With two outs and two on in the bottom of then ninth, the Phillies trailed by a run. Going up against Jonathan Broxton, Rollins lined a pitch into the outfield that easily scored both Eric Bruntlett and Carlos Ruiz. The 5-4 victory for the Phillies definitely had to take the winds out of the sails for the Dodgers.

Brad Lidge, who got two strikeouts in the top of the ninth, picked up a save. Broxton, who had 36 saves and an ERA of 2.61 in the regular season, got the loss.

The two teams play again on Wednesday. Vicente Padilla will go for the Dodgers, while the Phillies will try to close the series out with Cole Hamels.

Jimmy Rollins - Philadelphia Phillies (Image: Zuma Press)

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Jimmy Rollins Hits Walk-Off Double

Photo by Larry Goren/Icon SMI/ZUMA Press

Back in 2005, she became the first woman to ever interview for a general manager’s position when she interviewed with the Dodgers. Then this past fall, she interviewed for the Seattle Mariners’ GM job.

Kevin Towers was fired two weeks ago from his post as GM for the Padres. And though the interviewing process has been relatively under wraps, it is expected that Jed Hoyer, the assistant GM of the Red Sox, may be the leading candidate.

According to the Associated Press, sources say that Ng interviewed with Padres CEO and vice chairman Jeff Moorad on Saturday. However neither Ng nor Moorad would comment.

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Ng has Chance to be First Female MLB GM

After the Dodgers tied the game on a Chase Utley throwing error, Andre Ethier came to the plate with the bases loaded. Ethier, who has arguably been the Dodgers best player in the postseason, was able to draw a walk to put the Dodgers up for good.

For the Phillies, it was a disappointing end to a game they appeared destined to win. Martinez gave up only two hits in his seven innings of work. Ryan Howard hit a solo shot in the fourth to put Philadelphia on top.

Dodgers catcher Russell Martin said that this game illustrated how Los Angeles typically wins games.

“We go out there and compete, play through 27 outs, and whatever happens, happens,” said Martin. “But we never keep our heads down.”

Game 3 will be played in Philadelphia on Sunday.

Andre Ethier Drew a Bases-Loaded Walk (Image: Zuma Press)

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Bases-Loaded Walk Gives Dodgers the Win

In the regular season, the 37-year-old native of the Dominican Republic was 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA. After staying out of baseball for the beginning of the 2009 campaign, he eventually signed with the Phillies and pitched in nine games.

The Dodgers will be starting their own mid-season acquisition. After going 8-6 with a 4.92 ERA with the Texas Rangers, Vicente Padilla was released. The Dodgers signed him and he went 4-0 with a 3.20 in eight appearances — seven of which were starts.

In Game 2, the Dodgers basically face a must win situation. If they drop both home games, they’ll face the nearly impossible task. To even the series, they’ll have to face a familiar face.

Pedro Martinez will start Game 2 (Image: Zuma Press)

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Pedro Martinez to Start Game 2 for Phillies

In the regular season, Kershaw’s record was only 8-8, however that doesn’t tell the tale of how well he pitched. He had a 2.79 ERA and totaled 185 strikeouts in 171 innings.

In Kershaw’s other postseason start, he gave up two earned runs in 6.2 innings against the St. Louis Cardinals. Versus the Phillies, Kershaw will go against big game pitcher Cole Hamels — and that’s not even mentioning the intimidating batters the Phillies send to the plate.

Last year, Hamels was arguably the Phillies most important player on their way to the World Series championship. This season, he’s been mediocre. That said, he has a chance to redeem himself going up against Kershaw and the Dodgers on Thursday.

Clayton Kershaw - Los Angeles Dodgers (Image: Zuma Press)

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Clayton Kershaw to Start Game 1 for Dodgers

Heading into the top of the ninth inning, the Phillies trailed 4-2. But with two runners on base, Ryan Howard delivered a two-run double to tie the game. Jayson Werth then singled to score Howard and give the Phillies a 5-4 lead.

In the bottom of the ninth, Scott Eyre gave up two hits but Brad Lidge came into the game and picked up his second consecutive save.

In the series, the Phillies had a lot of big performances. Chase Utley hit .429 for the series, while Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino and Werth all hit better than .350.

The Phillies and Dodgers begin their series on Thursday in Los Angeles. Cole Hamels will start for the Phillies, while the Dodgers will go with Randy Wolf.

Ryan Howard lights up a cigar as the Phillies celebrate (Image: Zuma Press)

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Phillies Rally to Beat Rockies and Advance

The Dodgers had many stars on the night. Manny Ramirez was 3-for-5 with two RBIs, while Andre Ethier was 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs. Starting pitcher Vicente Padilla pitched seven innings and gave up four hits and one walk while striking out four.

The Cardinals got two hits from Albert Pujols but that wasn’t enough. St. Louis not long ago was one of the hottest teams in Major League Baseball — but they limped to the finish of the regular season and then their poor play continued in the postseason.

The Dodgers advance to face the winner of the series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Colorado Rockies. Currently the Phillies and Rockies are tied 1-1.

Dodgers Sweep Cardinals (Image: Zuma Press)

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Dodgers Win 5-1, Sweep Cardinals

To get the victory, the Dodgers leaned on 21-year-old starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw. In six innings of work, Kershaw gave up only three hits while striking out ten batters and giving up no runs. The bullpen pitched three perfect innings to give the Dodgers a 5-0 win.

With a record of 94-67, the Dodgers have also been able to clinch home-field advantage in the National League.

Despite the loss, the Rockies are headed to the 2009 baseball playoffs as the NL Wild Card winner. The Dodgers and Rockies will join the St. Louis Cardinals and the reigning World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies in the postseason.

Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers clinch the NL West (Image: Zuma Press)

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Los Angeles Dodgers Clinch NL West

The Rockies latest win came on Thursday when they downed the Cincinnati Reds by a final count of 5-1. After the Reds got up with a run in the first inning, the Rockies got five runs in the third to go up for good. The two big hits for Colorado in the inning were a Jason Giambi two-run double and a two-run homer by Garrett Atkins.

Not only are the Rockies within striking distance in the NL West, they are starting to pull away in the NL Wild Card race. They currently lead the San Francisco Giants by 4.5 games and the Florida Marlins by 5.5 games.

The Rockies next travel to San Diego for a three-game series with the Padres. Then, starting on Monday, the Rockies and Giants square off in a very important series that could go a long ways towards decided the NL Wild Card representative.

Everyone in Colorado is happy (Image: Zuma Press)

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Rockies Putting Pressure on the Dodgers

Thome comes from the Chicago White Sox where he was hitting .249 with 23 homers, 55 runs and 74 RBIs. The 39-year-old has solely been a designated hitter in the last couple years. With that in mind, he may simply be used as a pinch hitter by the Dodgers.

“We’re bring him here to come off the bench and be a great influence in the clubhouse,” said Dodgers GM Ned Colleti. “He’s one of the true great guys in the game.”

In Garland, the Dodgers got a starting pitcher who can step right into their rotation. On the season, he has a 4.29 ERA to go with an 8-11 record. He played this year with the Arizona Diamondbacks after spending last year with the Los Angeles Angels.

The White Sox will received Justin Fuller in return for Thome. Fuller is an infielder in the minors. The Diamondbacks received a player to be named.

Jim Thome - Los Angeles Dodgers (Image: Zuma Press)

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Jim Thome and John Garland to the Dodgers