Trying to keep the game close, Dodgers reliever Clayton Kershaw retired the first two batters in the bottom of the sixth inning before hitting Rollins with a 1-1 fastball.
Rollins is always a threat to run, and Kershaw tried to keep him close with a pick-off attempt. His concentration against the hitter, Victorino, may have lagged. The first pitch to Victorino was a 94-m.p.h. fastball down the middle. Victorino lined it into the left-field seats to give the Phils an 8-3 cushion.
Home runs by Victorino and Werth accounted for six of the Phillies' runs. That was sweet math for both players. Both have found success in Philadelphia after being let go by the Dodgers. Victorino was picked up in the Rule 5 draft before the 2005 season. He did not make the Phillies' roster out of spring training and was offered back to the Dodgers, who said "No, thanks."
Werth was a Dodger from 2004 to 2006. He was injured for the entire 2006 season, and the Dodgers didn't tender him a contract that winter. Former Phillies general manager Pat Gillick, who had drafted Werth a decade earlier when he was GM of the Baltimore Orioles, called Werth the day after the Dodgers let him go and offered him a deal.
Needless to say, the Dodgers castoffs have played a big role in the Phillies' rise to the top of the NL the last two years.
The Phils are 18-5 the last two postseasons. They are 11-1 at home.
Contact staff writer Jim Salisbury
at 215-854-4983 or jsalisbury@phillynews.com.
