BOX SCORE
ST. LOUISNow were going to see if Roy Halladay really is the best pitcher in baseball.
Now were going to see if the great Phillies club of 2011 will go down as one of the most disappointing Philadelphia teams of all-time, or if this is its way of adding a little drama and spice to its march to the top.
This season of great expectations has come down to one game. Win it and survive. Lose it and those 102 wins and all those shiny ERAs dont mean a thing.
The Phillies backed themselves into a corner with a 5-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 4 of the National League Division Series on Wednesday night. (See game breakdown.) The series, which has pitted the top team in the majors against a club that needed to win 16 of its final 21 games to make the playoffs, is tied at two games apiece. The decisive fifth game is Friday (8:37 p.m.TBS) at Citizens Bank Park and pitching matchups dont get much better than this one: Halladay against Chris Carpenter. Both former Cy Young winners. Both former teammates with the Toronto Blue Jays. The best of friends. (See story.)
You get your big boy on the bump, Jimmy Rollins said on his way out of the clubhouse for the flight back to Philadelphia after the loss. This was the reason why he was brought here, when you have games like this for him to come out and be the man. Be Doc. Go out there and perform a little surgery and everyone else has to be all hands on deck.
The everyone else that Rollins spoke of includes the offense, which has scored runs in just three of its last 25 innings, and the fans. Rollins mentioned to his Twitter followers that Citizens Bank Park was too quiet during the Phils Game 2 loss. Something tells us that will not be the case Friday night.
Game 5, Rollins said. Theres no better place to do it than CBP. Itll be crankin and crazy. Everyone Im hearing from on Twitter says its going to be crazy. I look forward to them keeping their word.
MLB
So far in this series, the Phillies All-Aces rotation has had mixed results. Halladay and Cole Hamels have delivered strong, winning efforts while Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt both allowed five runs over six innings in their respective starts.
Oswalt squandered an early 2-0 lead Wednesday night. He allowed just six hits over six innings but three of them were run-scoring extra-base hitsan RBI double by Lance Berkman in the first, a two-run double by David Freese in the fourth and a two-run homer by Freese in the sixth.
Freese was four years behind Ryan Howard at Lafayette High School in suburban St. Louis. The two games in St. Louis were supposed to be Howards homecoming in a ballpark in which he typically shines. The Phillies slugger, however, went 0 for 8 in two games. He struck out three times Wednesday night, the biggest coming in the eighth inning with a man on base and the Phils down by two runs. (See story.)
Im a little anxious, said Howard, whose bat has been quiet since driving in six runs in the first two games. Im trying to make things happen instead of letting it happen. Im jumping at the ball. I need to be more patient.
The entire Phillies offense is having problems sustaining and developing rallies.
We look like some of our guys are swinging pretty hard, manager Charlie Manuel said. Thats a sign of being overanxious. We jumped out and scored two runs in the first inning. Outside of that, we couldnt really put anything together.
Rollins led off the game with a single, Chase Utley followed with a triple and Hunter Pence a single. The Phillies got just four more singles on the night.
Looking ahead to Game 5, Rollins said, Weve got to score early and tack on so the hill becomes a mountain.
What makes Rollins believe the Phillies can score those tack-on runs after theyve failed to do so in the last three games?
I dont know, he said. But weve got to figure it out.
The Phillies clubhouse was quiet after the Game 4 loss. Surely, everyone affiliated with the club is feeling anxious knowing the season of great expectations will end if the team does not win Friday night.
Still, Oswalt believes the pressure is on the Cardinals.
They need to come into our home and beat us, he said. We came into their home and got a split.
Halladay pushed for a trade to Philadelphia because he wanted to pitch in big games in October.
Hes got his wish.
If were going to have one guy to get us a win, Doc Halladay is a pretty good guy to do it, Brad Lidge said. Hes just good. Hes got the mentality. Hes got the ability. Im sure the Cardinals feel good about keeping the series alive. Momentum is nice to have, but with Doc Halladay at home, I dont know if all the momentum in the world will help you.
Lidge had better be right. The Phillies' season hangs on one game. Win it and go on. Lose it and become one of the biggest disappointments in Philadelphia sports history.
E-mail Jim Salisbury at jsalisbury@comcastsportsnet.com.