Chasing the dream, Phils win game 1

After struggling throughout the entire four game NLDS against the Milwaukee Brewers, second baseman Chase Utley came out of the gate with a fury in Thursday night's NLCS opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Well, okay, maybe a fury is overdoing it a little, as he only had two hits, one for a single. But the quiet star hit the biggest hit of his career, a game tying two run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning that went into the left field seats, as well as into Phillies history. It was the first of what we all hope is a long line of post season homeruns and big hits for Utley. "It's all about trying to put some hits together," Utley said last night. "We had a runner in scoring position and I was just trying to get him over. No matter what, I was trying to get him to third base. I squared up a sinker and it went over the fence. For Derek Lowe, it was up, but it wasn't a bad pitch." Coming off a heroic game four in which he had two homeruns of his own, including the game winner, Pat Burrell was not to be outdown by Utley. After Ryan Howard grounded out to first, Burrell came up and belted what would again be the game winner, deep into the left field stands. Burrell, another guy who struggled through most of the first series, has come up huge in the past two games, perhaps trying to show everyone that despite a rather bad last couple of months, that he is still worth giving a sizeable contract to this offseason. If it continues to make him win games for the Phils, then I say pay the man. Three runs would be all Cole Hamels would need to notch his second straight playoff victory. After running into some trouble in the first inning, Hamels settled down nicely with seven strong innings, giving up just six hits with eight strikeouts. "It's a huge challenge, when you're pitching in this day and age," Hamels said. "It's all about the home runs. The crowd wants to see the home runs. So bats are a little bit harder, balls are a little bit harder, the fences are a little bit shorter, to be a pitcher you really have to grind and be mentally tough." Fans were anxious early after Hamels gave up consecutive doubles, the second to Manny Ramirez, scoring the first run of the game, but he managed to get out of the inning relatively unscathed. The Phillies' pitchers held Manny to just two hits on the night, and he would not be a factor after that first inning (With the exception of an apparently stupendous play in the field that held what could of been a Burrell double to a single. What Tim McCarver failed to mention was that a) Burrell is slow, although Joe Buck did mention that, and b) it was a routine outfield play made by every other outfielder in the sport. Just because Manny is a horrific outfielder does not mean you have to glorify even the simplest of plays, idiot.). Ryan Madson continues to prove me wrong and pitch well in the eighth inning setup role, allowing just one hit with one strikeout in Thursday's win. Closer Brad Lidge appears to have settled down from his NLDS Game 1 jitters and pitched a lights out ninth for his third save of the postseason. The Phillies look to go up 2-0 Friday afternoon with Brett Myers on the mound against Chad Billingsley. First pitch is set for 4:35 PM.