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| Brad Lidge shut the door on the Dodgers with a perfect ninth inning in Game 1 of the NLCS. He needed 13 pitches to get three outs, including one strikeout. |
Our View: Lidge has not taken a loss all season or in the playoffs. He was the NL Comeback Player of the Year as he nailed down 41 saves with a 1.95 ERA and 1.23 WHIP over 69.1 innings, with 92 strikeouts.
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| Derek Lowe was stellar through five innings but the wheels came off in the sixth when he allowed two home runs. The three earned runs he surrendered were enough to lose the game on Thursday. |
Our View: Lowe was been phenomenal in his previous 11 starts and for most of his playoff career. His sinker was working tonight, but two mistakes was all it took for him to take home a loss.
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| Pat Burrell's sixth inning solo home run was the difference in the Phillies' 3-2 win over the Dodgers. The Phillies now lead the NLCS 1-0. |
Our View: Burrell is battling a somewhat balky back but was 2-for-4 on Thursday. He hit 33 home runs in the regular season.
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| Cole Hamels was phenomenal for his second straight Game 1 start on Thursday. He earned the win against the Dodgers while pitching seven innings, striking out eight and scattering eight base runners. He surrendered two earned runs in the game. |
Our View: Hamels lived up to his billing as the best pitcher in the NLCS. He could go again in Game 4 but will more likely throw Game 4.
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| Chase Utley hit a two-run sixth inning home run to propel the Phillies to a 3-2 win in Game 1 of the NLCS. |
Our View: Utley cooled off in the second half after carrying the Phillies through the first three months of the season. His Homer was followed by a Pat Burrell home run which was the difference in the game.
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| Ambiorix Burgos will be jailed for three months ahead of trial for a hit-and-run accident that killed two women, according to the AP. A Dominican judge ordered him to remain behind bars Wednesday night out of concerns for his safety. The 24-year-old reliever said, "I am going to come out of this fine because my conscience is clear, and I’m not worried this will affect my career because I haven’t done anything."
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Our View: Burgos spent the past season on the DL following elbow ligament replacement. He pitched in the minors last month while on a rehab assignment. He could be facing six months to two years in prison.
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| Hong-Chih Kuo has made the Dodgers' NLCS roster, according to the LA Times. |
Our View: Kuo was left off the NLDS roster against Chicago while dealing with a sore elbow, but manager Joe Torre decided he was fit for duty in the NLDS against Philadelphia. Kuo enjoyed a strong regular season with the Dodgers, as he held a 2.14 ERA and 1.01 WHIP over 80 innings.
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| As expected, Takashi Saito has been left off the Dodgers' NLCS roster, according to the AP. |
Our View: Jonathan Broxton will be the undisputed closer for Los Angeles during the best-of-seven series against Philadelphia. Saito, who missed more than two months with an elbow injury, had a blown save and a loss in two of his first three outings and was hit hard in his only appearance of the NLDS against Chicago. When called in to finish up Game 2, with the Dodgers holding a nine-run lead, Saito surrendered a pair of doubles sandwiched around a single to the only three batters he faced, which led to manager Joe Torre's decision to leave him off the roster for the next round.
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| John Smoltz's jersey worn while recording his 3,000th career strikeout is being sent to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. |
Our View: The jersey will be part of a "Today's Game" exhibit. The spikes used by Derek Jeter when he set the record for most hits at Yankee Stadium while be among other items on display as well.
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| Dave Borkowski has been outrighted to Triple-A Round Rock, according to the Houston Chronicle. |
Our View: He has the right to refuse the assigment and become a free agent. The 31-year-old held a poor 7.50 ERA and 1.89 WHIP over 36 innings of relief this season.
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