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Jerry Lodriguss
Brad Lidge celebrates his save in the Phillies 3-2 win over the Dodgers in the first game of the NLCS series Thursday night in Philadelphia. ( Jerry Lodriguss / Staff Photographer )
- Phil Sheridan: Phils find their 'inner Manny'
- Phillies beat Dodgers in Game 1
- Hamels turns in ace of mound performance
- Struggling Utley finds his swing
- Phils fans swinging for a celebration
- With homer, Burrell's crazy ride continues
- Sounds and sights of opening night
- Lowe knows why: It was that flat sinker
- Ramirez just misses a mammoth home run
- Ruiz contributes at plate, too
- Fearless in 8th, Madson sets up the save
- Phils hope for another Matthews
- Subject to mood swings
- Myers acting like a changed man
- Myers, Billingsley: Game 2 foes
- Philly will be left in ruins
- Phils hope for another Matthews
- Batter-by-Batter
- Teams not betting on brawling
- AL Playoffs
- Mets' Burgos jailed in crash that killed 2
- Box score
- Todd Zolecki: The Phillies Zone
- More on the Phillies
- Buy Phillies jerseys, t-shirts, hats, and more
- Purchase Phillies playoff photos reprints
Photos: 2008 Phillies - Championship wallpaper
- Relive the memories: Coverage of the World Series run
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Phillies beat Dodgers in Game 1
Long after the last "Beat L.A.!" chant echoed through the concourses at Citizens Bank Park last night, Pat Burrell stood in front of his locker inside the Phillies' clubhouse and expressed his team's good fortune.
Contact staff writer Todd Zolecki
Chase Utley had hit a two-run, game-tying home run to right field in the sixth inning of a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, and Burrell followed two batters later with the go-ahead homer to left field. Of course, neither ball had been hit as far as Manny Ramirez's double off the top of the 19-foot-high wall in center field in the first inning.
But, hey, so what?
"I don't think either one of ours goes out of Dodger Stadium," Burrell said with a smile. "But I think his would. We got pretty lucky on that one."
He would take it. Everybody in Philadelphia would take it.
The Phillies took advantage of a couple of mistakes from Dodgers righthander Derek Lowe, who threw the ball very well through the first five innings. He had a 2-0 lead when Shane Victorino reached base on Rafael Furcal's throwing error to start the sixth inning.
Utley hit a first-pitch sinker to right to tie the game.
"The pitch I hit was probably middle of the zone, in terms of height," Utley said. "But that's not really up. But for Derek Lowe, sinker guy, it was up a little bit."
Burrell hit a 3-1 fastball to give the Phillies the lead. It was his third home run of the 2008 postseason, and the fourth of his short postseason career.
The middle of the Phillies' lineup had struggled for most of the National League division series against the Milwaukee Brewers, until Burrell homered twice in Game 4 at Miller Park.
Utley, Ryan Howard and Burrell hit a combined .184 (7 for 38) with 2 homers, 7 RBIs, 9 walks and 10 strikeouts in that series. But the Phillies had high expectations for them entering the NLCS.
"They have been pitching us tough, trying not to let us do too much damage, which I imagine is the game plan for a lot of teams," Utley said.
Phillies lefthander Cole Hamels looked more and more like a big-game pitcher. After throwing eight shutout innings against the Brewers in Game 1 of the division series, he allowed two runs in seven innings against the Dodgers. The Dodgers scored a run in the fourth to make it 2-0, but Hamels retired 11 of the final 13 batters he faced.
Ryan Madson threw a scoreless eighth, and Brad Lidge picked up a save in the ninth.
"That's huge," manager Charlie Manuel said of the Game 1 victory. "But you still have to win four games. We played a good team, and we came away with a victory. Now we've got to concentrate on winning tomorrow."
Phillies 3, Dodgers 2
Phillies lead series, 1-0.
Game 2: Dodgers (Billingsley 16-10) at Phillies (Myers 10-13), todayat 4:35 p.m.
TV/Radio: Fox29;
WPHT-AM (1210).
Contact staff writer Todd Zolecki
at 215-854-4874 or tzolecki@phillynews.com. Read his blog at http://go.philly.com/phillieszone.
