MILWAUKEE — Jimmy Rollins, soaked in champagne, his eyes burning, stood in the middle of the visitors’ clubhouse at Miller Park on Sunday and recalled a conversation he had with Larry Bowa when the Phillies closed Veterans Stadium in 2003.
“This is the house you helped build,” Rollins told Bowa. “The one across the street is going to be the one that we build.”
The one across the street is Citizens Bank Park, where the Phillies will host the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday in Game 1 of the best-of-seven National League Championship Series.
Behind two home runs from Pat Burrell, the Phillies beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-2, on Sunday in Game 4 of the NL division series to advance to their first NLCS since 1993.
“This is one step in the right direction,” Rollins said.
Brewers catcher Jason Kendall grounded out to Rollins in the ninth inning to end the game and the series. The Phillies stormed the field before carrying their celebration into the clubhouse, where they popped champagne and cans of beer.
They partied, but not nearly as hard as Sept. 27, when they clinched the NL East.
“We don’t feel like we should be looking at anything less than a World Series,” Rollins said. “And that’s a World Series win. It’s a lot of work. It’s not going to be easy, but we weren’t geared just to get to the playoffs.”
The Rockies swept the Phillies in the division series last season. The Phils had not won a postseason series since 1993, when they beat the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS. Hard to believe, but that was 15 years ago.
“Fifteen years ago, I was still in high school,” Rollins said.
These Phillies have heard endless stories about the 1993 and 1980 teams, and they suddenly have an opportunity to make their own history. They would like people to someday talk about Rollins, Howard and Utley the same way they talk about Schmidt, Carlton and Rose or Wild Thing, Nails and Dutch.
“To be a part of something that hadn’t happened in 15 years is great,” Brett Myers said. “We’re going to try to put ’93 in the past, where it should be. We’re going to try to take it a little further than they did and win the whole thing.”
They must beat the Dodgers first, and it won’t be easy. They split the eight-game season series with Los Angeles. The Dodgers won four games at Dodger Stadium and the Phillies won four games at the Bank.
The Phillies must continue to get quality pitching and timely hitting, like they got Sunday, to have a chance to reach the World Series. Right-hander Joe Blanton, who allowed just five hits and one run in six innings in his first postseason start. Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge preserved the win.
