2010 National League Championship Series

Game 1

Saturday, October 16, 2010 — 7:30 p.m. (EDT

Eastern Time Zone

The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...

) at Citizens Bank Park

Citizens Bank Park

Citizens Bank Park is a 43,647-seat baseball park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, and home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Citizens Bank Park opened on April 3, 2004, and hosted its first regular season baseball game on April 12 of the same year, with the...

in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

In one of the most touted postseason pitching matchups in recent history, two former Cy Young Award winners faced off: Roy Halladay

Roy Halladay

Harry Leroy "Roy" Halladay III , nicknamed "Doc", is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies...

for the Phillies and Tim Lincecum

Tim Lincecum

Timothy Leroy Lincecum is an American professional baseball starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He was nicknamed "The Freak" and "Big Time Timmy Jim" and "The Franchise." He throws right-handed and bats left-handed....

for the Giants. The Giants jumped out to a 1–0 lead in the top of the third inning on a Cody Ross

Cody Ross

Cody Joseph Ross is an American professional baseball outfielder. He has played with the Detroit Tigers , Los Angeles Dodgers , Cincinnati Reds , and Florida Marlins and San Francisco Giants...

solo home run, Halladay's first hit allowed in the postseason. The Phillies quickly tied the game up in the bottom half of the same inning on a home run from catcher Carlos Ruiz.

The game remained tied until the top of the fifth inning, when Ross belted his second homer of the game, another solo shot, giving San Francisco a 2–1 lead. The Giants extended that lead to 4–1 the following inning on a string of three two-out hits, namely, a single by Buster Posey

Buster Posey

Gerald Dempsey "Buster" Posey III is a catcher for the San Francisco Giants. He was drafted by the Giants fifth overall in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft....

, a double by former Phillie Pat Burrell

Pat Burrell

Patrick Brian "Pat" Burrell , nicknamed "Pat the Bat," is a Major League Baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. He stands tall and weighs . He bats and throws right-handed...

, and a single from Juan Uribe

Juan Uribe

Juan C. Uribe Tena is a Dominican Republic professional baseball infielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball. He began his career in 1997 when he was signed to the Colorado Rockies, and played with the team until December 3, 2003 when he was traded to the Chicago White Sox...

. In the bottom of the same inning, the sixth, the Phillies closed the deficit to 4–3 on a two-run blast from Jayson Werth

Jayson Werth

Jayson Richard Gowan Werth is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball. He has previously played for the Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Philadelphia Phillies. He bats and throws right-handed.-Background:Werth was born in...

.

Lincecum and Halladay then each pitched a scoreless half of the seventh before turning the game over to their respective bullpens. Southpaw Javier López

Javier López

Javier Alfonso López is a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball for the San Francisco Giants. López previously played for the Colorado Rockies , Arizona Diamondbacks , Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates . He is a left-handed specialist known for his sidearm delivery...

retired the first two Philadelphia batters of the eighth inning, then handed the ball to the Giants closer Brian Wilson, who recorded a four-out save, striking out Shane Victorino

Shane Victorino

Shane Patrick Victorino is an outfielder in Major League Baseball who plays for the Philadelphia Phillies. He is a switch-hitter and throws right-handed.-Career:...

to end the game.

Game 2

Sunday, October 17, 2010 — 8:00 p.m. (EDT

Eastern Time Zone

) at Citizens Bank Park

Citizens Bank Park

in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In the first inning Chase Utley

Chase Utley

Chase Cameron Utley is a second baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball. A native of the Greater Los Angeles area, he was raised in the city of Long Beach. He was a star baseball player at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, before moving on to UCLA...

walked, then stole second. Mike Fontenot

Mike Fontenot

Michael Eugene "Mike" Fontenot is a Major League Baseball infielder for the San Francisco Giants.-High school career:Mike Fontenot was a standout for Salmen High School in Slidell, Louisiana...

misfielded Plácido Polanco

Plácido Polanco

Plácido Enrique Polanco is a Major League Baseball player who plays for the Philadelphia Phillies and has also played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers. He is a third baseman, but in the past has played second base and shortstop...

's grounder and everybody advanced. Ryan Howard

Ryan Howard

Ryan James Howard is a Major League Baseball first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies. Nicknamed "The Big Piece", Howard stands and weighs . He bats and throws left-handed....

and Jimmy Rollins

Jimmy Rollins

James Calvin "Jimmy" Rollins , nicknamed "J-Roll", is an All-Star and former MVP shortstop, who most recently played for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball's National League....

both walked, bringing in Utley for the first run. Oswalt no-hit the Giants through the fifth inning until Cody Ross

Cody Ross

Cody Joseph Ross is an American professional baseball outfielder. He has played with the Detroit Tigers , Los Angeles Dodgers , Cincinnati Reds , and Florida Marlins and San Francisco Giants...

hit a home run, his third in two games. This is the third straight game in which Ross' solo home run broke a no-hitter. In the bottom inning, Shane Victorino

Shane Victorino

Shane Patrick Victorino is an outfielder in Major League Baseball who plays for the Philadelphia Phillies. He is a switch-hitter and throws right-handed.-Career:...

doubled, then advanced to third on a Utley fly out. Polanco's fly out brought in the second Phillie run.

In the bottom of the seventh inning Oswalt hit a single up the middle. That knocked Sánchez out of the game bringing in Ramón Ramírez. Oswalt then advanced on a Victorino sacrifice bunt. Polanco then ripped a single up the middle bringing in Oswalt. Ramírez was brought down and in came Jeremy Affeldt

Jeremy Affeldt

Jeremy David Affeldt is an American baseball professional pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He throws and bats left-handed. Previously, he has played for the Kansas City Royals, the Colorado Rockies, and the Cincinnati Reds....

. Affeldt struck out Howard then intentionally walked Jayson Werth

Jayson Werth

. Giants manager Bruce Bochy

Bruce Bochy

Bruce Douglas Bochy is the manager of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to joining the Giants, Bochy had been the manager of the San Diego Padres for twelve seasons. Bochy is the only former Padres player to serve as the team's manager. He has participated in all five postseason appearances in...

then sent in Santiago Casilla

Santiago Casilla

Santiago Casilla is a right-handed Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the San Francisco Giants.-Baseball career:...

to face Jimmy Rollins. Rollins ripped a three-run double off Casilla, extending the Phillies' lead to five.

With a five-run lead, Oswalt pitched a scoreless eighth. He struck out nine while allowing three hits and walking three.

Game 3

Tuesday, October 19, 2010 — 4:00 p.m. (EDT

Eastern Time Zone

) at AT&T Park

AT&T Park

AT&T Park is a ballpark located in the South Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Located at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, at the corner of Third and King Streets, it has served as the home of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball since 2000....

in San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

With the series shifting to San Francisco for a day Game 3, and the series tied 1–1, both teams again threw very good starting pitchers, 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels

Cole Hamels

Colbert Michael "Cole" Hamels is a left-handed starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. Hamels throws a four-seam fastball, a circle changeup, a curveball, and a cut fastball, which he added in 2010...

for Philadelphia and All-Star Matt Cain

Matt Cain

Matthew Thomas Cain is an American Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants...

for San Francisco. Both starters started out strong, dominating the first three innings. In the fourth inning, however, the Giants broke though against Hamels. Edgar Rentería

Edgar Rentería

Edgar Enrique Rentería Herazo , nicknamed "The Barranquilla Baby," is a Colombian professional baseball shortstop. He throws and bats right-handed. Previously, he has played for the Florida Marlins, the St...

led off with a base hit to right, and was bunted to second by Freddy Sanchez

Freddy Sanchez

Frederick Phillip "Freddy" Sanchez, Jr. is a Major League Baseball second baseman for the San Francisco Giants. Sanchez has previously played for the Boston Red Sox and the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Francisco Giants...

. Following Buster Posey

Buster Posey

Gerald Dempsey "Buster" Posey III is a catcher for the San Francisco Giants. He was drafted by the Giants fifth overall in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft....

's strikeout and Pat Burrell

Pat Burrell

Patrick Brian "Pat" Burrell , nicknamed "Pat the Bat," is a Major League Baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. He stands tall and weighs . He bats and throws right-handed...

's walk, Cody Ross ripped a fastball down the left field line for an RBI single, his fourth RBI of the NLCS. Aubrey Huff

Aubrey Huff

Aubrey Lewis Huff III is a Major League Baseball first baseman with the San Francisco Giants. He debuted in 2000 with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and later played for the Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, and Detroit Tigers. He is the starting first baseman for the San Francisco Giants who won the...

then singled off the glove of a diving Chase Utley

Chase Utley

, bringing in Burrell and making the score 2–0, Giants.

The Giants added a third run in the next inning, when Aaron Rowand

Aaron Rowand

Aaron Ryan Rowand is an outfielder in Major League Baseball who has played for the San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies. He was released by the Giants in September 2011.-Early life and college career:...

led off the inning with a double to left and scored on a Sanchez single that fooled Chase Utley. With a 3–0 lead, Matt Cain cruised through the Phillies lineup. In the seventh inning, he ran into trouble, but was able to get Shane Victorino

Shane Victorino

Shane Patrick Victorino is an outfielder in Major League Baseball who plays for the Philadelphia Phillies. He is a switch-hitter and throws right-handed.-Career:...

to groundout to Sanchez with the bases loaded for the third out. Javier López

Javier López

relieved Cain and tossed a perfect eighth, striking out Ryan Howard

Ryan Howard

Ryan James Howard is a Major League Baseball first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies. Nicknamed "The Big Piece", Howard stands and weighs . He bats and throws left-handed....

to end the inning.

Brian Wilson closed out the game by getting Raúl Ibáñez

Raúl Ibáñez

Raúl Javier Ibáñez is an American Major League Baseball outfielder.Over his career, Ibáñez, who did not make 500 plate appearances until the age of thirty, has batted .280 with 377 doubles, 252 home runs and 1054 runs batted in over sixteen Major League seasons...

to ground into a double play with one out and Jimmy Rollins

Jimmy Rollins

James Calvin "Jimmy" Rollins , nicknamed "J-Roll", is an All-Star and former MVP shortstop, who most recently played for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball's National League....

at first. The Giants now had a 2–1 NLCS advantage.

Game 4

Wednesday, October 20, 2010 — 7:30 p.m. (EDT

Eastern Time Zone

) at AT&T Park

AT&T Park

in San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

Game 4 was a match up of both teams' fourth starters, 21-year-old Madison Bumgarner

Madison Bumgarner

Madison Bumgarner is an American baseball pitcher with the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. Bumgarner is listed 6'5" and 225 pounds and has a 90–95 MPH fastball...

for the Giants and Joe Blanton

Joe Blanton

Joseph Matthew Blanton is a starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball.-College career:...

for the Phillies. The Giants scored first, when Buster Posey

Buster Posey

Gerald Dempsey "Buster" Posey III is a catcher for the San Francisco Giants. He was drafted by the Giants fifth overall in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft....

lined an RBI single into center field that scored Freddy Sanchez

Freddy Sanchez

. Posey struck again in the third inning, scoring Huff on a two-out double over the head of left fielder Ben Francisco

Ben Francisco

Louis Ben Francisco is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies. He bats and throws right handed.-Early life:...

, increasing the Giants' lead to 2–0.

The Phillies' offense broke through in the fifth inning against Bumgarner. Back-to-back singles by Francisco and Carlos Ruiz opened the inning, and Blanton hit a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners into scoring position. Shane Victorino

Shane Victorino

Shane Patrick Victorino is an outfielder in Major League Baseball who plays for the Philadelphia Phillies. He is a switch-hitter and throws right-handed.-Career:...

then hit a single up the middle, scoring Francisco; however, Ruiz was thrown out at home plate by Giants center fielder Aaron Rowand

Aaron Rowand

. Chase Utley

Chase Utley

singled to right and Santiago Casilla

Santiago Casilla

Santiago Casilla is a right-handed Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the San Francisco Giants.-Baseball career:...

was brought in to face Plácido Polanco

Plácido Polanco

. Polanco doubled in both runners, giving the Phillies a 3–2 lead. Ryan Howard

Ryan Howard

Ryan James Howard is a Major League Baseball first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies. Nicknamed "The Big Piece", Howard stands and weighs . He bats and throws left-handed....

was then intentionally walked

Intentional base on balls

In baseball, an intentional base on balls, usually referred to as an intentional walk and denoted in baseball scorekeeping by IBB, is a walk issued to a batter by a pitcher with the intent of removing the batter's opportunity to swing at the pitched ball...

and Jayson Werth

Jayson Werth

was hit by a pitch

Hit by pitch

In baseball, hit by pitch , or hit batsman , is a batter or his equipment being hit in some part of his body by a pitch from the pitcher.-Official rule:...

. Facing Jimmy Rollins

Jimmy Rollins

James Calvin "Jimmy" Rollins , nicknamed "J-Roll", is an All-Star and former MVP shortstop, who most recently played for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball's National League....

, Casilla threw a wild pitch

Wild pitch

In baseball, a wild pitch is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, perhaps even the batter-runner on strike three or ball four, to advance.A wild pitch usually...

, bringing home a fourth Phillies run. Casilla finally ended the inning by striking out Rollins.

The Giants got a run back on an Aubrey Huff single up the middle in the bottom of the fifth, which scored Andrés Torres

Andres Torres

Andrés "Yungo" Torres Jr. is a Major League Baseball outfielder with the San Francisco Giants. He has also played for the Detroit Tigers and the Texas Rangers.-Early life:...

. In the sixth inning, Pat Burrell

Pat Burrell

Patrick Brian "Pat" Burrell , nicknamed "Pat the Bat," is a Major League Baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. He stands tall and weighs . He bats and throws right-handed...

drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third on a Cody Ross

Cody Ross

Cody Joseph Ross is an American professional baseball outfielder. He has played with the Detroit Tigers , Los Angeles Dodgers , Cincinnati Reds , and Florida Marlins and San Francisco Giants...

double. Pablo Sandoval

Pablo Sandoval

Pablo E. Sandoval , nicknamed Kung Fu Panda, is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. Sandoval is a 5'11", 237 pound switch hitter. He was born left handed, but did not want to have to play outfield all of his career. He therefore...

came to the plate and appeared to double down the right field line, but the ball was called foul. Four pitches later, Sandoval lined a two-run double into the left-center field gap, scoring Burrell and Ross, and giving the Giants a 5–4 lead.

The Phillies tied it in the top of the eighth with back-to-back doubles by Howard and Werth. Giants reliever Sergio Romo

Sergio Romo

Sergio Francisco Romo is a American right-handed professional baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League baseball.-Early life:Romo was born in Brawley, California to Mexican immigrant parents...

recovered and retired the next three Phillies batters to strand Werth at second. Going to the ninth inning, the game was tied 5–5. In the top of the ninth, Giants closer Brian Wilson threw a 1-2-3 inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, Game 2 winner, Roy Oswalt, was brought in as a reliever. Sanchez lined out to right field to start the inning, but Huff singled past a diving Howard immediately afterwards. Posey followed with a base hit to right—his fourth hit of the game—moving Huff to third with only one out. Juan Uribe

Juan Uribe

, pinch hitting

Pinch hitter

In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead ; the manager may use any player that has not yet entered the game as a substitute...

in the pitcher's spot, followed with a sacrifice fly

Sacrifice fly

In baseball, a sacrifice fly is a batted ball that satisfies four criteria:* There are fewer than two outs when the ball is hit.* The ball is hit to the outfield....

to left field, allowing Huff to tag up

Tag up

In baseball, to tag up is to retouch or remain on the runner's time-of-pitch base until the ball either lands in fair territory or is first touched by a fielder. A runner must, by rule, tag up only when a batted ball is caught by a fielder . After a legal tag up, even if the ball was caught in...

and score the winning run. The victory gave the Giants a commanding 3–1 series lead.

Game 5

Thursday, October 21, 2010 — 7:30 p.m. (EDT

Eastern Time Zone

) at AT&T Park

AT&T Park

in San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

Game 5 saw a rematch of Game 1's starting pitchers: Roy Halladay

Roy Halladay

Harry Leroy "Roy" Halladay III , nicknamed "Doc", is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies...

of the Phillies and Tim Lincecum

Tim Lincecum

of the Giants. In the bottom of the first inning Halladay walked

Base on balls

A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...

leadoff hitter Andrés Torres

Andres Torres

Andrés "Yungo" Torres Jr. is a Major League Baseball outfielder with the San Francisco Giants. He has also played for the Detroit Tigers and the Texas Rangers.-Early life:...

. Freddy Sanchez

Freddy Sanchez

followed up with a single, advancing Torres to third. Aubrey Huff

Aubrey Huff

lined out to first baseman Ryan Howard

Ryan Howard

Ryan James Howard is a Major League Baseball first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies. Nicknamed "The Big Piece", Howard stands and weighs . He bats and throws left-handed....

, followed by a Buster Posey

Buster Posey

Gerald Dempsey "Buster" Posey III is a catcher for the San Francisco Giants. He was drafted by the Giants fifth overall in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft....

RBI groundout to second.

The Phillies struck in the top of the third inning. Raúl Ibáñez

Raúl Ibáñez

singled, and Carlos Ruiz was hit by a pitch

Hit by pitch

In baseball, hit by pitch , or hit batsman , is a batter or his equipment being hit in some part of his body by a pitch from the pitcher.-Official rule:...

. Halladay then bunted the ball, which dropped in the home plate area, and the ball was ruled a fair ball

Fair ball

In baseball, a fair ball is a batted ball that entitles the batter to attempt to reach first base. In order for a batted ball to be fair, it must be hit in such a way that it:...

by home plate umpire

Umpire (baseball)

In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump...

Jeff Nelson

Jeff Nelson (umpire)

Jeffrey Brian Nelson is an umpire in Major League Baseball who was named to the National League staff prior to the 1999 season, and has worked throughout both major leagues since 2000. Nelson, a graduate of Bethel University in St...

. Giants catcher Posey quickly picked up the ball and threw to third baseman Pablo Sandoval

Pablo Sandoval

in an attempt to throw out Ibáñez; however, Sandoval, who was playing shallowly in anticipation of the bunt, misjudged the position of third base while retreating to the bag, allowing Ibáñez to reach safely. Meanwhile, Halladay, thinking the ball was foul

Foul ball

In baseball, a foul ball is a batted ball that:* Settles on foul territory between home and first base or between home and third base, or* Bounds past first or third base on or over foul territory, or...

, did not begin his run to first base until after Ibáñez was ruled safe, and Sandoval had enough time to throw the ball to first base to retire Halladay. Television replays showed the ball was in foul territory when Posey picked it up, which means it should have been ruled a foul ball.

Then, Giants first baseman Aubrey Huff

Aubrey Huff

committed an error

Error (baseball)

In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...

on a grounder by Shane Victorino

Shane Victorino

Shane Patrick Victorino is an outfielder in Major League Baseball who plays for the Philadelphia Phillies. He is a switch-hitter and throws right-handed.-Career:...

, scoring two runners. Plácido Polanco

Plácido Polanco

added to the lead with an RBI single.

In the bottom of the fourth with one out Pat Burrell

Pat Burrell

Patrick Brian "Pat" Burrell , nicknamed "Pat the Bat," is a Major League Baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. He stands tall and weighs . He bats and throws right-handed...

hit a double to left and scored on a Cody Ross

Cody Ross

Cody Joseph Ross is an American professional baseball outfielder. He has played with the Detroit Tigers , Los Angeles Dodgers , Cincinnati Reds , and Florida Marlins and San Francisco Giants...

RBI double.

Phillies relievers José Contreras

José Contreras

José Ariel Contreras Camejo is a right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who is currently with the Philadelphia Phillies...

and J. C. Romero combined to shut the Giants down in the seventh inning. Then Phillies middle reliever Ryan Madson

Ryan Madson

Ryan Michael Madson , nicknamed "Mad Dog", is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher, who is a currently a free agent...

pitched a perfect eighth inning, striking out Posey, Burrell, and Ross.

In the top of the ninth Jayson Werth

Jayson Werth

hit a solo homer off Ramón Ramírez to extend the lead to two.

Phillies closer Brad Lidge

Brad Lidge

Bradley Thomas "Brad" Lidge is a reliever who is currently a free agent. Nicknamed "Lights Out", he is the all-time leader in strikeouts per nine innings among pitchers with at least 200 appearances in their career...

pitched a perfect ninth inning to collect his 12th postseason save out of 12 opportunities with Philadelphia (and the 18th of his career).

Game 6

Saturday, October 23, 2010 — 7:30 p.m. (EDT

Eastern Time Zone

) at Citizens Bank Park

Citizens Bank Park

in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

San Francisco starter Jonathan Sánchez

Jonathan Sanchez

Jonathan O. Sánchez is a Puerto Rican Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals....

had a poor outing. In the first inning, he walked Plácido Polanco

Plácido Polanco

and threw a wild pitch

Wild pitch

to Chase Utley

Chase Utley

that advanced Polanco to second base. Polanco then scored on an Utley RBI double, and Utley himself scored later in the inning on a sacrifice fly

Sacrifice fly

In baseball, a sacrifice fly is a batted ball that satisfies four criteria:* There are fewer than two outs when the ball is hit.* The ball is hit to the outfield....

by Jayson Werth

Jayson Werth

.

San Francisco rallied against Phillies starter Roy Oswalt

Roy Oswalt

Roy Edward Oswalt is an American Major League Baseball pitcher and Olympic gold medalist who is currently a free agent. Oswalt, a slender six-foot right-handed starting pitcher, is currently in his eleventh major league season...

in the third inning. Sánchez singled off his opposite number and advanced to second base on a long fly ball from Andrés Torres

Andres Torres

Andrés "Yungo" Torres Jr. is a Major League Baseball outfielder with the San Francisco Giants. He has also played for the Detroit Tigers and the Texas Rangers.-Early life:...

that was dropped up against the center field wall by Shane Victorino

Shane Victorino

Shane Patrick Victorino is an outfielder in Major League Baseball who plays for the Philadelphia Phillies. He is a switch-hitter and throws right-handed.-Career:...

. Freddy Sanchez

Freddy Sanchez

bunted the runners over to second and third and Aubrey Huff

Aubrey Huff

hit a single up the middle, which only scored Sánchez as Torres was thrown out at home by Victorino. Huff took second base on the throw home and eventually scored on a throwing error by Polanco to tie the game at 2–2.

Sánchez was still very wild with his command as he walked Polanco and hit

Hit by pitch

In baseball, hit by pitch , or hit batsman , is a batter or his equipment being hit in some part of his body by a pitch from the pitcher.-Official rule:...

Utley to start off the bottom of the third. Utley flipped the ball back towards the mound which led to Sánchez and Utley exchanging hostile words. The confrontation led to both benches clearing

Bench-clearing brawl

A bench-clearing brawl, sometimes known as a basebrawl or a rhubarb, is a form of ritualistic fighting that occurs in sports, most notably baseball and ice hockey, in which every player on both teams leave their dugouts, bullpens, or benches and charge the playing area in order to fight one...

. No one was ejected as a result of the incident, but Sánchez was removed from the game and replaced with Jeremy Affeldt

Jeremy Affeldt

. Affeldt was effective for the Giants, retiring the next three Phillies to end the scoring threat in the third, then throwing a 1-2-3 fourth inning.

In the fifth, Affeldt was relieved by Madison Bumgarner

Madison Bumgarner

Madison Bumgarner is an American baseball pitcher with the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. Bumgarner is listed 6'5" and 225 pounds and has a 90–95 MPH fastball...

. Jimmy Rollins

Jimmy Rollins

James Calvin "Jimmy" Rollins , nicknamed "J-Roll", is an All-Star and former MVP shortstop, who most recently played for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball's National League....

singled and advanced to third on a two-out double from Ryan Howard

Ryan Howard

Ryan James Howard is a Major League Baseball first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies. Nicknamed "The Big Piece", Howard stands and weighs . He bats and throws left-handed....

. After walking Werth intentionally, Bumgarner got out of the jam by getting Victorino to ground out with the bases loaded.

Oswalt got into a jam himself in the top of the sixth, when Cody Ross

Cody Ross

Cody Joseph Ross is an American professional baseball outfielder. He has played with the Detroit Tigers , Los Angeles Dodgers , Cincinnati Reds , and Florida Marlins and San Francisco Giants...

doubled and Juan Uribe

Juan Uribe

was hit by a pitch. Oswalt got out of the jam by getting Edgar Renteria to ground into a double play. Bumgarner faced yet another jam in the bottom of the sixth, as Raúl Ibáñez

Raúl Ibáñez

doubled to lead off the inning and was bunted over to third by Carlos Ruiz. Bumgarner then struck out pinch hitter Ben Francisco

Ben Francisco

Louis Ben Francisco is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies. He bats and throws right handed.-Early life:...

and induced a fly ball out from Rollins to end the threat once again.

The Giants finally broke through in the top of the eighth, when Uribe hit an opposite field home run

Home run

In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

off Philadelphia reliever Ryan Madson

Ryan Madson

Ryan Michael Madson , nicknamed "Mad Dog", is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher, who is a currently a free agent...

. Tim Lincecum

Tim Lincecum

, who was the Giants' starting pitcher in Games 1 and 5, then entered the game in a relief role to pitch the eighth inning. Lincecum struck out Werth, but gave up back-to-back singles to Victorino and Ibáñez. Giants manager Bruce Bochy

Bruce Bochy

promptly brought in closer Brian Wilson for a five-out save. Phillies catcher Ruiz hit a line drive right at Giants first baseman Huff, who caught the ball and easily doubled off Victorino at second to get out of the inning.

Wilson got pinch hitter Ross Gload

Ross Gload

Ross Peter Gload is a first baseman and outfielder who is currently a free agent.-High school/college career:...

to ground out to start the bottom of the ninth, but then walked Rollins to put the tying run on base. Polanco grounded into a fielder's choice

Fielder's choice

In baseball, fielder's choice is a term used to refer to a variety of plays involving an offensive player reaching a base due to the defense's attempt to put out another baserunner, or the defensive team's indifference to his advance...

, and Rollins was thrown out at second. Utley then drew a walk, which put the winning run on base. With a full count

Full count

In baseball and softball, a full count is the common name for a count where the batter has three balls and two strikes. The term may derive from older scoreboards, which had three spaces for balls and two for strikes, since this is the maximum number of each that can be achieved before some type...

and the runners moving on the pitch, Brian Wilson struck Ryan Howard out looking to end the game and send the Giants to their first World Series in eight years.

Composite line score

2010 NLCS (4–2): San Francisco Giants
2010 San Francisco Giants season
The San Francisco Giants are an American Major League Baseball team. Their 2010 season marked their 128th year in Major League Baseball, and their fifty-third year in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season...

over Philadelphia Phillies

2010 Philadelphia Phillies season

The Philadelphia Phillies' 2010 season was the 128th season in the history of the franchise. The team was the two-time defending National League champion, having appeared in the 2008 and 2009 World Series...

Broadcasting

Fox televised the NLCS in the United States, with Joe Buck

Joe Buck

Joseph Francis "Joe" Buck is an American sportscaster and the son of legendary sportscaster Jack Buck. He has won numerous Sports Emmy Awards for his play-by-play work with Fox Sports.-Education:...

providing play-by-play and Tim McCarver

Tim McCarver

James Timothy "Tim" McCarver is an American former Major League Baseball catcher, and a current sportscaster in residence for Fox Sports.-Playing career:...

as commentator. Every pitch of 2010 NLCS was also broadcast on ESPN Radio with Dan Shulman

Dan Shulman

Daniel "Dan" Shulman is a Canadian sportscaster, currently employed with the American network ESPN as well as Canadian network TSN....

(play-by-play) and Dave Campbell (color commentator). The series did not air in Cablevision homes after News Corporation

News Corporation

News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...

, Fox's parent company, pulled station WTXF

WTXF-TV

WTXF-TV, virtual channel 29 , is an owned-and-operated station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...

on October 16 as the result of a carriage dispute with Cablevision.

External links

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