It's a Fight
The Dodgers showed they are ready to fight after a 7-2 victory over the Phillies in Game 3 of the NLCS.
It's a Fight
Todd Zolecki
You just knew that was coming.
Brett Myers threw high and tight to Russell Martin and behind Manny Ramirez's back in the first inning of Game 2 of the National League Championship Series on Friday at Citizens Bank Park. Clay Condrey then brushed back Russell in Game 3. And because Dodgers righthander Chad Billingsley didn't buzz anybody in Game 2, you knew the Dodgers would do something last night in Game 3 at Dodger Stadium. Sure enough, they did. Dodgers righthander Hiroki Kuroda threw over Shane Victorino's head with two outs and nobody on in the third inning of their 7-2 victory. The victory did the one thing the Phillies didn't want, according to Phil Sheridan: they made this series interesting.
Victorino angrily pointed at his head and then his ribs.
If you're going to hit me, hit me in the ribs. Don't take off my head.
Victorino wouldn't talk to reporters about the incident afterward, other than FOX's Ken Rosenthal. He jawed with Kuroda after he grounded out to first. Benches and bullpens cleared. Ramirez had to be restrained. "I was just yelling," Ramirez said. J.C. Romero had to be restrained, although he said he was just trying to explain to his "Latino brother" that nobody was trying to hurt him. (Romero also said he and Ramirez might have dinner after the game.) Larry Bowa seemed to be yelling at Myers from afar.
The Phillies seem to consider the issue dead. Myers threw behind Ramirez's back. Kuroda threw over Victorino's head. They're even.
But the Phillies hope that's the last time they're even with the Dodgers. The Phillies need to beat the Dodgers tonight in Game 4 or pull into a 2-2 tie in the best-of-seven series.
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Jamie Moyer got rocked. He allowed six runs in just 1 1/3 innings. Had he pitched better and lost, his status for a potential Game 7 wouldn't be an issue.
"I don't know about that," Charlie Manuel said. "We just have to wait. Rich Dubee and I will talk it over."
Moyer would like the opportunity. If it's not Moyer, it would be Joe Blanton. The Dodgers would have Derek Lowe in Game 7. He is pitching tonight in Game 4 on short rest. John Gonzalez compares Moyer/Manny to Creed/Drago. Gonzo and Sheridan talk about Blanton going tonight.
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Jim Salisbury looks Inside the Game. And a look at the scene in L.A.
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Manuel talks about his mother's death for the first time.
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When he wasn't throwing at heads, Kuroda was getting the Phillies out. More on Blanton's start tonight. In the Phillies Notebook, Ryan Howard has been slumping. We've got Dodgers notes, too.
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Courtesy of The Fightins.
Moyer, unfortunately, has run out of steam. It would be dangerous to use him at all for the rest of this series. It may be a good idea to consider turning to one of the relief pitchers, like Happ, to replace Moyer as a starter for the remainder of the playoffs. Yeah, Moyer helped get the Phillies to the playoffs, but his age may have finally caught up to him. He was dominated by both Milwaukee and now the Dodgers.— jimqk- Manny needs to take a chill pill!— Norma
- That smarts...you win some, you lose some, but hopefully our Phils can rebound tonight against Lowe. Come on Blanton!— Timmy
Comment removed.- Am I the only one that saw Russell Martin put down his middle finger when he gave Kuroda the sign before he threw over Victorino's head? I can't believe no one on TV mentioned this.— Lemur
- I think them throwing at Shane was fine but Shane's right, the location was wrong. Speaking of that, how much of an ignorant you know what is Russell? In his post game interview he had a smirk on his face and said, "We didn't throw at his head, we threw over his head." I suddenly hope he gets run over by Howard and Burrell on back to back plays at the plate and drops the ball each time. He needs his bell rung.— cg
- Of course Martin and Kuroda said they weren't throwing at Shane's head. I guess Martin's comment at least admits that the throw was deliberate. From the Dodgers' perspective, the throw to Manny that Myers made wasn't a mistake. I don't know how we can be sure of that, except that it would have been foolish on Myers' part to throw at him. To the Dodgers, buzzing Shane was akin to buzzing Manny. I think the fact that some other players got hit in Game 2 added to the Dodgers' anger. Moyer hit Martin - who should have moved out of the way - and Condrey came close to hitting him, too, or someone. HOWEVER, having attempted a partial defense of their behavior, I don't know if I even persuade myself. Seems to me they were using all this as a rallying cry. Martin definitely not emotionally mature about it all, esp. since he made no attempt to get out of the way of the pitch that hit him in the knees. And how about Manny? Saying he'd like someone like Myers on his team, as on MLB on XM (forget just who) analyzed it, was a pointed encouragement of his pitching teammates to throw at the Phillies. He plays all loose and unfazed, but he's not always that way! Hopefully, the entire incident is now blown over, from the Dodgers' perspective as well as the Phillies. And hopefully, there won't be too many more pitches that "get away" whether accidentally or deliberately, and provoke more near brawls. Not in postseason.— gbrettfan
Bottom line: This loss is really no shock. I love Jamie, but we (the fans) have been overestimating his abilities most of this season. He's a solid starter still, especially when facing younger hiters during the course of the regular season, but he is obviously limited in what he can do. What's most disturbing about his performance tonight was the fact that he was getting the calls and still got rocked. The pitch he threw to DeWitt on the triple was right down main street, and at Jamie's speed that means 'batting practice'. That one pitch effectively ended the game. If he makes a good pitch there and gets the out, he escapes the inning down 2-0, and it's a whole different game. Again, I love Jamie, but I'll say this now: If we go to Game 7 on Saturday night, I don't think I could start him in that situation. Problem is the only other option is to start Blanton, since Hamels and Myers will have pitched Weds and Fri respectively. That's what I would do, start Blanton over Moyer if we go to Game 7. (So how big does Blanton's start tonight become, not only in terms of winning, but to set him up for Game 7 if needed???) Let's hope we can end this in 5 or 6 games. GO PHILS!!— bobby- I agree that LA used this whole issue purely as a rallying cry. Notice they waited to get to their home ballpark before getting all riled up? And I love Manny Ramirez, and his "Hold me back!" bit. How sweet would it have been if he took a swing at someone and got suspended? What a laugh that would have been. The Phils just need to stay cool and play their game. Tonight is really the key game. If Blanton can keep the lid on the Didgers offense, and the Phils can shake Lowe's confidence early, they can win this one. Keep the bases clear in front of Manny, then throw him junk (with a high outside strike mixed in every now and then). Win tonight and the pressure is on the Dodgers, with Cole in a position to put them away on Wednesday. Lose tonight (but not get blown out) and we have Hamels to put us back on top coming back to Philly.— bobby
- I love how Manny gets tough AFTER all his teamates are in front of him and then he acts like he has to be restrained. And who the hell does Mariano Duncan think he is? And Russell Martin wants to act like a freak when he's in the dugout, give me a break! He got hit on the knee by a 75 mph pitch on the knee. Bunch of oversensitive losers.— Matt
- Not a big deal. I am actually thankful the Dodgers got themselves in a snit; at least it made the game interesting. This game was a loss before the series even started. That Dodger lineup is just a bad match-up for Moyer. This is why I wanted Charlie to do something different with the rotation so Moyer would not be set up to pitch a potential Game 7. It doesn't matter though... this series will not get that far. If the Dodgers' only chance of winning is to hit Moyer, this series won't even come back to Philly. The Phils should hit Lowe better tonight than they did in Game 1 (not saying they will club him, but I doubt he will dominate the first 5 innings again), so all Blanton needs to do is keep them in the game, which is all he has ever done with the Phillies. Win tonight, and there is almost no chance Hamels doesn't close out the series in Game 5. They can say all they want about sinker-ballers getting better sink when they are tired, Charlie has been telling us that about Kendrick forever, but we know better. They may get better sink, but they don't get on top of the ball well, and leave the sinker up higher than they want to (as evidenced by Lowe's 5th and 6th inning in Game 1...anybody who claims the 2 home runs he gave up weren't the result of exhaustion just simply wasn't watching that game...the guy was clearly gassed). Look for the Phillies to get to Derek Lowe tonight in the 3rd or 4th inning, and as long as Blanton does his job, they'll be right back in cruise control.— RollinsWasRight
- Last night's loss wasn't a surprise, I figured they would lose one of the Moyer/Blanton starts. Hopefully Blanton can keep them in check tonight. This whole thing with the Dodgers is just a way for them to try and build momentum. We shouldn't buy into it. Although, I would love for Blanton to come in to Manny, or Martin, just once to remind them we are still in charge.— Gary Varsho
- bobby--I agree. I wasn't surprised by the loss because as much as I hoped Moyer could rebound from his last post-season start, I had some doubts. I just wish he could've gone deeper into the game. Obviously game 7 depends on many factors probably the biggest is how well Blanton pitches tonight. I know that many of the Dodgers have hit Blanton pretty well in the past. Boy was I hoping Manny would've broken through his defenders last night and had the ump eject him from the game, but then again that might have escalated things and the Phils could've also suffered. Glad calmer heads prevailed and hope that this is the end of all the hoopla.— KarenA
- Hopefully the Phils will beat Lowe tonight. If not, if Blanton has a tough outing, the Phils must make Lowe throw a lot of pitches and make him arm-weary. Torre's taking a big risk pitching Lowe tonight, though he really has no choice. If the Phils win tonight then they win it all in a Game 5 Hamels vs. whomever. Therefore, Lowe must win tonight. That's pressure. The Phils must be patient, make him work, and hit the mistakes hard. I like their chances tonight and in this series overall.— Scoop
- As Torre said the Dodgers needed a momentum changer, last nights game definiely fit the description. Unless Howard and Rollins pick up the pace this thing is over.....— Truth
