ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -Ryan Madson entered in the eighth inning. Three up, three down.
Next, Brad Lidge got the ball. Still perfect.
When the Philadelphia Phillies have a late lead, it’s lights out.
Madson and Lidge combined for two overpowering innings of relief Wednesday night, preserving Philadelphia’s 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bays Rays in the World Series opener.
It was the latest brilliant performance by this dominant bullpen, the biggest reason the Phillies are 87-0 this year when leading after eight innings – including eight postseason wins.
“Top to bottom, this is the best bullpen I’ve ever been a part of,” said Lidge, the All-Star closer who has converted all 47 save chances this year, including six in the postseason. “There’s just not a weak link in our chain.”
No wonder manager Charlie Manuel pulled ace Cole Hamels after seven innings and 102 pitches, even though he had retired his last five batters.
l – but not Philadelphia’s bullpen.
“They came up big as usual,” Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino said. “Hand it over to Madson and Lights Out Lidge.”
Madson came in to protect a one-run lead. He retired Jason Bartlett on a foul popup, got leadoff batter Akinori Iwamura on a fly to right and struck out B.J. Upton with a deceptive offspeed pitch.
Lidge entered in the ninth and threw a steady diet of nasty sliders, striking out sluggers Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria before Carl Crawford fouled out.
“He lived up to the hype,” Pena said. “He’s got a great slider. We knew that coming in. Obviously, it’s a lot different when you actually see it.”
Madson and Lidge shut down a Rays team that mounted 45 comeback victories this season and won 21 games in its last at-bat. Tampa Bay came from behind in four of seven playoff wins.
Not against these guys.
Phillies relievers have given up just six earned runs in 30 2-3 innings this postseason for a 1.76 ERA. That’s an impressive improvement even from the regular season, when they led the NL in bullpen ERA at 3.22 and winning percentage (.589).
.’ … It’s had a trickle-down effect.”
Madson thinks Rollins is right about Lidge’s leadership.
“That’s your boss out there and you don’t want to get him mad,” Madson said. “You’ve got to do your job and get him the ball because you know once you give it to him you’ll be in a good situation.”
And it’s not just Madson and Lidge prospering for the Phillies. Left-handers J.C. Romero and Scott Eyre have been effective, along with righties Chad Durbin and Clay Condrey.
Six pitchers had at least one save for Philadelphia this season.
“They all get along very well. You never see any little spats or bickering. They all care about each other and how they do,” starting pitcher Jamie Moyer said. “They all pull for each other, and that’s important. It’s just a pretty special situation.”
Somewhere, Tug McGraw must be smiling.
When Lidge was acquired from Houston in an offseason trade, some thought he would crumble under the pressure in Philadelphia. His performance had dropped off after St. Louis slugger Albert Pujols hit a mammoth homer off him to win Game 5 of the 2005 NL championship series.
“That made me very hungry to get back in the postseason,” Lidge said.
Once he found a new home, the right-hander put together a great season. He earned his 12th career postseason save Wednesday night – first in the World Series.
ing the benefits,” Rollins said.
While Lidge has been untouchable all year, Madson’s resurgence in the setup role has been a key for the Phillies.
Getting more zip on his fastball than in the past, the skinny right-hander has allowed only two earned runs in his past 22 appearances spanning 24 1-3 innings. And he’s yielded one earned run over 10 innings in eight postseason games.
“Just focus and preparation and confidence,” he explained. “Good defense. Luck. Want me to keep going?”
Nope, that’ll do it. The results speak for themselves.
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