Phillies Baseball

The Phillies knocked the Brewers out of the playoffs with a 6-2 win Sunday in Milwaukee.

The Phillies won their NLDS series 3 games to 1 and advance to the NLCS for the first time since 1993 and will face the Dodgers.

Joe Blanton threw 6-plus strong innings in the win. He allowed only one run on five hits while striking out seven.

Ryan Madson pitched two innings in relief, allowing only one run and Brad Lidge pitched a scoreless ninth to nail down the win.

The National League Championship Series begins on Thursday. It will more than likely feature Cole Hamels against Derek Lowe in Philadelphia.

With the Cubs being eliminated from the playoffs the Phillies now hold home field advantage for the final round of the National League playoffs since they finished the regular season with a better record than the Dodgers.

The first two games are at Citizens Bank Park, the middle three are in L.A. and the final two (if necessary) are back in South Philadelphia.

Charlie Manuel will need to submit a roster for the NLCS but it shouldn’t have any changes from the opening round. Catcher Lou Marson and reliever Rudy Seanez will still be traveling with the team in the event of an injury to one of the players on the roster. They can be activated if need be and have to be swapped pitcher for pitcher or player for player and it needs to be approved by the league.

On a brief side note, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig threw out the first pitch of Sunday’s game in Milwaukee and received a standing ovation.  Selig is a former owner of the Brewers franchise.