Major League Baseball

Bats must back Blanton in Game 4;PHILLIES;Philly hitting .194 against Giants so far

Published Oct. 20, 2010 10:16 a.m. ET

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Coming into the National League Championship Series, the Phillies were touted as having the superior lineup.

That lineup hasn't done much in falling behind 2-1 in this best-of-seven series. The Phillies are hitting .194 against the Giants, and .203 overall for the postseason.

Tuesday was the first time since Game 5 of the 1983 World Series that Philadelphia had been shut out in the postseason, a span of 49 games. As great as their top three starters are, the Phillies need to start swinging the bats.

"Usually someone steps up," Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins said. "It wasn't the case today, though. ... They still have to win two more and we have to win three more. We'll find a way to make that happen."

"We have to gather ourselves and be aggressive. Be ourselves," Philadelphia center fielder Shane Victorino said.

The Phillies have advanced to the last two World Series, and they didn't drop more than one game in either NLCS.

"This series is far from over," Victorino said. "We've got four games left. We're not going to worry about what we haven't done - we've got to worry about what we're going to do."

The Phillies who spoke to reporters all used the phrase "tip your cap" when it came to Giants starter Matt Cain after he handled them with ease, and manager Charlie Manuel said that his team didn't hit many balls hard.

Cain hadn't had great career success against the Phillies, going 0-3 with a 6.23 ERA, but the Phillies mentioned the good movement his pitches had and the fact that he was aggressive in the strike zone.

Asked about Cain's turnaround from his usual trend versus Philadelphia, Victorino said, "I don't know, brother. I told you numbers mean nothing."

After Tuesday's loss, the immediate question for the Phillies was whether Manuel would use Roy Halladay on short rest tonight rather than scheduled starter Joe Blanton.

Blanton, who began his career with the A's, hasn't started a game since Sept. 29 and hasn't made an appearance since Oct. 3. He was not needed in Philadelphia's sweep of the Reds in the Division Series.

Manuel said firmly after Game 3 that Blanton will start. Blanton threw a simulated game last week and did well, according to Manuel.

Blanton is used to stretches of inactivity; he worked in the bullpen at times last postseason. But tonight's duty is one he's more than familiar with.

"I've been here before," he said. "Basically, I've thrown Game 4s in all my starts. It's nothing new."

Manuel said that Blanton will go five or six innings. "Six innings would be real good," he said. "Usually Blanton will give you a solid six innings. ... I'm not saying he can't do better."

Rollins was among those who faced Blanton in the simulated game and he said Blanton had good command, particularly his fastball and curveball, and if he does that tonight, Rollins said, he'll be fine.

"We have a lot of confidence in Joe," Victorino said. "He's confident, he wants the ball. Joe's ready."

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