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Phillies win to make NL title series

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-07 08:53

CHICAGO: The Philadelphia Phillies won their first trip to the National League championship series in 15 years when they defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 6-2 in Game 4 of their division series on Sunday.

The Phillies will face the Los Angeles Dodgers for the National League championship beginning Thursday in Philadelphia. The Dodgers swept the Chicago Cubs on Saturday to help set up the best-of-seven championship series.

Pat Burrell homered twice, including a three-run hit in a four-run third inning, to power the visiting Phillies. He also homered in the eighth inning.

"For us to get to the point where we are going to have a chance to move on in this post-season is a special feeling," the veteran Burrell told reporters.

The Phillies' outfielder had three hits and drove in four runs in the deciding game. His three-run homer off Brewers pitcher Jeff Suppan staked Philadelphia to a 4-0 lead and Jayson Werth added a solo home run later in the inning.

"It was just a fastball," Burrell said of his highlight homer. "I was able to get a good swing on it and give us a big lead."

Jimmy Rollins started the Philadelphia power show with a leadoff homer in the first inning.

"We had some momentum, but it was important for us to come out a get a lead," Burrell said of the Phillies, who had won the first two games in Philadelphia before losing to the Brewers in Milwaukee on Saturday.

"Jimmy Rollins set up the game with a home run. That really set the tone for us," Burrell added.

Joe Blanton pitched six effective innings for the Phillies, limiting the Brewers to one run and five hits while striking out seven.

White Sox stay alive

The Chicago White Sox battled to a 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, staving off elimination in their best-of-five American League Divisional Series with the Game 3 victory.

The White Sox rallied for three runs in the fourth inning to give starting pitcher John Danks a lead he would not relinquish in a strong 6 2/3 inning outing by the left-hander.

"As soon as the ball came out of his hand, I felt good about it because you could see his stuff was there," Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen told reporters.

After losing the first two games of the series on the road, the White Sox needed a solid outing by Danks in his first career postseason start and his second must-win game in less than a week.

"If Danks loses either game ... we would not be here right now," Guillen said.

Danks held division rivals the Minnesota Twins scoreless in a one-game tiebreaker last Tuesday to earn the White Sox the division crown and a playoffs berth.

He struck out seven Rays on Sunday, allowing three runs on seven hits.

"I was more nervous going into the Minnesota game last week than I was this game," Danks said. "(White Sox catcher) A.J. (Pierzynski) did a good job of keeping me under control."

Tampa Bay struck first in the game, with catcher Dioner Navarro scoring from third base on an infield hit by second baseman Akinori Iwamura.

Rays starter Matt Garza could not hold the lead as the White Sox tied the game an inning later when outfielder DeWayne Wise scored on a two-out single by Pierzynski.

A run-scoring sacrifice fly by Chicago second baseman Alexei Ramirez broke the 1-1 tie in the fourth inning before a two-run double by Wise gave the White Sox a three-run lead.

The AL East Champion Rays, in the postseason for the first time in the franchise's 11-year history, still lead the series 2-1 after winning the first two games against the Central Division champion White Sox.

Game 4 is in Chicago on Monday and if the White Sox emerge victorious, the teams could return to Tampa Bay for a deciding Game 5 on Wednesday.

In the history of the American League Divisional Series, only five of the 35 teams that have fallen behind 2-0 have battled back to win the series.

Angels outlast Red Sox

In Boston, Francisco Rodriguez wriggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the 10th inning, Mike Napoli hit two early homers before scoring the go-ahead run in the 12th and Los Angeles avoided another playoff sweep by beating Boston.

Boston had beaten Los Angeles in 11 consecutive AL playoff games, including three-game sweeps in 2004 and 2007 en route to a pair of World Series titles. But the Angels chased Red Sox ace Josh Beckett early, then got six scoreless innings from five relievers to keep them in the game.

Napoli hit a mammoth homer off the Green Monster light stanchion to tie the game 3-all in the third, then gave Los Angeles a lead with his second homer before the Red Sox tied it 4-all in the fifth. It stayed that way until Napoli singled to lead off the 11th, went to second on Howie Kendrick's sacrifice bunt and scored when Erick Aybar blooped a single to left-center.

Jered Weaver, making his first career relief appearance, pitched two scoreless innings for the win. Javier Lopez, the sixth Boston pitcher, took the loss in a game.