means) so much when you can swing the bat one time and get three runs," Torre said. "That is certainly huge for us to all of a sudden (pull within) 8-5, and now the game becomes a winnable ballgame."

Myers denied throwing at Ramirez in the first inning.

"The ball slipped out of my hand," Myers said. "I wasn't trying to hit their best player because, in hindsight, if I hit their best player, they're going to hit one of our best players. I don't want to get one of our players hurt."

The Dodgers threatened in the seventh, but Victorino was there to save the day with his glove.

Kemp walked with two outs and Nomar Garciaparra hit a pinch single to put runners on the corners. Casey Blake followed by driving a 1-0 pitch from Ryan Madson to deep left-center field, but Victorino tracked the ball to the wall and made a leaping catch for the final out.

"I just told myself I gotta get back and try and make a catch," Victorino said. "I think it was Charlie's mom and my grandmother that helped me make the catch."

Chad Durbin, J.C. Romero and Madson bridged the gap to closer Brad Lidge, who walked two before striking out Kemp and Garciaparra to end the game.