Game 1 of the NLCS brought us what looked like the pitching matchup of the year, as Roy Halladay and his no-hitter were going up against Tim Lincecum and his 14-K shutout.
Cody Ross Homers Twice, Tim Lincecum Strong As Giants Take NLCS Opener From Phillies
It didn’t quite work out that way, but it was every bit as tense.
Powered by a pair of solo home runs by Cody Ross, the Giants scored four runs against Roy Halladay and then held on late for a 4-3 win over the Phillies in Game 1 of the NLCS, with Tim Lincecum getting the win and Brian Wilson getting the save.
The game got off to a very predictable start, as both Halladay and Lincecum worked quickly and effectively in the first couple innings. In the third, though, the Giants got on the board, when right fielder Cody Ross sent a solo home run into the left field seats. It was the first hit and the first run that Halladay allowed in the playoffs.
Ross, slotted eighth in the lineup, was a late-season waiver claim by the Giants, who were simply attempting to block him from going to the Padres.
The Phillies were able to get the run back immediately against Lincecum, as Carlos Ruiz led off the bottom of the third with a solo home run of his own, just clearing the right field wall.
The game remained 1-1 into the fifth, when Ross again stepped up to the plate and again blasted a solo home run to left field. It was his second home run of the game and third of the playoffs, and it made for his first two-homer game since May 23 against the White Sox.
The Phillies and their fans were stunned, and they grew only more stunned in the top of the sixth when the Giants piled on some insurance. Pat Burrell drove in Buster Posey with an RBI double off Raul Ibanez's glove, and Juan Uribe followed with a run-scoring groundball single into center. The Giants took a 4-1 lead, and with Lincecum still on the mound, things were looking good.
Then it all got tense again when Jayson Werth stole the Giants' insurance runs right back. Facing Lincecum, Werth sent a two-run homer the other way to narrow the score to 4-3.
That, though, is where the game would remain. Though Halladay was good in the seventh and the bullpen kept the Giants off the board in the eighth and the ninth, the Phillies hitters couldn’t get anything going themselves. They went 1-2-3 against Lincecum in the seventh, and stranded a runner on first in the eighth. In the ninth, against Brian Wilson, Ruiz worked his way on base when he took a fastball off the hand, but Wilson sandwiched the hit batter with three strikeouts for the one-run save.
Lincecum allowed three runs in seven innings, striking out eight along the way. Halladay allowed four runs in seven innings of his own, with seven strikeouts and zero walks. Wilson threw 33 pitches in recording a four-out save.
So all eyes turn to Game 2 on Sunday night, pitting lefty Jonathan Sanchez up against Roy Oswalt. The Giants will look to take a commanding series lead, while the Phillies will look to split at home before flying out west.
See More:
