It also had something to do with the situations that arose in the third and fifth innings of Game 5.
In the third, Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell hit back-to-back RBI singles off Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley. Howard advanced to third on Burrell's hit, so Victorino came to the plate with runners on first and third and two outs. After Billingsley threw a wild pitch that allowed Burrell to advance to second, manager Joe Torre decided to walk Victorino.
The strategy worked. Chan Ho Park replaced Billingsley and retired Pedro Feliz on a grounder to short.
Victorino came to the plate in a similar situation in the bizarre top of the fifth inning. With two men on, shortstop Rafael Furcal dropped a Burrell ground ball and then kicked it into shallow left field. Furcal committed a second error on the play by throwing wildly over the head of catcher Russell Martin.
Once again, Victorino was hitting with runners on second and third. Once again, Torre decided to take the bat out of Victorino's hand and take his chances with Feliz. Once again, it worked. Greg Maddux, making an emergency relief appearance, struck Feliz out.
The Phillies got another run on Furcal's third error of the inning - an errant throw to first that allowed Victorino to advance to second. He was stranded there, however, when Cole Hamels grounded out to end the gift rally.
Victorino, who struck out in the second inning, did get a chance to bat in seventh. He lined a one-out single to right field.
Victorino also made his usual contributions on defense. He caught the second out of the ninth inning, a fly ball off the bat of Matt Kemp, with his back against the fence in dead-center.
