Hamels bounces Reds, 2-0
CINCINNATI — Phillies manager Charlie Manuel pointed to the 1995 Atlanta Braves, whose rotation included Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. Reds skipper Dusty Baker went back to the '70s, when the Baltimore Orioles had Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar and Pat Dobson.
There will be plenty of time for comparisons now. Cole Hamels and the rest of Philadelphia's stellar starters are headed for the NL championship series.
Hamels struck out nine in a five-hitter, Chase Utley homered and the Phillies beat the Reds 2-0 on Sunday night to finish off the franchise's first playoff sweep.
"This moment here is just another stepping stone to trying to win another World Series," Hamels said.
Philadelphia, attempting to become the first NL team in 66 years to win three straight pennants, will host San Francisco or Atlanta in the NLCS opener on Saturday. The Giants beat the Braves 3-2 Sunday to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five division series.
Roy Halladay got the Phillies off to a scintillating start with the second no-hitter in postseason history, and Hamels finished off the Reds with a masterful performance of his own.
With Roy Oswalt also rested and ready to go for the next round, look out.
"For everybody here the ultimate goal is to get to the World Series," Halladay said. "This is the first step. We're all looking to get to the end."
The Reds, making their first postseason appearance in 15 years, committed six errors in the last two games of the series after finishing second in the NL with a club-record .988 fielding percentage during the regular season.
The NL's top offense managed only 11 hits in three games — the fewest for a team in a postseason series, according to STATS LLC. The previous low was 13 by Texas against the New York Yankees in 1998.
"I mean, they really pitched," Baker said. "They're a very good team. We kept 'em in the ballpark, so to speak, kept the runs down. We just didn't push across enough runs."
Hamels got Joey Votto to ground into a double play after Brandon Phillips' leadoff single in the ninth, then struck out Scott Rolen to end the game. The lanky left-hander threw 119 pitches in his first postseason complete game, 82 for strikes.
After Rolen struck out for the eighth time in the series, the celebration was on. Well, sort of.
It all looked very routine — Manuel's team has practiced this a lot over the past couple of years, including a victory over Tampa Bay in the 2008 World Series.
ATLANTA — How do the Atlanta Braves bounce back from this?How does Brooks Conrad get over this?Three errors by the 30-year-old second baseman — a bobbled grounder, a dropped pop fly, a grounder right through the legs in the ninth inning that allowed in the winning run — left the Braves on the verge of elimination in the NL division series.San Francisco, which was on the ropes itself after giving up Eric Hinske's two-run homer in the eighth, bounced back in its final at-bat with two runs for a 3-2 victory Sunday, the most gut-wrenching game yet in a series that has been tight and tense all the way."I've never experienced that range of emotions on a baseball field," Braves outfielder Matt Diaz said.The Giants are up 2-1 in the best-of-five series and can wrap it up Monday.Conrad might have to watch that one from the bench. Asked whether he would put the shell-shocked infielder back in the lineup, manager Bobby Cox would only say, "I'll have to sleep on it."The Braves could go with Troy Glaus at third, a position he's hardly played this season, and move Omar Infante to second base, where Conrad has been playing. Or they could go with little-used rookie Diory Hernandez at second. Conrad sure sounded in no shape to go back out there after tying a postseason record for errors in a game."I wish I could just dig a hole," he said, "and sleep in it."Everyone felt for Conrad, even the team that benefited from all his miscues.Just listen to Buster Posey, who hit the hard grounder that resulted in Conrad's third error: "I thought he would make the play. I wouldn't wish that on anybody."
ARLINGTON, Texas — David Price and the Tampa Bay Rays worked hard all season to earn home-field advantage in the AL playoffs.This time, they need to make use of it if they want to keep playing.Tampa Bay forced a deciding Game 5 in the division series against the Texas Rangers with a 5-2 victory Sunday. The Rays avoided elimination twice on the road after losing the first two at Tropicana Field, setting up the chance for an improbable comeback."I feel a little better than 50-50 going home at this point," said Evan Longoria, who homered and had two doubles in Game 4. "We've really battled to get back to even."Price, the Rays' 19-game winner, takes the mound Tuesday night against Rangers ace Cliff Lee.Lee equaled a postseason best with 10 strikeouts in a 5-1 victory over Price, who relishes the second chance after giving up five runs and nine hits in 6 2-3 innings last week."They got me back on the mound on Tuesday, so I appreciate it," Price said.The winner hosts the wild-card Yankees in Game 1 of the AL championship series Friday night. New York swept Minnesota in three games, wrapping up that series with a 6-1 win Saturday night.Tampa Bay is trying to join the 2001 Yankees as the only teams to win a best-of-five playoff after losing the first two games at home. New York did it against the Oakland Athletics.
