After James Loney hit a solo shot in the second inning, the Phillies responded by putting up five runs in the fifth. Three of the runs came on the Ruiz homer, while Ryan Howard added a two-run double. The Dodgers were able to close the gap to 5-4 but then Ibanez authored his three-run blast in the eighth.

In the bottom of the ninth, Brad Lidge was able to pick up his third straight save in the postseason. He gave up a hit to begin the inning but then was able to induce a double play.

Cole Hamels, who was amazing last year in the playoffs, picked up the win despite a so-so effort. In 5.1 innings, he gave up eight hits and four earned runs. Clayton Kershaw got the loss after giving up five earned runs in 4.2 innings.

Game 2 will be played on Friday and will pit Pedro Martinez against Vicente Padilla.

Brad Lidge and Carlos Ruiz celebrate the Game 1 win (Image: Zuma Press)

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With the game tied 5-5 in the top of the ninth, Ryan Howard hit a sacrifice fly to score Jimmy Rollins. In the bottom of the ninth, Phillies fans had to pray. Brad Lidge, Philadelphia’s closer who had a 7.21 ERA and an 0-8 record in the regular season, was able to record the save despite giving up a pair of hits.

In Game 4, the pitching matchup will be fantastic. The Phillies will send Cliff Lee to the mound, while the Rockies will go with Ubaldo Jimenez. The Rockies will need to win to stay alive, while the Phillies will attempt to move one step closer to back-to-back World Series championships.

Ryan Howard - Philadelphia Phillies

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Prior to his return, Lidge will make one final minor league appearance. Reports have him being activated on either Wednesday or Friday.

Last season, Lidge was amazing. He had 48 save opportunities and converted on all 48. This season, Lidge hasn’t been nearly as dominant.

In 28 games, the 6-foot-5 reliever has a 7.27 ERA and has allowed 33 hits and 14 walks in 26 innings of work. He’s also allowed seven homers and has blow six of his 19 save opportunities. His record on the season stands at 0-3.

Even though the Phillies are in first place in the NL East, they need Lidge to return to form if they have any hope of winning back-to-back World Series championships.

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Alex Rodriguez, who was hitless in his first three at-bats of the game, hit a two-run homer to tie the game. A few batters later, Melky Cabrera connected on a game-winning hit to send the Yankees to win another walk-off victory.

With the win, New York has now won 10 out of their last 11 ballgames. They are 25-18 on the year and 14-8 in the new Yankee Stadium. The Yankees sit .5 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East.

Even with the loss, the Phillies are on top of the NL East at 23-18. They had built their lead in this game thanks to a Raul Ibanez solo shot and a John Mayberry three-run homer, but Brad Lidge wasn’t able to hold on to the save.

Last year, Lidge didn’t blow a save all year long. This was already his third blown save and he has a massive ERA of 9.16 to go along with a record of 0-2.

Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees (Image: Newscom)

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On the season, Lincecum went 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA. He also struck out 265 batters in 227 innings pitched. Throw in a WHIP of 1.17 and it’s no wonder how Lincecum was able to win the NL Cy Young Award.

Brandon Webb of the Arizona Diamondbacks finished second and Johan Santana of the New York Mets finished third, while Brad Lidge, CC Sabathia and Ryan Dempster round out the top six. Lincecum received 23 first place votes — far and away the most.

The generously listed 5-foot-11 Giants pitcher is the unquestioned ace of San Francisco’s pitching rotation and has replaced Barry Bonds as the face of the franchise.

Photo credit: Newscom

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What’s also noteworthy and quite comical is the celebration going on in the booth as Kalas proclaims the Phillies the world champions of baseball after Brad Lidge struck out the final batter for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Kalas began broadcasting in 1961 when he was a minor league broadcasting. He moved on to the Houston Astros in 1965 and then to the Phillies in 1971.

Here is the Harry Kalas video and his radio call as the Phillies won the World Series in 2008:

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Philadelphia hadn’t seen a champion since the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers. The wait can now end as the Philadelphia Phillies captured the 2008 World Series by beating the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 on Wednesday night.

This wacky Game 5 had actually started on Monday night. But after bad weather suspended the game until Tuesday and then suspended it again until Wednesday, the two teams were finally able to get back on the field.

With the score tied at 2-2 as the game started, the Phillies struck first in the 6th. Geoff Jenkins doubled and then scored on a Jayson Werth single. Tampa Bay struck right back when Rocco Baldelli hit a solo shot to tie the game a three apiece.

The go ahead run was scored in the 7th inning by the Phillies. Pat Burrell hit a double off the wall and then scored on a Pedro Feliz hit to make the score 4-3. No team would score another run as Brad Lidge saved the game and win the World Series for the Phillies. Lidge, it should be noted, ended the season 48-for-48 in save opportunities.

Cole Hamels was named the MVP of the 2008 World Series as the city of Philadelphia finally felt the championship glory once again.

Phillies fans weren’t bashful in their celebration of the 2008 World Series championship.

Photo: Newscom

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The Phillies did it!

What does it feel like to be a World Series champion? Ask the Philadelphia Phillies, who on Wednesday took home the 2008 World Series title. These Phillies are now the champions of baseball for the year of 2008 and no one can take that away from them.

Ryan Howard has now established himself in history.

You can see Phillies World Series celebration videos here:

Photo: Newscom

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JD Drew was named the MVP of the game, in large part due to his game-tying two-run homer. Even though Albert Pujols was on his side, Brad Lidge gave up the winning sacrifice fly. Here is a video of Lidge talking about giving up the winning run:

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CJ Wilson, Texas Rangers
CJ Wilson has five saves, eight innings pitched and a perfect ERA. While the rest of the bullpen hasn’t been great for the Rangers, Wilson has been lights out.

Joe Nathan, Minnesota Twins
The Twins have gotten great pitching out of their closer this year. Joe Nathan has six saves and has pitched seven shutout innings.

Joakim Soria, Kansas City Royals
The Royals have gotten great pitching from a number of their starters. Joakim Soria is also providing great pitching. Five saves, seven innings, ten strikeouts and a 0.29 WHIP.

Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees
With 6.1 innings pitched and five saves, Mariano Rivera is pitching extremely well. He got off to a slow start last year so this start has to make Yankees fans happy.

Brad Lidge, Philadelphia Phillies
While he only has two saves, Brad Lidge is off to a solid start. He has a 0.00 ERA in six innings.

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