Roy Halladay pitched just six innings without his best stuff, but Jose Contreras, J.C. Romero, Ryan Madson, and Brad Lidge recorded the final nine outs to seal the game and continue the season. The bullpen was to blame for a Game 4 loss. The relievers repented a day later.
On the date when the Phillies won the World Series 30 years ago, they prolonged their season and a quest for a third straight berth in the Fall Classic. After losing Game 4, this group, so well-versed in all things postseason, spoke with confidence. But the room was mostly quiet and introspective, with numerous players sitting at their lockers staring into space.
Before Game 5, Charlie Manuel pondered the current mood of the series and said something quite interesting about the Giants.
"I mean, they have that determination," Manuel said. "I see all that. And they kind of . . . they've got an edge going with them, they've got some stuff going for them."
Isn't that what opponents said about the Phillies in previous postseasons?
But San Francisco, with all the momentum, could not close out the Phillies in their home ballpark. Instead, they were forced to pack their bags (which they did not bring to AT&T Park on Thursday) and fly across the country Friday morning.
A solo home run by Jayson Werth in the ninth provided an insurance run that sealed the deal for the Phillies.
In the eighth, Madson stole the show. He threw 32 pitches in Game 4, the most he had thrown in more than two years, and trotted from the bullpen Thursday night to face the heart of San Francisco's order.
He used his best pitch (his change-up) just once and struck out the side. Buster Posey, Pat Burrell and Cody Ross all went down swinging on fastball, slider, slider.
