Chavez Ravine Games Key To Dodgers Series
The Dodgers are great at home. The Phillies are great on the road. Something has got to give.
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LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 08: Andre Ethier #16 of the Los Angeles Dodgers rounds the bases as he shakes hands with third base coach Larry Bowa after Ethier hits a solo home run to center in the fourth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals in Game Two of the NLDS during the 2009 MLB Playoffs at Dodger Stadium on October 8, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
To start the season, the Dodgers won 13 in a row at Dodger Stadium and they went on to have one of the best home records in the game. So far in the playoffs, they have yet to be beat at home (granted, it’s just two games).
The Phillies started the season 20-6 in road games and went on to have the best road record in baseball. Philadelphia won both of its road games in the playoffs.
Come Thursday night at Chavez Ravine, something is going to have to give. Whichever team can control the games at Dodger Stadium should be able to control the series.
That may come down to the simple matter of who wins the battle between the Dodger pitchers and the Phillies hitters. Dodger hurlers love pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium — they had a team ERA of 3.10 in Los Angeles and 3.74 on the road. However the Phillies smashed eight more home runs this season on the road they did in hitter-friendly Citizen Bank Ballpark. They like other parks.
Joe Torre has already announced his first step to countering the Phillies attack — Clayton Kershaw will start game one on the mound for Los Angeles, Randy Wolf game four. That is the two Dodgers left-handed starters out to counter all the left-handed power hitters the Phillies bring to the plate. Kershaw held lefties to a .173 batting average this year, Wolf .159.
The lineup the Phillies roll out is not your average group of lefties — Ryan Howard is not your average anything — but any advantage the Dodgers can gain at home will be big and the Kershaw/Wolf pairing could provide it.
The Dodgers have their own big bats. Andre Ethier hit .500 with two home runs in the Division Series, continuing his trend of hot and clutch hitting from the regular season. Then there is Manny Ramirez, who seems back and hit .305 in the first round (that means he has hit .300 or better in 10 of his last 11 playoffs series).
This series is not going to be an easy sweep for either side, but if one team can control and win both of those first two games at Dodgers Stadium starting Thursday, they will have a big head start. They will have beaten the other team’s strength. And that usually decides a series.
