Phillies Up 2-0 on Brewers

Hamels pitches 8 shutout innings in victory over Milwaukee

(NEWSER) - Cole Hamels struck out nine in eight shutout innings and got all the run support he needed on a two-run, third-inning double from Chase Utley as the Philadelphia Phillies won Game 1 of their first-round National League playoff series against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers, 3-1. The victory was Philadelphia’s first in the postseason since 1993, when the Phillies went to the World Series, Fox Sports reports. More»

Defending World Series champs now up 2-1 over Dodgers

(AP) - Cliff Lee dominated the Dodgers and Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth provided the big swings early as the Philadelphia Phillies cruised past Los Angeles 11-0 last night for a 2-1 lead in the NL championship series. Lee provided another brilliant playoff start, striking out 10 and allowing only three hits in eight innings. "Cliff Lee, what can I say about him? He was absolutely outstanding," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. More»

(AP) - Jimmy Rollins got the Phillies rollin' with a leadoff homer, and they kept right on going. Next stop, the World Series. Rollins homered in the first inning, Cole Hamels pitched his third gem of the playoffs, and Philadelphia beat the bumbling Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 tonight to win the NL championship series 4-1 for its first pennant since 1993. More»

(NEWSER) - The Cubs' century of misery won't end this year. The Dodgers beat Chicago 3-1 to complete a sweep of their best-of-5 NL playoff series, the Chicago Tribune reports. James Loney, the grand-slam hero of Game 1, hit a 2-run double in the first that held up for LA. The Cubs entered the playoffs with the NL's best record but scored only 6 runs in 3 games. The Brewers, meanwhile, beat the Phillies 4-1 to force Game 4 this afternoon. More»

Phillies, too

(NEWSER) - Jason Bay and Manny Ramirez both proved why they’d been acquired last night. Bay hit a two-run shot to give the Red Sox a lead they never relinquished, sending Anaheim to a 4-1 defeat, while the man he was traded for hit a solo shot in the Dodgers' 7-2 win over the Cubs. But the Dodgers’ real hero was James Loney, who hit a grand slam in the fifth to erase a 2-run Cubs lead. More»