MercuryNews
There is a famous statue of Rocky Balboa, his gloved hands raised in weary triumph, near the steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Giants can walk over and visit it today, if they like.
But they cannot hold the pose. Not yet, anyway.
The Philadelphia Phillies didn't become the two-time defending NL champions without stubborn pieces of iron in their lineup and rotation, and they seized on a series of Giants mistakes while taking a 4-2 survival victory Thursday night at AT&T Park.
The Giants still hold a three-to-two edge in this best-of-seven National League championship series, but now they must win on the road. They can clinch a trip to the World Series on Saturday behind Jonathan Sanchez at Citizens Bank Park, with Matt Cain ready for a potential Game 7 on Sunday.
Tim Lincecum said he plans to be available in the bullpen, too.
"We see ourselves more in the driver's seat than them, a little more in control," said Lincecum, who might have thrown a shutout if not for mistakes made behind him. "So it's up to us. You wanted to shut it down in front of the home crowd. But things happened that shouldn't, and we're going back to Philly."
The Phillies survived by beating Lincecum, although that was a matter of semantics. Playing under an intermittent drizzle, the Giants beat themselves in a sloppy, three-run third inning that included an error by first baseman Aubrey Huff that allowed two runs to score. It was preceded by an odd sacrifice bunt that would have resulted in a double play if third baseman Pablo Sandoval had been able to find the bag. The Giants did not roll over against Roy Halladay either. They pushed, prodded and, in Pat Burrell's case, even screamed obscenities at the presumed Cy Young Award winner. But they couldn't get the two-out hit they needed to push ahead, Jayson Werth added a solo shot in the ninth off Ramon Ramirez to pad the lead, and the Phillies' top relievers held firm. After the game, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel revealed that Halladay strained his right groin while trying to put some extra mustard on a fastball to Cody Ross in the second inning. "He was determined to stay in there," Manuel said of Halladay, who lasted six innings. "I don't know if you noticed the velocity on his fastball fell off, and he was having a hard time pushing off the mound, and he used a lot of cutters and changeups." He also gave the Giants plenty of hittable pitches. But despite plenty of feisty at-bats that ran up Halladay's pitch count, they couldn't get the hits they needed with runners on base. Their worst bit of bad luck came in the first inning, after Andres Torres worked a leadoff walk and went to third on Freddy Sanchez's hit-and-run single. Huff scorched a line drive right to first baseman Ryan Howard, who made a diving play. The Giants pushed across one run in the inning, but they nearly landed an uppercut. "Turning point in the game," Huff said. "We could've cashed in for a big inning. That one hurt, but the error hurt even more." Huff's error was the most damaging play in an inning the Giants would like to zap from their memories. Raul Ibañez led off the third inning with a single, and Carlos Ruiz stood as still as a statue as he let Lincecum's 0-2 pitch hit his arm. Then came one of the strangest sacrifice plays you will ever see. Halladay's bunt bounced off the plate and appeared to spin foul, but catcher Buster Posey alertly pounced on it and immediately threw to third base as Halladay stood in the box. Sandoval took the throw as he retreated to third base, but he couldn't find the bag. Implored by a shouting home dugout, Sandoval threw to first base to retire Halladay. "We're inches away from getting a double play," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "So that's a missed opportunity -- and it came back to haunt us." Shane Victorino followed with a ground ball, and Huff conceded he rushed the play as he looked to throw home and keep Ibañez from scoring the tying run. The ball deflected off Huff's glove and ricocheted into shallow center field as two runs scored. The Phillies added a run when Placido Polanco singled, and Lincecum blamed himself for not shutting down the rally. "Aww, man," Huff said. "He's standing up for his first baseman. He's a great pitcher, a great kid. No, this one's on me. Obviously, I made the big one. "It's all on me tonight." Lincecum retired the next nine hitters, and the Giants kept threatening Halladay, but they managed only one more hit with runners on base. Halladay's new nemesis and an old one combined to halve the Phillies' lead in the fourth. Burrell, who exchanged words with the pitcher after a strikeout in the first inning, yanked a double down the left-field line. Cody Ross, who hit two homers off Halladay in Game 1, doubled him in. But Ross was thrown out trying to tag up on a fly ball to right fielder Werth. "It was a split-second decision," Ross said. "It was the wrong decision. It kind of took the momentum out from under us." And a home crowd waited to celebrate.
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