Rollins forcefully set the tone

LOS ANGELES - The late-arriving crowd at Dodger Stadium missed the whole thing.

The pale yellow and blue seats were half-full when Jimmy Rollins dug into the dirt around home plate. Cars were still filing into the parking lot beyond the outfield bleachers when the Phillies' leadoff hitter worked the count full.

The early-evening sun was still high above the San Gabriel Mountains when Rollins turned on a fastball and sent it just over the right-field wall. But the silence of those present, as Rollins' cleats brushed home plate for the first of five Phillies runs, seemed to fill the hillside.

Last night, the Phillies beat the Dodgers, 5-1, winning this best-of-seven series by four games to one. The Phillies will be playing in the World Series for the first time in 15 years.

Rollins said he didn't see the ball clear the wall.

"I put my head down and I'm running," he said, adding that "I'm not thinking about it going over the wall, I'm thinking I can get a triple."

"There's a lot of heroes in this clubhouse," second baseman Chase Utley said.

"That's what it is about this team," first baseman Ryan Howard said. "You never know who's going to get out there and get the big hit."

Rollins had hardly been the headline grabber of this banner Phillies postseason. He entered last night's game batting .242, with one home run and one RBI.

The Dodgers fans should have known not to miss a Rollins leadoff at-bat: He is the only player in history to hit three postseason leadoff home runs. And he is the first to hit two leadoff home runs in the same postseason.

In Game 4 of the division series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Rollins hit a leadoff home run.

Last year against the Colorado Rockies, Rollins led off Game 2 with a home run.

Rollins said that as he worked the count against starter Chad Billingsley, he wondered if he could make it happen again. After he worked the count from 2-2 to full, Billingsley delivered a fastball.

"It was almost the same exact pitch I got in Milwaukee," Rollins said.

Rollins has the only three leadoff home runs in Phillies playoff history.

"The guys always tell me, 'You go, we go,' " said Rollins, standing in the visiting clubhouse, a full bottle of champagne in his hands.

"And now, if you'll excuse me," Rollins said. "I have to get in on this champagne action."