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)

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Raul Ibanez denies all steroids allegations (Image: Zuma Press)

One glance at his stats and there’s no wonder why the 37-year-old Ibanez is generating talk about his great season. He’s hitting .327 with 20 homers, 55 RBIs, 47 runs and 15 doubles. His OBP is .384 and his OPS is 1.066.

According to the blog post, these numbers may point to something shady:

Maybe the 37-year old Ibanez trained differently this offseason with the pressure of joining the Phillies’ great lineup and is in the best shape he’s ever been in.

And maybe that training included…

Well, you know where that one was going, but I’d prefer to leave it as unstated speculation.

Ibanez had a very strong reaction to that notion when he spoke with the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Said Ibanez: “You can have my urine, my hair, my blood, my stool — anything you can test.”

And if he tested positive?

“I’ll give you back every dime I’ve ever made,” answered Ibanez.

Ibanez also had some strong words aimed at bloggers in general.

“Make them accountable,” Ibanez told the Inquirer. “There should be more credibility than some 42-year-old blogger typing in his mother’s basement. It demeans everything you’ve done with one stroke of the pen.”

Personally, I’m not typing this in my mother’s basement, I don’t use a pen to type and I also don’t think Ibanez is on steroids. I think he’s a late bloomer who is feasting due to the fact that he has tons of protection around him in the middle of Philadelphia’s lineup. Plus, he won’t be able to keep up this pace.

As for the blogger, I don’t blame him for the speculation. Baseball has made their PED bed and now they have to lie in it.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Raul Ibanez, Philadelphia Philles
The World Series champions added Ibanez over the offseason to get another big bat in their lineup. So far, he’s been a great addition. He already has 20 runs, 19 RBIs and seven homers.

Nick Markakis, Baltimore Orioles
Markakis has been one of the hottest prospects in baseball for years and he is showing why this season. He’s hitting .379 with 25 runs, 24 RBIs and three homers. With solid bats around him in Baltimore, he should continue to produce.

Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles
Markakis’ Orioles teammate is having a very good season. He was a sleeper heading into the season and he’s showing his potential. He has a .432 on-base percentage to go with 26 runs, 18 RBI, four homers and two stolen bases.

Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels
Last season’s big free agent signing, Hunter has helped keep the Angels together this season. He’s stepped into a leadership position on and off the field. Hunter has 20 runs, eight RBI and 16 runs.

Alfonso Soriano, Chicago Cubs
Although his .272 batting average isn’t spectacular, he has 22 runs, 14 RBI, seven homers and four stolen bases. As always, the sky is the limit for Soriano.

Post from: Knuckle Curve