Phillies-Dodgers: Philadelphia Takes Stairs to Doorstep of World Series

Wes Chamberlain. Todd Pratt. And my all-time favorite: John Wockenfuss. You figure out what I called him as he strode to the plate. Kind of like the acronym: WT*.

What do these baseball players have in common?

They were late-inning pinch hitters for the Philadelphia Phillies in the past 20 years. They more often failed than succeeded. It is also the laws of baseball. Even a .300 hitter fails seven out of 10 times.

The odds finally caught up for Phillies fans, and the stakes have never been bigger. Matt Stairs connected on a 3-1 Jonathan Broxton fastball to break a 5-5 tie game in the top of the eighth and put a dagger in the hearts of Dodger fans. It gave the Philadelphia Phillies an improbable 7-5 win and a 3-1 NLCS series lead.

Shane Victorino tied the game with his own blast earlier in the inning and sealed his fate and his own delight as the player Dodger fans love to hate. Who can forget Victorino pointing to his head, then his chest when Dodger pitcher Hiroki Kuroda threw a pitch way over his head in Game Three and the ensuing bench-clearing confrontation?

For me, a Phillies fan, this has been a great series. But I also eat, drink, and sleep Phillies. So after the Phillies Game Four was over, I stayed on Fox, wanting to hear what analyst and former major-league manager Kevin Kennedy had to say after picking the Dodgers pregame to win Game Four of the NLCS.

I am biased, but I thought he complained about the moves and non-moves Torre made, instead of giving a resilient Phillies team their props.

Whatever. The Phillies are on the doorstep of the World Series, thanks to timely hitting, great defense (save Ryan Howard's errant throw), and solid pitching.

I went with my buddy to a local pub to watch Game Four of the NLDS, but other than that, I've watched the games at home. With just me, the TV, and my cat (as my wife and daughter were in bed), I settled in to watch an exciting game that had more twists and turns than Lombard Street in San Francisco.

Just as another Bleacher reporter wrote—here are a few of the text messages my friend (I will call him RP) and I sent during game four of the NLCS:

RP 9:26 PM EDT: Bottom of first: "Pretty good game so far."

Me: 9:28: "Two runs set the tone." The Phillies scored two runs in the first and the Dodgers answered with a run in the bottom of the inning. 2-1 Phillies.

Me 9:58: "Oh, boy," Manny Ramirez comes up in the bottom of the fifth with a man on. Manny comes through with an RBI single and another run scores as the Dodgers take the lead 3-2.

RP 10:13: "Could have bn lot wrse."

Me 10:20: "Tied." Ryan Howard scores on a wild pitch. 3-3 in the top of the sixth.

RP 10:44: "Horrible by howard." Dodgers score twice, one coming on a Ryan Howard throwing error. 5-3 Dodgers bottom of sixth.

Me 10:58: "Phils sh pretned thy plying mets." Top of seventh and Phils down 5-3.

RP 10:59: "Yea, lol." Mets blew at least 28 games this season after the sixth inning.

Me 11:18: "Ty." Victorino hits a bomb in the Dodger bullpen to tie the game in the top of the eighth. 5-5.

RP 11:22: "Victorino"

Me 11:25: "Wow" That is all I can come up with as I am amazed at the distance, height, and quickness that Matt Stairs' home run traveled to put the Phillies ahead, 7-5.

RP 11:29: "Stairs crushed it!"

In the bottom of the eighth, with two outs Brad Lidge comes in, gives up a double to Ramirez and appears to get a strike out to end the inning, but the ball gets away from Phils catcher Carlos Ruiz.

Me 11:47: "Crap."

Phils and Lidge get out the bottom of the eighth. Phils don't score in the top of the ninth and Lidge is still in and the Phils maintain a 7-5 lead.

Me 12:02 AM: "Here we go."

RP 12:03 AM: "Yep. This is it."

Me 12:04 AM: "Light out." I am not referring to bedtime, though I should, but to Brad "Lights Out" Lidge, who is something like a perfect 45-for-45 in save opportunities in the regular season and playoffs. It is what separated the Phillies from the Mets, especially after Billy Wagner went down.

Lidge comes through, one-two-three, to seal the Phils' win and an important 3-1 NLCS lead for a chance to go to the World Series for the first time since 1993.

RP 12:11 a.m.: "1 to go!"

Me 12:12 a.m.: "I love it!"

Whew. What a ride. Joe Blanton turned in another solid effort with three runs in five innings. Think that is not important or impressive? Look at the stakes: Dodger starter Derek Lowe overturned the Gatorade cooler in the dugout after giving up two runs in the top of the first.

Joe Torre, interviewed on Fox midgame, said that the bullpens would decide the game.

He was right.

It is almost like that Stairs home run is still traveling.