PHILADELPHIA — They were one out from defeat. A moment later, Jimmy Rollins put the Phillies within one victory of the World Series.
Rollins lined a two-run double with two out in the ninth inning off all-star closer Jonathan Broxton and the Phillies rallied past the Dodgers 5-4 on Monday night for a 3-1 lead in the NL Championship Series.
The defending champions can earn their second consecutive pennant with a victory at home in Game 5 on Wednesday night. Cole Hamels, last year’s NLCS and World Series MVP, will take the mound for the Phillies. Clayton Kershaw or Vicente Padilla will start for Los Angeles.
“This is big,” Rollins said. “The pressure’s all on them.”
Trailing 4-3, the Phillies started their rally with one out in the ninth when pinch-hitter Matt Stairs walked on four pitches against Broxton. Stairs hit a two-run homer off Broxton in Game 4 of the NLCS last year at Dodger Stadium.
“I just wasn’t going to give him anything out over the middle,” Broxton said. “Try to keep it down and get him to chase.”
Broxton then hit Carlos Ruiz with a pitch, but pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs hit a soft liner to third for the second out.
Rollins, just 3-for-18 in the series to that point, then ripped a 99 mph fastball to right-center and the ball rolled all the way to the wall.
“He put a good swing on it and barreled it up,” Broxton said. “It got right through the defense.”
Andre Ethier’s throw toward the infield was high and off line, and Ruiz slid home without a play.
Rollins pointed in the air as he rounded second and got mobbed by teammates at third base. Even Jamie Moyer, who just had surgery on his lower abdomen, limped out and joined the celebration.
“I’m all right. I had to curl up in the fetal position and throw some punches of my own,” Rollins said.
Brad Lidge got two out in the ninth to earn the victory. Ryan Howard hit a two-run homer that gave him eight consecutive postseason games with at least one RBI, tying Lou Gehrig’s major-league record set more than seven decades ago.
Matt Kemp had a tiebreaking, solo homer for the Dodgers, and Manny Ramirez made a shoestring catch that prevented the tying run from scoring in the sixth.
Before Rollins’ hit, Dodgers relievers hadn’t allowed a hit in 3 1/3 innings.
“They’re a very tough lineup to go through,” Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. “You try to be careful. He almost dug himself out.”
Dodgers starter Randy Wolf pitched 5 1/3 effective innings against his former team while his “Wolf Pack” fan club sat in seats he left for them — and rooted against him.
George Sherrill struck out Howard with two runners on in the eighth and Broxton retired Jayson Werth on a flyball to end the inning.
At that point, Torre had made all the right moves one day after hearing criticism for starting Hiroki Kuroda in Game 3. Torre let Sherrill face Howard, even though he was 0-for-10 against Broxton.
But Broxton couldn’t nail down the four-out save. Now the Dodgers are on the verge of elimination.
“You just got to shake it off,” Broxton said. “You could be back out there in the same situation, so you’ve got to have a short memory.”
Game breakdown
Key moment: With two outs and two on in the bottom of the ninth, Jimmy Rollins lined a two-run double to left- center to bring the defending champions within one victory of returning to the World Series.
Turning point: The ninth-inning rally began with Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton walking Matt Stairs on four pitches, then hitting Carlos Ruiz with a pitch to put the tying and winning runs on base.
Brightest star: Ryan Howard was nails again, hitting a two-run homer in the first inning. It was his eighth straight postseason game with an RBI and matched Lou Gehrig’s record (1928, 1932 seasons).
Falling star: Broxton had 36 saves in 42 opportunities during the regular season, and two saves in two chances with a 1.59 ERA in the postseason. But that was before he blew a crucial save in Game 4.
NLCS
(Best of seven; all times MDT; TBS)
DODGERS VS. PHILLIES
(Philadelphia leads series 3-1)
Thursday: Philadelphia 8, L.A. 6
Friday: Los Angeles 2, Phil. 1
Sunday: Philadelphia 11, L.A. 0
Monday: Philadelphia 5, L.A. 4
Wed.: at Phil., 6:07 p.m.
*Friday: at L.A., 6:07 p.m.
*Saturday: at L.A., 6:07 p.m.
* if necessary
