Pence 'felt like a kid again' in first postseason game

Phillies rightfielder Hunter Pence tried to prepare himself for his first-ever post-season game and he had thought he had done a pretty good job, at least until the first pitch of Saturday's 11-6 National League Division Series opening win against the St. Louis Cardinals.

"I was kind of trying to calm myself down," Pence said. "It wasn't anything special but then the game started and I never had a bigger adrenaline rush in my life."

And that rush lasted for nine innings.

"The entire game my whole body was tingling," Pence said. "It was fun and you felt like a kid again."

So, needless to say, this wasn't like playing the Marlins in April.

"No, there was a difference," Pence said.

Pence, a two-time all-star, has now gotten his first postseason game out of the way, and even though he'll never forget the atmosphere, he realizes it's time to move on.

Despite all the swirling emotions he was experiencing, Pence didn't allow the moment to get the best of him. He went 2 for 5 with two runs scored and two RBIs in leading the 14-hit assault.

Pence said his biggest thrill came from watching Ryan Howard turn a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead with a 3-run sixth inning home run. The crowd at Citizens Bank Park simply exploded and Pence enjoyed soaking it all in.

"It was the biggest moment I have ever been part of on a baseball field," said Pence, who had singled up the middle, putting runners on first and second in setting the table for Howard. "It wasn't me (hitting the home run) but watching him was great."

This was a rare night when the offense had to pick up Roy Halladay, whose only major hiccup was surrendering a first inning three-run home run to Lance Berkman. Halladay eventually found his groove and retired the final 21 batters he faced before departing following the eighth inning.

"It almost kind of got lost with all the big hits, but that was a key, Roy getting momentum and allowing us to come back so quickly," Pence said.

Actually it wasn't that quickly. Starter Kyle Lohse retired the first 10 Phillies until Chase Utley hit a one-out double in the fourth inning.

"Roy letting us get back in there and letting our offense get a rhythm was a key," Pence said.

The Phillies showed the type of balanced attack that they envisioned when they acquired Pence July 29 from Houston.

In Game 1, five of the first six batters in the Phillies lineup had at least two hits. The only exception was Howard, and his home run turned the game around. Howard also added a fourth RBI on a sacrifice fly.

"I think our offense is pretty good with good players dn we have a balanced club in general with great starting pitching," Pence said. "We feel we are good and the regular season record (102-60) dictates that."

Still, Pence understands that importance of putting the game behind him and preparing to face Chris Carpenter Sunday in Game 2.

"It's still a five-game series and there is a lot of work to do," he said. "This is a ballclub that showed its resilience and can do damage."

That was evident in Game 1, especially during the five-run sixth inning. Pence was in the middle of that rally and was part of an evening that exceeded his expectations about what postseason baseball is truly all about.

Contact staff writer Marc Narducci at 856-779-3225, mnarducci@phillynews.com, or @sjnard on Twitter.