SportsDystopia

You could be forgiven for thinking that the NLCS was all but over after the decisive way the Philadelphia Phillies took a 2-0 lead to open the series, the way they waited for their moment against Derek Lowe in game 1, then jumped all over Chad Billingsley in game 2.  You probably noticed how sharp their bullpen is, how their lineup has speed and power, and how they’d taken their game to a level no other team in baseball has played at this season since mid September.  You could be forgiven for thinking that the LA Dodgers were a year too young after you saw Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier looking impatient while striking out at crucial moments in game 2, or that their pitching staff just wasn’t quite sharp enough to contain the Phillies offensive juggernaut.

You could be forgiven for seeing all that, because it sure looked to be the case when these two teams were playing the first two games in Philadelphia.  It didn’t look like that at all when it shifted to Chavez Ravine for game 3.

The Dodgers played like they had something to prove on Sunday night, when they jumped all over Philly’s ageless wonder, Jamie Moyer, for 5 runs in the first inning.  3 straight singles by Rafael Furcal, Andre Ethier (Joe Torre just needs to let him stay in the number 2 hole for the remainder of the playoffs, he’s a whole different hitter with Manny batting behind him) and Manny Ramirez gave LA a 1-0 lead and set the table.  Moyer plunked the next batter, Russell Martin, to load the bases.  There was nobody out, and the entire sequence had taken all of 10 pitches.  He struck out Nomar Garciaparra, then allowed an RBI single to Casey Blake, who, in spite of Manny dominating the Dodgers’ headlines the last two months, has been a major midseason acquisition in his own right.

Moyer got another out when he K’d Matt Kemp, but then the real damage came.  Blake DeWitt ripped a triple to deep right, clearing the bases and giving the Dodgers a 5-0 lead that would be more than enough on this evening.  The inning only ended when LA’s pitcher, Hiroki Kuroda, grounded out to 3rd.

The Phillies got a run back in the top of the 2nd, but Rafael Furcal led off the bottom half of the inning with a home run.  Moyer would retire Andre Ethier on a long fly ball to center, but his night was over.  There was no way he was going to face Manny Ramirez, who has 10 career homers against the 45 year-old.  The point was moot, as Philadelphia would never get closer the rest of the game, eventually losing 7-2.

But in spite of the contest being essentially decided in the 1st inning, excitement still followed.  In the top of the 3rd, Kuroda threw a pitch over the head of Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino, seemingly in retaliation for Brett Myers having thrown a pitch behind Manny Ramirez early in the game 2 rout, and for Moyers plunking Martin in the 1st, not to mention Clay Condrey’s nearly hitting Martin with a high and tight fastball in the 2nd inning.

Victorino had to duck to avoid getting hit in the helmet, and pointed angrily to his head and chest, signifying his displeasure that Kuroda had tried to bean him rather than throwing the retaliatory pitch at his body.

“Someone was bound to get hit. The situation called for it.  Just don’t throw at my head.” Victorino said after the game.

Both benches were warned following the pitch, but when Victorino grounded out, he had more angry words for Kuroda at 1st base, and both benches and bullpens emptied.  No punches were thrown, though Manny Ramirez had to be physically restrained by Dodgers teammates and manager Joe Torre.

Russell Martin would be plunked again in the 7th, though this time nobody came out of the dugouts, and he calmly took his base.  In any case, serious hostility between the teams is clearly brewing, and it will remain to be seen if any of it spills over into Monday night’s game 4.

Derek Lowe will be pitching on 3 days rest for LA against Joe Blanton, who has gone 10-4 since being acquired from Oakland in July.  The tenor of the series clearly shifted on Sunday night, but the question remains whether or not either of these teams can win a game in the other’s ballpark.  Between the regular season and playoffs, the home team has won all 11 meetings between them this year.

Regardless, the stakes have been raised, and the mood in this series has taken on an ugly and personal tint.  It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

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