Myers helps Phillies take 2-0 lead in series

The twist in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series wasn't that Brett Myers led the Phillies to victory.

It was that Myers led the Phillies to victory with his bat.

Myers pitched just five innings, allowing five runs on six hits with four walks.

But the right-hander more than made up for his mediocre outing on the mound by going 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored as the Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-5 before 45,883 spectators tonight in Citizens Bank Park.

Closer Brad Lidge walked two batters in the ninth but struck out the side, including Nomar Garciaparra, to end the game.

The victory gave the Phillies a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, which now shifts to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4 as well as Game 5, if necessary.

Game 3 is Sunday in Dodgers Stadium at 8:22 p.m. (EST). Phillies' left-hander Jamie Moyer (0-1, 4.50 ERA in post-season) is set to face Dodgers' right hander Hiroki Kuroda (1-0, 0.00).

Phillies centerfielder Shane Victorino drove in four runs and made a leaping catch of a Casey Blake drive at the wall with two runners on base and two outs in the seventh.

Greg Dobbs had two hits and scored two runs and Chase Utley reached base four times on three walks and a single as the Phillies scored four times in both the second and third innings.

Manny Ramirez hit a three-run home run for the Dodgers.

The Phillies chased Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley and broke the game open in the third inning.

For the second inning in a row, Myers was in the middle of an offensive uprising. This time, Myers delivered a two-run single to stretch the Phillies' lead to 6-2 and send Billingsley to the showers.

An inning earlier, Myers delivered an RBI single to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead.

This was a stunning offensive outburst from a pitcher who batted 0.69 (4-for-58) with one RBI during the regular season.

But Myers walked into a press conference Thursday afternoon carrying a bat, joking with reporters that he thought they wanted to ask him about his hitting.

After his second hit of the game, Myers rumbled home from first on Victorino's two-run triple as the Phillies jacked their lead to 8-2.

The Phillies burst to a 4-1 lead with four runs in the bottom of the second inning, thanks to five consecutive hits, all with two out.

Greg Dobbs started the rally with a bloop single to center. Carlos Ruiz, who had two hits in Game 1, tied the score at 1-1 with an RBI double to left-center.

Myers put the Phillies on top by lining the first pitch into center for a single, scoring Ruiz.

Jimmy Rollins followed with a chop single. When centerfield Matt Kemp bobbled the ball, Rollins took second as Myers, who stumbled and nearly fell on his way around the base paths, motored into third.

On a 2-2 pitch, Victorino delivered the Phillies' fifth consecutive two-out hit, a line single to center that scored Myers and Rollins and jacked the lead to 4-1.

The Dodgers closed within 8-5 in the fourth inning as Ramirez hit a three-run homer run off Myers.

In Game 1, the configuration of Citizens Bank Park cost Ramirez a home run as his blast in the first inning hit high off the wall above the 409 sign, in the deepest part of the playing field.

But the park made amends with Ramirez in Game 2 as his high fly - which wasn't hit nearly as well as his drive in Game 1 - barely cleared the wall in left field, landing in the flower row just in front of the bleachers.

The Dodgers cut the Phillies' lead to 4-2 with a run in the third inning. Myers walked Russell Martin and Andre Ethier, and James Loney delivered his second RBI hit of the game, a single to center to score Martin.

Matt Kemp reached on an error by Dobbs at third to load the bases. But Myers escaped further damage by striking out Blake DeWitt.

For the second game in a row, the Dodgers jumped to an early lead. Los Angeles went in front 1-0 in the top of the second but Myers worked himself out of what could have been a more damaging inning.

Ethier started the Dodgers' rally with a single. Loney followed with a blast that hit high off the wall in right-field, just short of a home run. He settled for a double, putting runners on second and third.

Myers struck out Matt Kemp but DeWitt hit an RBI ground out for the game's first run. After an intentional walk, Myers retired Billingsley on a fly out to right.