Bay's blast lifts BoSox; Cubs, Brewers fall
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jason Bay had never faced John Lackey, and he looked bad in his first two at-bats with a pair of strikeouts.
Then, with one mighty swing, Boston's new slugger put the Red Sox ahead for good in their playoff opener against the Los Angeles Angels.
Playing in the first postseason game of his career, Bay hit a two-out, two-run homer off Los Angeles ace Lackey in the sixth inning, and the Red Sox went on to win a 4-1 decision Wednesday night for their 10th straight postseason victory over the Angels.
"He left a fastball up and I hit it," Bay said. "I couldn't have picked a better kind of first (postseason) game, I guess."
Bay's drive landed in the seats behind the double-decker bullpen in left field.
Now, the Angels are faced with the difficult task of winning three of four against the defending World Series champions. If they don't, their big league-leading 100 regular-season wins won't mean much.
"We've got to get some guys on base and be more selective at the plate," Angels outfielder Torii Hunter said.
The Angels will try to draw even Friday night in Game 2 of the best-of-five series, with Ervin Santana pitching against Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Bay, acquired from the Pirates in the three-team trade that sent Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers two months ago, brought Boston back from a 1-0 deficit, and the Red Sox got a big start from John Lester (1-0), who allowed only an unearned run in seven innings.
"I think it's very important any time that you can come out and get a win in somebody else's ballpark," Lester said. "I think it's a huge win and momentum for us and a confidence boost. I think we can go now into Game 2 a little more relaxed and comfortable."
The Angels won eight of nine regular-season games between the teams this year. But the Red Sox have ruled in October, winning three straight over the Angels to finish the 1986 AL championship series, sweeping first-round matchups in 2004 and 2007 en route to World Series titles, and prevailing in the opener of this series.
The Red Sox tied a major league record for consecutive postseason wins over the same opponent, a mark Oakland set against the Red Sox from 1988-03.
While just four of 28 teams to lose NL division series openers have come back to win series, it's been an even 14-14 split in the AL, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
PHILADELPHIA — They wouldn't be the Philadelphia Phillies if they didn't provide any anxious moments.Cole Hamels retired 24 of the 27 batters he faced. Brad Lidge struggled to get three outs. Behind their top two arms, the Phillies grabbed their first postseason victory in 15 years — barely.Hamels pitched eight brilliant innings, Lidge escaped a ninth-inning jam and Philadelphia took advantage of Mike Cameron's miscue in center field for a 3-1 win over Milwaukee in their playoff opener Wednesday."You don't have to make it that interesting, Brad," shortstop Jimmy Rollins said he told Lidge after the game. "What happened to those guys who come out and go 1-2-3?"Lidge, a perfect 41-for-41 in save chances this season, allowed one run and needed 35 pitches to get through the ninth. He struck out Corey Hart with runners at second and third to end it."His talent prevails," manager Charlie Manuel said.Chase Utley's two-run double slipped out of Cameron's glove in the third, helping the Phillies take a 3-0 lead.Game 2 in the best-of-five series is today, with ace CC Sabathia going to the mound for the wild-card Brewers on three days' rest for the fourth consecutive start. Brett Myers pitches for the Phillies.It'll be tough for anyone to match Hamels' superb performance. The 24-year-old lefty retired the first 14 batters and allowed two hits, striking out nine.Manuel considered sending Hamels out to start the ninth, but decided to go with Lidge. The Brewers got the tying run to the plate, but Prince Fielder fanned for the second out. After J.J. Hardy walked to put two runners on, they advanced on a wild pitch. Then Hart went down swinging to end it."I feel really good," he said. "If I have to throw a few extra pitches to make sure we get out of the inning, and everything works out, I have no problem doing that."
CHICAGO — Big Z needs a big outing or the Chicago Cubs' 100-year wait for a World Series championship could quickly reach 101.Carlos Zambrano will head to the mound tonight in perhaps the biggest game the emotional ace has ever pitched.That's because the Cubs got off to the worst possible start against the new-look Los Dodgers, who rode a grand slam from James Loney and homers from Manny Ramirez and Russell Martin to a 7-2 victory Wednesday night in the NL playoff opener.Only 18 of 56 teams who lost the division series opener came back to win the series, including only four of 28 in the NL, according to the Elias Sports Bureau."We definitely don't want to go down 0-2," Chicago's Derrek Lee said. "It's a short series, every game is huge. There's no denying that."Loney's grand slam off Ryan Dempster — who said on the first day of spring training he thought the Cubs would win the World Series — hushed a crowd of 42,099 at Wrigley Field on a windy 53-degree night."The atmosphere here was real quiet as I was going around the bases. So I think our fans were cheering back home," Loney said.The Cubs entered the postseason with the best record in league, hoping for a fast start a century after their last World Series championship. What they got was a performance that, no doubt, produced some "here we go again" feelings from their long-suffering fans.The Cubs have lost seven straight postseason games, dating back to 2003 when they dropped the final three of the NLCS to the Florida Marlins after holding a 3-1 lead."You cannot get too happy and too sad. It's only one game," Ramirez said. "We cannot fall asleep with those guys. They're the best team in the National League and anything can happen."
