Roy Halladay Good Enough, Phillies Escape With 4-2 Game 5 Win Over Giants

Pushed to the brink of elimination with a Game 4 loss Wednesday night, the Phillies handed the ball to Roy Halladay on Thursday begging for the most he could give. And though Halladay didn't have his best stuff, he left everything he had on the field, and in so doing helped to keep the Phillies' season alive.

Roy Halladay battled through six innings of two-run ball, Jayson Werth added a critical run with a homer, and the bullpen did the job as the Phillies hung on for a 4-2 win over the Giants in Game 5 of the NLCS, forcing a Game 6 and sending the series back to Philadelphia.

In a rematch of Game 1's epic showdown, billed as perhaps the best pitching matchup of the season, neither Halladay nor opponent Tim Lincecum appeared to be at the top of his game Thursday night. It was Halladay who wound up getting the best of it, although he wasn't without his scares.

The Giants managed to strike early and pick up a run in the bottom of the first. After Lincecum set the top of the Phillies order down 1-2-3, Andres Torres drew a leadoff walk, advanced to third on a single by Freddy Sanchez, and scored on a slow grounder by Buster Posey. That gave the home team a quick edge, and the hope was that they'd be able to lean on their ace the rest of the way.

But Lincecum was imperfect himself, and after an easy second, he ran into trouble in the third. Raul Ibanez led off with a base hit, and Carlos Ruiz then got hit on the arm on an 0-2 pitch inside. That put two men on base with nobody out, and Halladay stepped in looking to bunt.

Halladay dropped down a first-pitch bunt to advance the runners. Replays showed that the ball was picked up by Posey in foul territory, and Halladay didn't run out of the batter's box because he knew the ball was foul, but the umpire nevertheless called it a fair ball, and the runners advanced to second and third. Shane Victorino then stood in and ripped a groundball to first that took a funny bounce and bounded off of Aubrey Huff's body and into center field. Two runs scored on the play, putting the Phillies on top 2-1, and Victorino wound up on second base.

Victorino would then score five pitches later, when Placido Polanco smacked a single of his own into center field. Lincecum escaped a jam and got out of the inning, but the damage had been done.

The Giants were soon able to get a run back in the fourth. Pat Burrell lined a one-out double into left field off Halladay, and Cody Ross then fisted a double of his own into right field, just inside the line. That double drove in Burrell and cut the deficit to 3-2.

The inning would end on the basepaths, though, as Pablo Sandoval followed by flying out to right, and Ross was thrown out at third trying to tag up. Jayson Werth threw a strike from right field and Ross was tagged out well in advance of reaching the base.

From that point forward, there wouldn't be any more scoring for a while. Lincecum settled down, retiring 11 in a row, and Halladay worked around a handful of baserunners. In the fifth, Halladay survived men on the corners with two out. In the sixth, he survived men on first and second with two out. His strikeout of Juan Uribe to escape that jam proved to be the final at bat of his evening.

Lincecum got into some hot water in the top of the seventh, putting men on the corners with only one out. Pinch-hitter Ross Gload stepped in looking to give the Phillies some insurance, but his line drive was gloved by Huff at first base, who stepped on the bag for a lineout double play to end the inning. The Phillies had come that close, but they couldn't catch a break.

Fortunately for them, their bullpen held tough. J.C. Romero and Jose Contreras kept the Giants silent in the seventh, and Ryan Madson came out and struck out the side in the eighth, bringing the Phillies three outs away from a critical win.

And it was in the ninth that the Phillies got their insurance. Jayson Werth stepped in to lead off against new reliever Ramon Ramirez, and Werth drove a low fastball the other way, the ball getting some help from the wind and carrying over the tall right field fence. The solo home run pushed the score to 4-2, and everyone in the Philadelphia dugout could breathe a little easier.

Brad Lidge was then called on for the three-out save, and he was able to get it done on just ten pitches, concluding with a strikeout of Travis Ishikawa.

The Giants remain ahead in the series by a count of three games to two, but the series will now shift back to Philadelphia for the final one or two games. Game 6 is scheduled for Saturday, and will pit Jonathan Sanchez up against Roy Oswalt. Should the Rangers win Game 6 of the ALCS tomorrow, Game 6 of the NLCS will begin at 7:57pm ET. Should the Rangers lose, Game 6 of the NLCS will begin at 3:57pm ET.