Major League Baseball

Inside the Game: Order shifted for 2, restored for others

Published Oct. 18, 2010 10:10 a.m. ET

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You could tell in the days leading up to this National League Championship Series that Roy Oswalt could not wait to pitch again after a rough five-inning outing that still had a happy ending against the Cincinnati Reds.

Who knew the Phillies' prized in-season addition was eager to hit and run the bases, too?

The veteran righthander did all of the above as the primary difference maker Sunday night in the Phillies' 6-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants that evened the best-of-seven series at one game apiece.

Here are some of the key decisions and plays from Game 2 at Citizens Bank Park:

Looking good

For most of Game 1, Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins did not look good, striking out a combined six times in eight at-bats. But the ability of those two men to look at a variety of Jonathan Sanchez pitches in the first inning accounted for the Phillies' first run.

Howard fouled off a two-strike slider and a two-strike fastball before working a walk that loaded the bases with one out, and Rollins drew a five-pitch walk to force in the run.

Howard ended up having two more good at-bats against the lefthander Sanchez, lining a two-out double in the third and a two-out single in the fifth.

Rollins got a fortunate infield hit in the fourth when the Giants let a pop-up fall in front of the pitcher's mound, and then the shortstop came through with a bases-loaded double in the seventh after working a 2-0 count off righthanded reliever Santiago Casilla.

That's why manager Charlie Manuel keeps putting Rollins' name in the lineup.

Movement matters

The velocity on Oswalt's fastball was not any different in this Game 2 start than it was in his Game 2 start of the division series against Cincinnati. What was different was the movement.

Against the Reds, Oswalt threw his two-seam sinking fastball 23 times, and the batters swung and missed just twice.

Against the Giants, Oswalt used his sinker 45 times and got nine swinging strikes and 33 strikes total.

Chin music for Ross

Thirty years ago, Dickie Noles threw a high inside fastball in Game 4 of the World Series that decked Hall of Famer George Brett and triggered an umpire warning to both benches.

The story is that Noles' purpose pitch turned the World Series momentum back in the Phillies' direction. Brett was hitting .545 (6 for 11) with two doubles, a triple, and a home run at that point of the series.

He struck out in that at-bat and batted .231 (3 for 13) with three singles the remainder of the series as the Phillies won the first title in franchise history.

This comes up now because Oswalt threw a similar purpose pitch in the second inning. After watching undersized Cody Ross launch two Roy Halladay fastballs for home runs in Game 1, Oswalt's third pitch - a 93-m.p.h. fastball - sent the Giants' rightfielder ducking for cover.

Ross responded by drawing a five-pitch walk in that plate appearance, then hit an Oswalt fastball for his third home run of the series to tie the game in the fifth inning.

Oswalt finally retired Ross in the seventh, but it was a long, loud out that settled in centerfielder Shane Victorino's glove as he stood on the warning track in the deepest part of the ballpark.

The lineup shuffle

Manuel made one minor change to his lineup for Game 2, and it proved to be a productive one.

It was a lineup switch that the manager also had implemented eight times, with mixed results, during the regular season when the Phillies went against a lefthanded starter.

Third baseman Placido Polanco moved down one spot to third in the batting order, and second baseman Chase Utley moved up one spot to second. The Phillies were 4-4 during the regular season when Manuel shuffled the two infielders. One of those wins was against the Giants, but the lefthander that evening was Barry Zito, who was left off San Francisco's playoff roster.

The Phillies lost twice to Sanchez during the regular season, but Polanco and Utley batted in their customary positions in each game.

When the Phillies scored in the first Sunday night, Utley and Polanco were in the middle of the action without getting a hit.

Utley worked a five-pitch walk without swinging, then stole second base. Polanco fouled off two tough breaking pitches from Sanchez before grounding the ball at third baseman Mike Fontenot. An errant throw across the diamond resulted in an error that allowed Utley to move to third, triggering a chain of events that led to a laborious 35-pitch inning for Sanchez.

The combination of Utley and Polanco produced again without a hit in the fifth.

After Victorino led off with a double down the third-base line, Manuel initially ordered a sacrifice bunt from Utley. After he failed to connect with Sanchez's first pitch, the sacrifice was waved off, and Utley lined out to right field, getting the desired result by moving Victorino to third.

Polanco followed by hitting a first-pitch fastball into center field for a sacrifice fly that gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead.

Oswalt helped himself in the seventh with a leadoff single that chased Sanchez from the game, and eventually Utley and Polanco were involved again. Utley drew an intentional walk after a sacrifice bunt by Victorino, and Polanco delivered an RBI single.

Owned Part I

Giants leadoff man Andres Torres did not have good numbers against Oswalt going into the game, and they only got worse. Torres was 2 for 10 with four strikeouts in his career before Sunday night.

He is now 2 for 14 with eight strikeouts.

Owned Part II

Sanchez is to Jayson Werth what Oswalt is to Torres. Werth went into the game 0 for 12 with six strikeouts in his career against Sanchez. He is now 0 for 15 with eight strikeouts.

Contact staff writer Bob Brookover at 215-854-2577 or bbrookover@phillynews.com.

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