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Phillies go to World Series
Philadelphia Daily News
(MCT) LOS ANGELES - They stayed late into the night, long after the flags in centerfield had been ushered down their posts, long after the last of the blue-clad fans shuffled out the stadium doors, long after Brad Lidge pitched and Nomar Garciaparra swung and Carlos Ruiz gazed up into the still, black sky. There were maybe 200, maybe 300, maybe 400, maybe more. History has a funny way of inflating these numbers anyway. The point is, they were there, standing behind the visitors' dugout wearing red and white and waving banners and yelling until their vocals chords were the size of guitar strings. A microcosm of a city desperate for a winner, savoring a moment that had been 15 years in the making. "This is awesome," Jamie Moyer said, a few tear tracks running down his face as he listened to the surprisingly healthy contingent of Phillies fans hailing the victors. "The support we've had - you just can't thank people enough. We're celebrating this with them, and to me that's the most important thing. And even though we're not in Philly, I'm thinking about the fans in Philly having a good time, and that's what it's all about."
For those left behind, here is how it happened: On a warm night in Chavez Ravine, at 8:37 p.m. Pacific Time, under a moon a day past full. The 24-year-old lefty was in the dugout. The 31-year-old closer was on the mound.
Score it like this: Garciaparra, foul pop, catcher. Phillies win, 5-1.
It happened. After 15 years, a couple of presidential administrations, and 1,130 losses, they are back in the World Series.
It happened as you might have expected, with the team's youngest star and one of its most veteran teaming to capture Game 5 of the National League Championship Series. After a series filled with improbable stars - the Hawaiian, the Canadian and the Mad Dog, to name a few - the Phillies leaned on the players most responsible for two of the most successful consecutive seasons in franchise history.
The lanky lefthander lived up to his billing: Cole Hamels, facing the biggest stakes of the year, cruised through seven innings, more than enough time for his offense to give him a comfortable lead. The MVP shortstop rediscovered the swing that has been a fixture in Philadelphia for the past eight seasons: Jimmy Rollins, falling behind 0-2 in the first at-bat of the game, battling back to make it full, then sending a fastball into the seats in rightfield for the all-important first run.
Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell contributed RBI singles. Chase Utley scored two runs, one from second on a fielding error by Rafael Furcal in the fifth.
A few minutes after it was over, and the champagne was popped and the goggles donned and the Warren Giles Trophy was presented by his beaming son, Bill, to team president David Montgomery, a few hundred Phillies fans remained behind at Dodger Stadium, congregating behind the visitors' dugout and leading anyone who would listen in that familiar chant. Let's go Phillies.
Let's go Phillies. You could argue they were the better team on paper, with the power-packed lineup and the two standout pitchers and the bullpen that has spent most of the season as the best in the National League. But the Phillies have not won seven of nine playoff games simply because of statistics. No, it has been moments; moments that require production, moments in which contenders succeed and pretenders fail. Despite an early 3-0 lead Wednesday night, staked by Rollins' home run and the RBI singles by Howard and Burrell, there were plenty such moments. There was Utley launching himself vertical in the eighth inning to stab Rafael Furcal's blistering line drive off. There was Shane Victorino tracking down several balls, including Matt Kemp's long fly in the seventh. There was Ryan Madson, shutting down the eighth inning, and Lidge closing down the ninth for his sixth save of the postseason. "It's been since '93 that we've been able to experience anything like this," said hitting coach Milt Thompson, a member of the last Phillies team to advance to the World Series. "It's absolutely awesome." And then there was Hamels. For seven innings, he sparkled, working himself out of the little trouble he got himself into. His biggest mistake - perhaps his only mistake - came in the sixth inning, when Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez muscled a 1-2 fastball over the fence in rightfield. Nevertheless, he finished strong. The final line: Seven innings, five hits, one run. As the clock in rightfield clicked toward 9 p.m., the previous 171 games of the season were a distant memory, replaced instead by a looming showdown with either Tampa Bay or Boston in the World Series, starting next Wednesday. A city that has spent nearly three decades waiting for another title doesn't have to be reminded how it ended the last time around. Joe Carter. Mitch Williams. Toronto in six. But for at least one night, the impossible seemed possible. By David Murphy
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