LOS ANGELES // The Philadelphia Phillies advanced to their first World Series in 15 years after wrapping up the National League Championship Series with a 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday in game five. Philadelphia, who last won the World Series in 1980, await the winner of the American Series, where the Tampa Bay Rays lead the Boston Red Sox 3-1.
"Your goal is always to go out and leave your mark on the game," Phillies slugger Ryan Howard said of the 4-1 series triumph. "This is special, now we have to go out and try to win the next series." The left-handed starting pitcher Cole Hamels was named the NLCS MVP after he recorded his third win of the play-offs. Shortstop Jimmy Rollins led off the game with a solo home run from the Los Angeles starter Chad Billingsley, who was chased in the third inning when he gave up two more runs. Billingsley issued four walks and allowed four hits and three runs in two and two thirds innings.
"Sometimes you swing and you miss those," said Rollins, of the belt-high pitch he drove out of right-centre field. "Our goal is to win the World Series, not to win the National League Series. We look at it like we've qualified, now we have a chance." The Phillies scored two more runs in the fifth on three Dodger errors all committed by their shortstop Rafael Furcal. Howard led the Philadelphia charge , going 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored while Rollins scored twice.
Manny Ramirez produced Los Angeles' only run with an opposite field solo homer in the sixth inning, which was not enough to save his side. "I basically told my team I was proud to be their manager," said Dodgers manager Joe Torre. "They just kept fighting until someone told them it was over." Ramirez, who was acquired in a trade with the Red Sox on July 31, will be a free agent at the end of the season and sure to receive lucrative offers after leading Los Angeles into the play-offs.
He batted .520 with four home runs and 10 RBIs in eight post-season games. "The Dodgers are going to do what's best for them," Ramirez said after the loss. "But the fans here have received me with open arms." * Reuters