To describe how tight he expected the division race to be many years ago, Phillies manager Danny Ozark famously observed that the teams were all close enough, you could throw a blanket over them.
Well, you could throw a rally towel over these two clubs. And when that happens, the result of each game often pivots on breaks and mistakes.
Which turned out to be pretty much the story line as the Phillies slipped past the Dodgers, 3-2, at Citizens Bank Park last night.
It came to pass that Dodgers starter Derek Lowe sailed through the first five innings, getting Phillies hitter after Phillies hitter to pound his sinker harmlessly into the dirt.
The sixth started out innocently enough when Shane Victorino tapped a ball softly toward shortstop Rafael Furcal.
The Dodgers led, 2-0, at that time. A disappointed sigh passed through the sellout crowd. The fans had already seen this way too many times. And then it happened.
Furcal, who has one of the strongest arms of any shortstop in the game, quickly calculated that Victorino's speed meant he had to make a quick throw. So he winged the ball awkwardly, almost sidearm, and the ball sailed past first baseman James Loney.
"I couldn't get a good grip on the ball and then it sort of slipped," Furcal said.
As a blizzard of red-and-white towels began to wave frantically, Victorino ended up on second, and Chase Utley went for the bomb. He hit Lowe's very next pitch into the seats in right-center to tie the score.
It looked for all the world that Lowe was thinking about the unexpected runner on second instead of focusing on what he was going to throw toward the plate, although all involved denied it.
Dodgers manager Joe Torre dismissed the proposal that his pitcher was rattled.
