PHILADELPHIA — Roy Oswalt was an ace on the mound, pesky at the plate and daring on the bases.

Call that a complete game — sort of.

Oswalt pitched eight dominant innings, Jimmy Rollins drove in four runs and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants 6-1 Sunday night to even the NL championship series at one game apiece.

"I think the biggest thing is it's momentum," Oswalt said.

A day after Tim Lincecum outdueled Roy Halladay in a marquee matchup of aces, Oswalt beat Jonathan Sanchez.

The series shifts to San Francisco for Game 3 on Tuesday afternoon. Matt Cain faces Philadelphia's Cole Hamels, the 2008 World Series MVP.

Oswalt allowed one run and three hits, striking out nine. He also singled using one of Rollins' bats and scored a run after racing through a coach's stop sign in the seventh.

Instead of his pitching, everyone wanted to know what he was thinking on the bases.

"First thing in my mind was score," Oswalt said. "When I got halfway, I saw the stop sign. I said it's too late now. No turning back."

Rollins kidded Oswalt about it.

"It was a nice slide," he said. "That was something I would do. Actually, I probably wouldn't have needed to slide."

Cody Ross hit his third solo homer in two games for the Giants, who struck out 10 times.

Rollins busted out of a 1-for-15 postseason slump, going 2 for 3 with a bases-loaded walk and a bases-clearing double.

"I knew it was just a matter of time," Rollins said.

Halladay followed up his no-hitter against the Reds in the division series with a subpar performance in Game 1. He gave up four runs in seven innings.

But Oswalt showed why the two-time NL champions got him from Houston before the trade deadline, shutting down the Giants in a crucial spot.

"You can't get caught up in the moment of trying to get momentum back on your side," Oswalt said. "You have to pitch your game."

Sanchez gave up three runs — two earned — and five hits in six-plus innings.

"It's 1-1, you know? It's tied. We've got to go out there and start winning," Sanchez said.

Oswalt chased Sanchez with a line-drive single leading off the bottom of the seventh. He advanced to second on Shane Victorino's sacrifice off Ramon Ramirez. After Chase Utley was intentionally walked, Placido Polanco lined a single to center. Oswalt ran through third-base coach Sam Perlozzo's stop sign and slid safely ahead of the relay throw to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead.

"That was comical," Rollins said. "Roy's got those stiff hips and he looked like he was cardboard running down the line but he got it done tonight."

Jeremy Affeldt came in and struck out Ryan Howard after a double steal. Jayson Werth was intentionally walked before Santiago Casilla entered to face Rollins. The former NL MVP hit a drive off the right-center field fence to put the Phillies up 6-1.