Game 2: Rockies

Phillie-killer Kaz Matsui led the Rockies to the 2-0 series lead by going 3-for-5 with five RBIs. He smacked a grand slam and came just a single shy of the cycle to lead the rout. As I type these sentences about Matsui and the Rockies and ponder the social significance of Peter Tork and The Monkees, I suddenly recall writing a bunch of stuff about Matsui when he was playing for the Mets. Specifically, those things regard a four and/or five-hit game(s) he had in this park back in 2004 before he was run out of New York.

Matsui certainly isn’t poorer for leaving Japan to play in the U.S. As most baseball fans remember, he signed a huge, $20 million-plus deal to join the Mets and was heralded as yet another guy to redefine the shortstop position. We quickly learned that it was nothing more than the NYC media playing a story out of proportion.

Hey, that’s what they do.

Either way, it was Kaz and the Rox day. They can end this thing very quickly on Saturday.

Are we coming back to Philly for Game 5?

*** • Did you see Tadahito Iguchi slam his bat down in disgust after drawing a two-out walk to load the bases in the eighth? It appeared as if he saw five balls during that plate appearance.

• Why didn’t Charlie ask the umpires to check out Manny Corpas when he came into the game in the eighth? Corpas, off course, had the Gatorade all over his shirt in Game 1 and the skipper is allowed to ask the umps to see if the pitcher has any contraband, etc. while on the mound. Charlie could have done that, which I’m sure would have sent the crowd into a screaming tizzy.

Yes, a tizzy.

• Was Game 2 a bad one for Charlie? As a reasonable Charlie supporter, I say, “Eh… yeah.”

• J.C. Romero extended his scoreless-games streak to 22.

• Chase Ultey had never, ever struck out five times in a row until the NLDS. He ended up going 2-for-5 in Game 2.

Stay tuned for more tonight, a little extra tomorrow and a preview of what to do/expect in Denver this weekend.

Hey, hey it's a Monkee

Oh, I just can’t resist… Plus, Peter Tork sang “God Bless America” during the Seventh-Inning Stretch.

Must I explain who Peter Tork is?

Really?

Tork and his buddies Davy Jones, Mike Nesmith and Mickey Dolenz formed a little group called, The Monkees…

I just got a shudder… why do I know this? Why is this information taking up residence in the locus of my brain?

Why, why, why!?

Sorry about that.

The Phillies continued to chip away in the seventh. Jimmy Rollins picked up his fourth RBI when he grounded in Shane Victorino. A five-run deficit for the Phillies is nothing, but time is wasting.

Mimicking the Brew Crew?

The announced attendance is 45,991. That makes it the largest crowd in CBP history and every single one of them booed Jose Mesa. It seems very likely that the Phillies will be down in the series 2-0 heading into Saturday’s Game 3. Jamie Moyer will take the ball at Coors in attempt to keep the series alive.

Meanwhile, the Phils began strolling down the comeback trail when Ryan Howard hit a BOMB into the left-center field seats to make it 10-4.

Too bad it only counted as one run.

Perhaps a good story will be talking to some folks about that 1982 Milwaukee Brewers’ club that overcame a 2-0 deficit in the ALCS to beat the California Angels in three straight to go to the World Series. Here’s an interesting tidbit on the ’82 Brewers – they clinched the AL East on the last day of the season, won the ALCS in the fifth and deciding game, and went to the seventh game of the World Series.

They played everything the whole way out.

Maybe that’s how it will work out for the Phillies.

OK…I’m going to go start writing some stuff now. I’ll check back if something wild, wacky and/or interesting occurs.

Burn, baby, burn

We’re into the bullpens now and, strangely, things appear to have settled down. Maybe those rookie starting pitchers had some jitters despite what Kyle Kendrick told us yesterday. Nonetheless, Kyle Lohse retired four in a row after giving up the grand slam to Kaz Matsui. From my seat it looks like Jose Mesa is warming up in the bullpen. It will be quite interesting to hear the reaction from the fans when Joe Table gets into the game in the sixth.

Josh Fogg, the starting pitcher from the Rockies’ playoff win over the Padres last Monday, relieved Franklin Morales to start the fourth. So far the only mar on his two innings was a single by Chase Utley to end his oh-fer. Chase was 1-for-12 and 0-for-8 heading into that two-out single in the fifth.

So Mesa entered the game and threw three straight balls before giving up a leadoff walk.

I’m curious why Charlie went with Mesa instead of Tom Gordon since he had been using Flash in the sixth the last few games.

But the leadoff walk was as good as it got for Mesa and the Phillies. A walk to Ryan Spilborghs followed by a double to Yorvit Torrealba made it 8-3 and forced the crowd to begin the ever popular, “MESA SUCKS!” chant.

Come on, sing along!

When Charlie went to get Mesa the crowd went with the old standby:

BOO!

I’m sure it was a coincidence, but when Mesa walked off and Clay Condrey entered, the PA blasted the song, “Disco Inferno” with the popular refrain, “Burn, baby, burn…”

They aren’t talking about the bullpen are they?

Condrey quickly made it 9-3 when Matsui tripled. Now he needs a single for the cycle.

Is Flash hurt?

Start your second-guessing

There was much hubbub this afternoon about Rockies’ closer Manny Corpas potentially doctoring baseballs in yesterday’s game. Apparently, Corpas intentionally dumped Gatorade onto the front of his uniform shirt before going to the mound to pitch. The idea is that Corpas did this to make his shirt sticky and then when he touched the garment with his hand, he would be able to get a better grip on the ball.

You can’t do that. It’s cheating.

Besides, there are much easier and better ways to make oneself sticky. For instance, Corpas could have rolled around on top of a mix of Sugar Daddies or Sweet Tarts. Try throwing a ball as hard and as smooth as an egg with that crap on your hands – it turns a baseball into a wiffle ball.

Anyway, I watched the tape of Corpas’ outing and it seems like much ado about nothing. He did go to his jersey once, but immediately wiped his hand clean on his pants… then again, maybe he had stickum on his trousers.

The smooth right-hander Kyle Lohse relieved Kyle Kendrick with two outs and the bases loaded in the fourth. Not only did summoning Lohse mean that he would not start Game 3, but it also meant that the Phillies had lost the lead. Four pitches in, Lohse gave up a grand slam to Kaz Matsui to make it 6-3.

I think the manager is being second-guessed here in the press box.

That will happen…

Forging ahead

The series that everyone had anticipated got underway in the first inning when Troy Tulowitzki (that’s T-U-L-O-W-I-T-Z-K-I) and MVP candidate Matt Holliday launched back-to-back homers off rookie starter Kyle Kendrick. Tulowitzki’s shot was a CBP Special that scraped the flower planters in left-center before bouncing back onto the field. Charlie Manuel argued a bit, but it was a lost cause.

Holliday’s homer was struck with such ferocity that it seemed as if he was trying to get back at someone. It was angry and it went a long, long way.

Kendrick settled in to retire the side and carried on relatively unscathed to the third inning (which is where the game is as I write this). Kaz Matsui doubled to lead off the third, but was left stranded there.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Rollins has been a one-man wrecking crew for the Phillies, as he and Holliday appear to be dueling one another as if fighting it out for the MVP Award. Rollins smacked the first pitch thrown by Franklin Morales deep into the seats in the power alley in left and the crowd was finally given a chance to get into it.

Apropos, Rollins’ stroke was smooth and pure and the ball carried out of the yard like a perfectly thrown Frisbee, never gaining a course of altitude that was too gaudy.

Chase Utley followed the homer with his fifth straight whiff.

Rollins continued his MVP duel and put the Phillies ahead in the second with a two-run, two-out triple in the second. He slid into third, but that was just for show – the pop up slide and the point to the heavens looks better on TV than if he goes in standing up.

Anyway, the Phillies have a lead. Let’s see what they do with it.

Game 2 lineups

Facing another lefty in Game 2 of the NLDS, manager Charlie Manuel will go with the Phillies’ “lefty” lineup. Manuel did not alter the order to face lefty Jeff Francis in Game 1, opting to go with Shane Victorino in right field instead of Jayson Werth, who hit .375 against southpaws this season. However, Manuel did go with Wes Helms at third base instead of Greg Dobbs. He did it again for Game 2:

Phillies 11- Jimmy Rollins, ss 26 – Chase Utley, 2b 5 – Pat Burrell, lf 6 – Ryan Howard, 1b 33 – Aaron Rowand, cf 28 – Jayson Werth, rf 18 – Wes Helms, 3b 51 – Carlos Ruiz, c 38 – Kyle Kendrick, p

Meanwhile, Clint Hurdle is sticking with the status quo for Game 2:

Rockies 7 – Kaz Matsui, 2b 2 – Troy Tulowitzki, ss 5 – Matt Holliday, lf 17 – Todd Helton, 1b 27 – Garrett Atkins, 3b 11 – Brad Hawpe, rf 19 – Ryan Spilborghs, cf 8 – Yorvit Torrealba, c 56 – Franklin Morales

Like Kendrick, Morales is a rookie. However, the Rockies’ lefty is not as seasoned as the Phillies’ rookie. Game 2 will be Morales’ ninth big-league start. For Kendrick it will be No. 21.

Yet another must win

OK. It's only one game. So Chase Utley struck out four times and the first four hitters in the batting order went 0-for-15 with nine strikeouts... big deal. That doesn't mean that the series is over... does it?

C'mon, no it doesn't. If there has been one constant this season it's that the Phillies are pretty good at bouncing back. Even when they are down and seemingly out, the Phillies always found a way to rally. They trailed the Mets by seven games with 17 to play, for Pete's sake... what's the big deal about a 1-0 deficit in a five-game series?

Well...

For one thing, a rookie with over 200 innings on his thin, right arm is taking the ball for Game 2. For another, Chase "Golden Sombrero" Utley has just four hits in his last 25 plate appearances. And for yet another, the Rockies are sending another lefty to the mound to face the Phillies. Lefties, as seen in Jeff Francis' gem in Game 1, give the Phillies fits.

Plus, if the Phillies lose Game 2, they would have to win three in a row with two of those games to played at Coors Field.

No, the Phillies don't have their backs against the wall. But they very well might soon...

Here's the Game 1 output from the big boy (me), excluding the inning-by-inning updates posted here:

• Rookie Kendrick Relaxed Before Game 2 • Utley Struggles Mightily in Playoff Debut • Game 1 a Learning Experience for Hamels