SAN FRANCISCO – The first hint of hooch wafted through the air immediately after Edgar Renteria went yard. Within moments after Brian Wilson struck out for the final out of the World Series, a man in a yellow windbreaker took out a brick of the stuff and lit it on fire, waving it in the air from the unlit end so ``Everyone can feel the love.’’

It wasn’t exactly Haight-Ashbury – too many black and orange hats and too many orange t-shirts – but the scene around 7:30 in front of City Hall last night – where thousands had congregated to watch the Giants win the World Series on a big screen television -- was distinctly San Francisco.

Cars and skateboards flying down Market Street, the former blasting horns. Fans lining up on both sides as if it was a parade, screaming, screaming, screaming.

Their final game was emblematic of their season: A quick early surge of offense, nothing in the middle, runners left on base everywhere.

Eliminated by the Giants, 3-2, in Game 6 last night, the Phillies will not make their third straight trip to the World Series because they could not generate rallies, plain and simple. Their biggest hit of the night was Chase Utley’s first-inning double into the rightfield corner, driving in the first run and setting up the second. They were 2-for-2 with runners in scoring position at that point.

Then Jonathan Sanchez left the game.

SAN FRANCISCO -- He said it the other day. He says it all the time.

``The bottom line is the final score,’’ Roy Halladay told people dissecting his previous two postseason starts and his well-chronicled struggles against the Giants. ``How you get there doesn't always necessarily matter as much.’’

Halladay and the Phillies got there the most excruciating way possible in last night’s 4-2 Game 5 victory. Without his best fastball, or his customary pinpoint control, the Phillies ace scraped and scuffled through six innings. He retired the side in order just once, battled through some chilling downpours and some uncustomary emotions throughout, but left with a one-run lead, with his team in position to push this National League Championship Series back to Philadelphia.
Game 5 in miserable chilling rain.

They won these games once. They took advantage of a little thing here, a little thing there, reversed imminent victories for the other team into series-altering losses.

Not anymore. They are that other team now. Officially. They run themselves into outs. They muff double-play ground balls, double-clutch on throws to the plate, watch third strikes pass by with runners in scoring position.

They tie the game, get a runner on second in the eighth inning with no outs last night, have their speedy shortstop at the plate, and don't bunt the runner over.

SAN FRANCISCO -- In professing his faith in Jimmy Rollins the other night, Charlie Manuel said ``I'll go down with you."

Down two games to one to the San Francisco Giants in the National League Championship Series after a 3-0 loss in Game 2, Manuel now faces another test of faith: Rather than utilize Roy Halladay's willingness and ability to pitch on short rest, he will give the ball to the well-rested but statistically less impressive Joe Blanton, as he planned to before the game.

``I've thrown Game Fours before, so it's nothing new," Blanton said before yesterday's loss squeezed the Phillies margin for error in this series.

The good news: The Phillies offense showed signs of life against an excellent pitcher.

The bad news: Roy Halladay is human. Especially against the San Francisco Giants.

Tagged with the loss after allowing all the runs in last night’s 4-3 Game 1 loss in the National League Championship Series, Halladay is now 0-3 in four starts against San Francisco, with an earned run average of just under seven runs per game.

CINCINNATI -- The Phillies survived and thrived through the Cliff Lee fiasco because Roy Halladay won 21 games this season and because Roy Oswalt was better than J.A. Happ would have been down the stretch.

But would it have mattered if Colbert Richard Hamels repeated 2009 this season and not 2008? Would the Phillies be as intimidating, as formidable, with a diluted offense that produced just three extra-base hits in their three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds?

Hamels has been the Phillies real ghost-buster this season. He's the biggest reason -- not Halladay or Oswalt -- that Lee is less of a specter than he would have been, the biggest reason this National League Division Series ended in a sweep as expected.

THEY SCORED seven runs without any consecutive hits. 

They completed their comeback against Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman, who amid a messy three-run seventh inning in which he allowed two bloop hits, struck out Ryan Howard with three consecutive fastballs — 100, 99 and 101 mph.

There is no real theme to Friday night’s 7-4 Phillies victory over the Reds except for this. You keep playing. Play to the last out, reach base, by hook and yes, by crook. 

You can't script this better.

 As Roy Oswalt was finishing his pregame press conference in Philadelphia yesterday, Cliff Lee was throwing his first pitch of the 2010 postseason.

And Roy Halladay was, you know, preparing for his first postseason start.