
Ryan Howard hit a ninth-inning two-run double as the Philadelphia Phillies clinched the NLDS with a 5-4 win over the Colorado Rockies.
Howard's efforts pulled the Phillies level at 4-4 after an eighth-inning burst by the Rockies threatened to take the series to a fifth game, and victory was secured when Jayson Werth singled to score Howard.
The Game Four victory sealed a 3-1 series triumph for the World Series champions who now face the Los Angeles Dodgers for the second consecutive season in the National League Championship Series.
The Phillies' Shane Victorino opened the scoring in the first with a home run - his first since September 13 - while Werth made it 2-0 when he hit a solo homer in the sixth.
Todd Helton got home for the Rockies in the sixth to make it 2-1 while pinch-hitter Jason Giambi singled to score Dexter Fowler to tie the game at 2-2.
Yorvit Torrealba's two-run double in the bottom of the eighth then seemingly set the Rockies on course for a deciding Game Five in Philadelphia as the hosts moved into a 4-2 lead.
But the Phillies had other ideas and mounted a dramatic fightback in the ninth against closer Huston Street.
Howard tied the score with two strikes when he doubled up against the right-field wall to score Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley, while Werth made sure the Phillies progressed as he singled to right-centre field to score Howard.
No comments:
Post a Comment