THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
LAST YEAR.
It is a phrase the Phillies had spent the past 4 days swatting at like a swarm of midges, determined to expunge from the record any and all reference to the less-than-glorious fashion in which they exited their first postseason berth in 14 seasons.
This year is all we care about, they said.
This year, we are a different team.
"This year,'' Jimmy Rollins said Saturday as he celebrated the division title that led to yesterday's National League Division Series opener against the Brewers, "we want to make sure we stay a while.''
But as much as the Phillies wanted to focus on this year, the link to last season's postseason flop would remain inextricable - until, that is, they managed to succeed in their 15-year quest to win another postseason game.
Yesterday, they did just that. They got the shutdown performance from their ace lefthander, the timely hit from their All-Star second baseman, and the game-saving ninth inning from their high-priced closer.
With Cole Hamels leading the way, the Phillies beat the Brewers, 3-1, and took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five NLDS.
"We're one game closer to where we want to be at this stage," Rollins said afterward. "We were on the other side of that last year, so we kind of got over that hurdle in a sense."
Game 1s are always big, but they are bigger in best-of-five series in which the most dominant pitcher in the majors is scheduled to pitch for the opponent in Game 2.
This was the situation in which the Phillies found themselves yesterday, with Brewers lefthander CC Sabathia and his 1.65 ERA set to pitch tonight. But they had an answer, and it was a very un-Phillie-like one: defense and pitching and nary a home run.
Hamels was brilliant, making a lineup of major league hitters look as if it was seeing a changeup for the first time. He struck out nine, walked one and allowed just two hits. Only one Brewers baserunner reached second against Hamels, and none reached third. Hamels was perfect through 4 2/3, and near-perfect after that.
"Just watching him was a lot of fun tonight," said closer Brad Lidge, who allowed one run and had the tying run in scoring position before striking out Corey Hart to end the game.
As impressive as Hamels' performance was, it was a disciplined offense and a three-run third inning that provided the first real indication that a second straight postseason disappointment was not in store.
In their three division losses to the Rockies last season, the Phillies held a lead in a grand total of two innings. Of the 27 innings in the series, they trailed in all or part of 19.
Not once did they have a lead of more than one run.
And, it seemed, not once did they catch a break.
That was not the case in the third inning yesterday. Brewers righthander Yovani Gallardo, a 22-year-old making his fifth start of the season, had little trouble with the Phillies lineup in the first and second innings. But after Carlos Ruiz singled to lead off the third, Hamels laid down a would-be sacrifice bunt that changed the tide of the game. First, third baseman Bill Hall juggled the bunt, eliminating the thought of a force at second. Then, Hall's throw to first bounced off the heel of Rickie Weeks' glove, allowing both runners to reach safely.
That set up a two-out, RBI double by Chase Utley, whose line-drive to centerfield went in and out of the glove of a sprinting Mike Cameron. Both runners scored, and the Phillies suddenly found themselves with their largest postseason lead in 15 years.
Shane Victorino later drew a bases-loaded walk to force home the third run.
"It was big for us to score the three runs and get out on top," manager Charlie Manuel said.
Victorino's at-bat against Gallardo was a microcosm of the offense's success yesterday. Though they finished with only three hits off the young righthander, they drew five walks, making him work hard enough that he was gone after just four innings. Victorino, who isn't known for taking many pitches, watched five straight sail past him while standing in the box in the third inning.
Gallardo threw 35 pitches in the inning, and left the game in the top of the fifth after throwing 75.
"I had the understanding of what it is when you do win the first game, the momentum that it causes, especially at home,'' said Hamels, who pitched eight shutout innings before turning the game over to an increasingly interesting Lidge for the save.
"The whole goal is to make the starting pitcher work," Utley said. "Sometimes it works in your favor, sometimes it doesn't. I thought we had some good at-bats against him. We got some baserunners and we capitalized on having those baserunners. So if we continue to do that, I imagine we'll win some more games."
There were some concerns. The Phillies managed just two baserunners in their final four innings. Lidge, meanwhile, threw 35 pitches while recording the save, allowing a single to Ray Durham and an RBI double by Ryan Braun to trim the lead to 3-1. He struck out Prince Fielder, but walked J.J. Hardy and allowed the tying runs to reach second and third on a wild pitch.
Nevertheless, the lasting memory was the notch in the win column, and the fact that the Phillies are just two wins away from the National League Championship Series.
"We got in a situation last year where we got in this thing and weren't able to do anything, so it's nice to come out today and get the win," leftfielder Pat Burrell said. "But we've got a lot of work left." *
For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese.
Photos: 2009 Phillies 
