Phillies Notebook: Oswalt: Pressure is on Cardinals

ST. LOUIS - The Phillies' 5-3 loss to the Cardinals last night was barely an hour old when the narrative-shaping began. A reporter asked Roy Oswalt how much pressure the Phillies would be feeling heading into tomorrow night's decisive Game 5 at Citizens Bank Park. After all, they are the ones who are favored in the series, the ones who led the majors with a team-record 102 victories, the ones with everything to lose.

Right?

"I see it the other way," Oswalt said. "They are coming into our house trying to beat us. We came here and split with them. They've got to come back and beat us in our house."

Oswalt, who allowed five runs in six innings and picked up the loss, is one of the few Phillies who has participated in a decisive playoff game. In 2004, the righthander started the Astros' 12-3 win over the Braves in Game 5 in the NLDS, then followed Roger Clemens with two innings of relief in a 5-2 loss to the Cardinals in Game 7 of the NLCS.

Tomorrow, the Phillies will have their top two starters both available to pitch on full rest. Righthander Roy Halladay, who allowed three runs in eight innings in Game 1, will get the start. Lefty Cliff Lee, who allowed five runs in six innings in a 5-4 loss in Game 2, will be available to pitch out of the bullpen. Lee spent last night in the bullpen on what would normally be his side-session day, warming up once and throwing about 20 pitches.

Lee started Game 5 for the Rangers in last year's American League Division Series, allowing one run and striking out 11 in a complete game 5-1 victory over the Rays. The only other Phillies to play in a decisive playoff game are Brad Lidge, who did so with the Astros in 2004, and Placido Polanco, who was 26 years old when the Cardinals fell to the Diamondbacks in five games in 2001.

St. Louis, on the other hand, features three regulars who have played in decisive postseason games: Albert Pujols, former Astro Lance Berkman, and former Brave Rafael Furcal.

But the Phillies have the home-field advantage.

"I say it all the time - if you don't like to play in Philadelphia, something is wrong with you," manager Charlie Manuel said. "And if we can't get up for Game 5 in the playoffs, then so be it. That's kind of how I look at it. We're going to be up, and we're going to show up, and we're going to be ready to play."

In the Phillies' 11-6 win in Game 1, their No. 3 through 6 hitters combined to go 8-for-16 with two home runs and 11 RBI. In the three games since, Hunter Pence, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino and Raul Ibanez have combined for just five hits - none of them for extra bases - in 42 at-bats with 12 strikeouts. Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley, on the other hand, are hitting .563 and .462 for the series at the top of the order. Manuel did not rule out changing around his batting order for Game 5.

"I'm never committed to the lineup because definitely I'm not afraid of changing it," he said. "I'll think about it - believe me, I think about my lineup every day, and I'll sit down and I'll think about what's the best lineup to have. I like our lineup, especially when we win the game. But when you don't hit, you get back and you look for things that you think can help you."

Although TV replays showed that Pence might have beaten the throw from home on a caught stealing in the first inning, the rightfielder did not make much of a fuss about the play. "It's part of baseball," he said. "It happens so fast. With slow motion, it's not the same. With baseball, you go hard, and the umpire makes a call, makes the decision. Who knows, that was the first inning of the game. Just move on."