Hamels and catcher Carlos Ruiz opened the bottom of the fourth with some smart pitch selection against Manny Ramirez. The Dangerous One was locked and loaded, looking to make a quick strike and wake up his team. Hungry for a fastball, Ramirez got out in front of a first-pitch change-up and grounded to third baseman Pedro Feliz, who was in the lineup for his defense. Hamels got all three outs in the fourth on change-ups.
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Utley has great instincts, the kind that can't be taught. They showed in the fifth inning as Rafael Furcal was personally gift-wrapping the pennant for the Phils. Utley was on second when Pat Burrell hit a ball into the hole at short. Furcal booted the ball a few feet into the outfield and Utley took off for home, scoring the Phils' fourth run. Utley didn't wait for third-base coach Steve Smith to wave him in. He stole a quick glance at Furcal before reaching third and made the decision to go. Furcal made a second error on the play with a wild throw and spent the next few minutes with his glove on his hip, apparently upset. He threw away another ball before the inning ended and that resulted in another run.Bend, don't break
Leading by 5-0, Hamels allowed two singles to open the bottom of the fifth. Tommy Lasorda rose from his box seat and white-toweled the crowd into a frenzy. Hamels rolled a killjoy double play, started nicely by Utley, then got Kent swinging at dead-fish change-up off the plate to end the threat and quiet the crowd.Not high enough
Hamels lost his shutout with two outs in the sixth when Ramirez hit a 1-2 fastball over the right-field wall. Ruiz practically stood up, calling for the pitch to be out of the strike zone. It was high, but not high enough and Ramirez unloaded on it. The key to containing Ramirez is to pitch to him with no one on base. By getting the first two outs, Hamels was able to do that and the solo homer left him only with a small bruise that will heal by the time the World Series starts.Contact staff writer Jim Salisbury
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