Phils have the power to win Game 1

And Sherrill, whom the Phillies wanted to acquire from Baltimore last July, walked two and allowed a pivotal three-run home run to Raul Ibanez in the eighth. Carlos Ruiz also hit a three-run homer in the game.

As a reminder of the bullpen's potential to create stress, Ryan Madson allowed four hits and two runs in the eighth.

"Having Chan Ho back is huge," said Lidge of his bullpen mate, who had not pitched in nearly a month because of a hamstring injury. "He was probably the MVP of our bullpen this year. . . . Happ did a great job. Those two guys are really unsung."

In keeping with the wild division series against Colorado, this game was rich with subplots. Within minutes of the first pitch, drama swirled around Shane Victorino, still booed at Dodger Stadium because of his involvement in a conflict 12 months ago. In Game 3 of the 2008 NLCS, the centerfielder chirped when Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda threw a fastball near his head.

Victorino smacked a one-out single to left in the first last night. Later in the inning, Clayton Kershaw threw to first, picking off Victorino. That ended the inning, and instigated a verbal conflict. As the Dodgers left the field, Victorino shouted at Dodgers catcher Russell Martin.

"He tried to complain that I ran into [first baseman James Loney]," Victorino said.

After that issue subsided, Hamels and Kershaw mostly cruised in the early part of the game. Kershaw, who at 21 years, 211 days was the youngest pitcher ever to start a league championship series opener, looked as unruffled as Hamels did in 2008 - until he lost total control in a bizarre fifth inning.

Ibanez began it with a single, and moved to second on a wild pitch. Pedro Feliz walked, and Kershaw then allowed Ruiz to tomahawk a high fastball into the right-field seats for a three-run homer.

"He is that guy who seems to be a pain in your neck, or some other part of your body," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said of Ruiz.

The inning became still uglier: Kershaw followed the homer by walking Hamels on four pitches. Jimmy Rollins reached on a fielder's choice, and moved to second and third on wild pitches. That established a record for most wild pitches in a playoff inning - three - and tied the mark for most in a playoff game.

"It looked like he got frustrated out there," Torre said.

Kershaw later walked Chase Utley and surrendered a two-run double to Ryan Howard. That ended an outing that had seemed minutes before like a breakout performance.

Leading 5-1, Hamels allowed a leadoff double in the bottom of the inning to Martin. He nearly escaped a two-on, one-out situation, but an Utley error helped lead to three runs. With a runner on first, Andre Ethier grounded to Rollins at short, who flipped to Utley for the force out.

Utley's throw to first found the dugout instead, and Martin scored. Hamels then threw three straight change-ups to Manny Ramirez, who crushed the final one to left for a two-run homer, making it 5-4.

"When we scored five runs, that was a long inning for him," said Phils manager Charlie Manuel. "He kind of got stiff."

After Hamels allowed two one-out singles in the fifth, Manuel removed him from the game. Chad Durbin walked one and retired one before Manuel asked Happ to face pinch-hitter Jim Thome, the former Phillie and future Hall of Famer.

Happ walked Thome to load the bases, then faced Rafael Furcal. On a 3-2 pitch, Furcal grounded out, preserving the Phils' one-run lead. The bullpen again preserved the lead in the eighth, after Andre Ethier hit a leadoff double off Antonio Bastardo.

Park entered and retired Ramirez, Kemp and Casey Blake. Though he had not thrown in a game since Sept. 16, the righthander returned to stabilize an important win.

"I was pitching mentally," Park said when asked how he remained sharp during the layoff. He then smiled and added: "No-hitters."

Contact staff writer Andy Martino at 215-854-4874 or amartino@phillynews.com.