"Everybody knew - from the first game, we expected the Dodgers to play us hard," said lefthander J.C. Romero, who was part of a tag-team effort from the bullpen that ate up the final 6 1/3 innings. "That's the way they play the game. It just happened that we capitalized when we were at home in certain situations and they capitalized today. That's the way it is."
If the Phillies hope to edge one win closer to their sixth World Series berth in franchise history, they will have to find a way to win in Dodger Stadium, the site of Game 4 tonight and Game 5 Wednesday. They have lost six straight games in Los Angeles, including a four-game sweep in mid-August. Their last victory on the road over the Dodgers occurred on July 17, 2007.
LA will try to even the series tonight with ace righthander Derek Lowe pitching on 3 days' rest against the Phillies' No. 4 starter, Joe Blanton.
Last night, it was evident early that the Phillies were going to have a difficult time breaking serve. The Dodgers entered the game hitting .307 with 15 home runs in their careers off Moyer, with the bulk of the damage coming from Manny Ramirez (18-for-53, 10 home runs) and Nomar Garciaparra (15-for-36, one home run). Manager Joe Torre tailored his lineup accordingly, starting Garciaparra at first base and batting him fifth. Garciaparra, incidentally, was one of only four Dodgers who Moyer wound up retiring before he was pulled with one out in the second inning.
Moyer, who allowed six runs on six hits in 1 1/3 innings, has allowed eight runs in 5 1/3 innings in two postseason starts (13.50 ERA) after going 16-7 with a 3.71 ERA in the regular season.
