The Dodgers are a loss away from elimination after Monday’s 7-5 loss to the Phillies.
The Phillies touched Derek Lowe for two early runs in the first but the Dodgers gained a run in the first, with Rafael Furcal getting a leadoff bunt-hit and coming around to score on James Loney’s two-out double. They took the lead with two runs in the fifth, ledoff again by Furcal with a walk. Andre Ethier singled and Furcal scored on Manny’s RBI-single before Ethier scored the go-ahead run on Russell Martin’s groundout. The Phillies tied it again in the sixth but Casey Blake put the Dodgers on top with a solo homerun.
Lowe gave up three hits in the first that resulted in a quick 2-0 lead, but recovered for four shutout innings after that. The Dodgers pulled ahead with their two runs in the fifth, which prompted Torre to pull Lowe after just 74 pitches, likely because he had started on three days rest. It took three relievers-Kershaw, Park, and Beimel-to get through the sixth, but not before the Phillies tied it up, with Ryan Howard scoring on a wild pitch by Park. Hong-Chih Kuo threw a 1-2-3 seventh and took the mound for the eighth but was lifted after giving up a leadoff single. Cory Wade then gave up a two-run homerun to give the Phillies the lead and was replaced by Broxton after giving up another single. Matt Stairs’ then drove a two-run homerun off Broxton to complete their four-run inning.
The Dodgers are at the brink of elimination, with Chad Billingsley taking the mound on Wednesday in a must-win Game 5. Billingsley tossed a one-run win in the NLDS before taking the loss in Game 2 in Philly, with a career-high eight runs given up. Billingsley will be back at home, though, where he has a 6-0 record with a 1.65 ERA in his last seven starts. He will face Cole Hamels, who is unbeaten this postseason and went 1-0 against the Dodgers this year.
