Giants 4, Phillies 3
Maybe it wasn’t the epic pitching duel some would have wanted. But can’t find too much to complain about after San Francisco held on in Game 1 of the NLCS against the Phillies. Read about Cody Ross and all his two home runs in our game story here.
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Giants starter Tim Lincecum didn’t put together another complete-game, 14-strikeout, two-hit, one-walk masterpiece. Then again, he didn’t have to. Halladay was just a tad rusty with four runs allowed. To be honest, with both pitchers getting over a week of rest it was always going to be hard for them to dominate the way they did in their first starts this postseason. But Lincecum was the better man on this night, getting outs when he really needed them in a 4-3 win.
“It’s a gutty effort. He got in some jams and made some pitches when he had to,” said San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy. “That’s a tough lineup. There’s no relief throughout that lineup. [Lincecum] worked pretty hard out there and that’s why he was done by seven. But it was a great effort by him.”
Hard to argue with any of that. As for the Phillies, they don’t have time to sulk. Yes, Halladay lost. But they still have Roy Oswalt and then Cole Hamels in the next two games. Their bats are a concern, though. Charlie Manuel chuckled when a reporter asked if he was “running out of time” with shortstop Jimmy Rollins. But the simple fact is Rollins is 1-for-15 in the playoffs. And while he doesn’t look like a good bet in his old leadoff spot, Shane Victorino is himself 3-for-18 in the playoffs and Placido Polanco is 2-for-13. The Phillies need more from their catalysts.
“Can’t do nothing about it right now. We have to come out and win tomorrow’s game,” Manuel said. “We played how we talked about. Can’t do nothing to bring this game back tonight. It’s a loss. We’ll come out tomorrow and be in that moment and try to win that game. That’s all we can try to do.”
Give the Giants credit. They have now won four one-run games in the playoffs so far. In none of those games have they managed more than four runs of offense. Their sole loss was 5-4 in extra innings in the NLDS at home against Atlanta – a game they should have won. Yet they shook off Rick Ankiel’s dagger of a home run and took the next two games on the road anyway.
“If you look at this team we have some characters here,” Bochy said. “Whether you want to call them cast offs or misfits, I call them the Dirty Dozen. But they coalesced into a team that wants to win.”
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