PHILADELPHIA (AP) -Jimmy Rollins joined the Philadelphia Phillies when they were in the dumps. Ryan Howard came here soon after they started learning how to win.
Together, the MVP duo are on the verge of making the losingest team in pro sports World Series champions.
“It’s been a fun time since I’ve gotten to this organization,” Rollins said after Sunday night’s 10-2 victory gave the Phillies a 3-1 lead over the Tampa Bay Rays. “I was drafted back in ’96 and things were definitely a little different. The Phils weren’t used to winning.
“It started with just the mental part of the organization changing, not just going out there to compete. And we were for years, just going out trying to compete. I think the organization, the players got tired of that, and we want to win.”
The Fightin’ Phils are one victory away from capturing the second World Series title in franchise history. Howard and Rollins, the last two NL MVPs, helped them get here.
cored three runs in Game 4. Now, the Phillies have three cracks at getting one more win and breaking the city’s 25-year championship drought.
“I’ve heard about it and I’ve heard about all the losing and all that kind of stuff, but wanted to help change the face of this organization as far as trying to make it a winner,” Howard said. “We’re in that position to change the label and change the face and achieve the goal that we both had set out when we first got to this organization.”
Two games into the Series, Rollins and Howard weren’t doing much to accomplish their goal. Rollins, the dynamic leadoff hitter and slick-fielding shortstop, was 0-for-10. Howard, the big slugger, was 2-for-9 with four strikeouts with runners in scoring position.
Both players spent extra time in the batting cage on Friday’s off-day. They came out swinging at home.
Rollins is 5-for-9 with four runs scored in the past two games. Howard, who led the majors in home runs and RBIs, is 4-for-8 with three homers and six RBIs.
“I knew when we had the off-day here and we spent a little extra time in the cage, that he was figuring it out,” hitting coach Milt Thompson said of Howard. “And he’s the type of player when he gets going – he carried us in September. And he got it going.”
eries game. Lenny Dykstra did it in 1993 against Toronto.
Howard’s five RBIs tied Thompson’s team record for most in a game, also in the ’93 Series. Howard came in with only four postseason RBIs.
“To be able to have two home runs in the World Series is something you dream about as a teenager,” Howard said. “To help my team win, that’s a great feeling.”
Howard broke a 13-game homerless streak, dating to the regular season, with a solo shot off Matt Garza in Saturday night’s 5-4 win.
He was just getting started.
With the Phillies leading this one by a run and stranding runners at an alarming rate, Howard delivered. He drove Andy Sonnanstine’s 2-1 pitch into the left-field seats to put the Phillies ahead 5-1 in the fourth.
Howard, who’s hit plenty of opposite-field shots at Citizens Bank Park, knew it was gone when he made contact. He paused to admire the shot before circling the bases. The towel-waving crowd roared, demanding a curtain call.
If that wasn’t enough, Howard went deep again in the eighth. He drove a two-run shot into the seats in right-center. Overall, he’s batting .353 (6-for-17) in the Series.
“I think a lot was made of it earlier,” Howard said. “You go through funks where things don’t work out.”
146 RBIs, and was at his best when the Phillies needed him most.
Howard batted .352 with 11 homers and a club-record 32 RBIs in September, helping Philadelphia overtake the New York Mets to win its second straight NL East title and making a case for his second MVP award in three seasons.
Add A Comment