And just like that, the Philadelphia Phillies are back in the Fall Classic. It's both surprising and not at the same time. This team dealt with so much adversity in the past year that at times, it seemed impossible they could reach this stage. Then again, if there's one thing this team has taught us, it's never say die.
Cole Hamels got off to a shaky start, allowing a solo home run to Andre Ethier after an excellent at bat, but the Phillies responded immediately with a three run blast by Jayson Werth, one of two bombs in the game. They never looked back. Seriously. The Dodgers fought, fouled off pitch after pitch, put runners on the bases, but the Phillies bullpen never relented and the lineup just continued producing.
After the win, the Phillies met at the mound to congratulate one another, but there was no dogpile, very little jumping around, only handshakes and smiles. This team has four more wins to go.
It's not official as of this posting, but it's hard to believe anybody but Ryan Howard would be the MVP of this NLCS. No offense to Chooch, but Howard's 2 HR and 8 RBI really paved the way for this team's return to the Series.
As for the club, they'll face the winner of the Yankees/Angels series, though it looks very likely it'll be the dream match-up versus New York. There will be plenty of time to breakdown the competition once that's been decided, but a large number of us are pulling for the opportunity to take down the Evil Empire.
In the coming hours/days, we'll be posting as much video and quotes from the celebration as possible. Feel free to forward your own photos and stories. There's still four more wins, but it's already been such an amazing ride.
Original Story:
http://www.the700level.com/2009/10/wo...
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October 22, 2009
