NLDS- GAME ONE- CHAMPS IN A BREEZE

PHILLIES JOURNAL 2009 POST SEASON                   

                                    NLDS – GAME ONE – CHAMP PHILLIES IN A BREEZE

                                                Cliff Lee, not the wind, blew Rockies away

                                                A complete game six-hitter kept Rox at bay.

                                                Scoring began with Ibañez double to right,

                                                That uplifting, soul soothing, beautiful sight.

                                                Ten wins to go ’til Champs reclaim crown

                                                Small smiles and head nods blanket the town.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009, Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia – 5, Colorado – 1.

WP – Cliff Lee (1-0), [7-4]. LP – Ubaldo Jiminez (0-1), [15-12].

The wind was a troubling 25 MPH, gusting to 45, and swirling all over the place. Batters had to step out of the box to get chalk dust and grass clippings out of their eyes. Outfielders were running circle routes trying to track fly balls. Jason Werth in rightfield lost a line drive in the swirl of white rally towels furnishing a background to his line-of-sight. A high pop fly to short left was blown back short of third base where Jimmy Rollins snagged it after a desperate sprint and a last-second lunge. Ryan Howard just missed putting the ball on the barrel of his bat, but the swirling wind picked up the soaring fly to left and flung it against the wall as Rockies’ leftfielder, Carlos Gomez, frantically tried to catch it. The same swirling wind caught Jason Werth’s perfectly squared up smash to left center, and kept it from landing 10 rows deep in the stands. When Werth hit it, he went into his Cadillac trot, which cost him an inside-the-park homerun when the ball hit the top of the wall over the Budweiser sign and caromed toward right field. But the wind had no effect on Cliff Lee who fired first-pitch strikes from first to last, and retired 15 in a row in the middle innings. It was a breeze.