Hamels leads Phils to NLDS sweep

CINCINNATI - If it all looked so familiar, well, there was good reason. In this world of impulse, it might seem like forever ago that Cole Hamels was on the mound leading the Phillies to the next round of the postseason. Really, though, it has only been 2 years. And if the slender lefty's lost season of 2009 was a prerequisite for the pitcher who emerged, then maybe it was all worth it.

Because last night, in a 2-0 victory over the Reds that sent the Phillies to their third consecutive National League Championship Series, Hamels was as good as he has ever been.

He pitched nine scoreless innings, allowed five hits, and struck out nine while going wire-to-wire to lead the Phillies to their first-ever postseason series sweep.

For 3-plus hours on a picture-perfect autumn night, he made the slimmest of leads seem like the widest of chasms. And now, the Phillies are back where they normally are this time of year: one step away from the World Series.

They will not learn the identity of their NLCS opponent until tonight at the earliest. That's when the Braves and Giants play Game 4 of the other National League Division Series in Atlanta. A win by the Giants, who lead 2-1, would secure their berth. A win by the Braves, and the series will head to a decisive fifth game on Wednesday in San Francisco.

Whatever happens, the NLCS will start Saturday in Citizens Bank Park.

Not long ago, the Phillies were engaged in a tight fight with the Braves for the National League East title. But recent history suggests they have a vested interest in the success of their division rivals.Put simply, the Phillies have not played well against the Giants, particularly at AT&T Park, and particularly against two of the starters they would likely face in the seven-game series. Dating to the start of the 2008 season, the Phillies are 9-10 against the Giants, including 6-6 this season. Of those 19 games, they have scored fewer than four runs in 12. They have struggled particularly at AT&T Park, where they have lost seven of their last nine while averaging 2.8 runs per game. Meanwhile, the Phillies have defeated the Braves in five of their last six games, including a pivotal sweep of a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park in late September that propelled them to the National League East title.

The Phillies entered last night having won five straight potential clinchers. And thanks to a timely error, a timely homer, and a dynamite performance from Hamels, that number became six. The Phillies got their first run of Game 3 the same way they got five of their seven runs in Game 2: courtesy of a Reds miscue. This time, it came in the first inning, when shortstop Orlando Cabrera made a high throw on what should have been an inning-ending groundout by Jayson Werth, pulling Joey Votto off the first-base bag. The throw not only sent Phillies first-base coach Davey Lopes tumbling to the turf as he ducked-and-covered, it allowed Placido Polanco to score the game's first run (and the Phils' sixth unearned run of the series).

It was an inauspicious start for the Reds, who had committed four errors in Game 2 to gift-wrap a come-from-behind victory for the Phillies. Still, the Phillies managed just one more run, a solo homer by Chase Utley on an 0-1 pitch from Reds starter Johnny Cueto in the fifth inning. But it was all Hamels would need. The 26-year-old lefthander turned in a performance the Phillies had not seen since Game 1 of the 2008 NL Division Series, when he held the Brewers to two hits and one walk while striking out nine in eight scoreless innings.

Hamels forced the Reds' hand all night. A testament to his dominance came when Reds manager Dusty Baker removed Cueto from the game for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the fifth, despite the fact that the young righty had thrown only 83 pitches while holding the Phillies to one earned run on five hits in five innings.

The Reds needed every out. But Hamels would not yield. After allowing a leadoff single to Brandon Phillips in the ninth, he got Votto to ground into a doubleplay, then struck out former Phil Scott Rolen to clinch the victory. Hamels struggled through a calamitous postseason in 2009. He failed to complete six innings in any one of his four starts, allowing 16 runs in 19 innings. This after allowing just seven runs in 35 innings over five starts in 2008. The Phillies went 5-0 in his starts that fall en route to their first World Series title in 28 years. But he was a different pitcher during the regular season, going 12-11 with a career-low 3.06 ERA in 33 starts, 1 year after going 10-11 with a 4.32 ERA in 32 starts. And that difference carried over to the postseason.

Phillers

Chase Utley's home run in the top of the fifth on an 0-1 count carried just over thewall in left-center field. A Reds fan prevented centerfielder Drew Stubbs from attempting a highlight-reel, over-the-fence grab, reaching up to catch the ball as Stubbs' glove hung in the air. It was reviewed, but quickly upheld. Utley is now the first player in Phillies history with 10 career postseason home runs. He had been tied with Jayson Werth at nine.