When Steve Carlton used to take the mound for the Phillies, it was known as Win Day. Lefty simply won games. When he was on the mound, it seemed as if the Fightins would never lose.
Cliff Lee seemed to bring that mentality back to the Phillies when he came over from the Cleveland Indians. He went 5-0 in his first 5 starts for the Phillies, but went 3-4 in his next 7.
Those 7 starts meant nothing to him as he went 1-0 with a 1.10 ERA in two starts against the Rockies, throwing a complete game in Game 1 of the NLDS, Pitching again in Game 4, in terrible weather in Denver, he pitched 7 & 1/3 giving up 3 runs, only one of them earned.
For never having pitched in the postseason prior to this year, Lee made a hell of a debut in Game 1 of the NLDS. He handled the pressure well and seemed to have the form that he had when he first came to Philly.
Heading into Game 3, the Phillies and Dodgers are tied up at a game apiece. However, the Phillies are a bad Chase Utley throw to first from being up 2 games to none. Utley is usually a very sure handed 2nd baseman, but he has made a bad throw in each of the 2 LCS games. Getting him back in Citizens Bank Park tonight should help.
If all goes well, the Phillies will take a 2-1 lead tonight and trot out Joe Blanton in Game 4. Game 5 is on Wednesday, so that would give Charlie Manuel the most likely option of pitching Cole Hamels again. He pitched well in Game 1, so having him for Game 5 is nice.
All in all, the Phillies are only 1 uncharacteristically bad throw from their future HOF 2nd baseman from being up 2-0 in the NLCS.
Based on the first two games, the Phillies have a very good shot at winning this series. This time though, based on their track record, they’ll do it at home.
