Dodgers vs Phillies Game 1 live inning-by-inning updates

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FINAL SCORE: Phillies 8, Dodgers 6

Phillies take a 1-0 series lead and wrest the home-field advantage from the Dodgers. Ominous note: Game One winners have gone on to win 14 of the last 17 National League Championship Series. Today, the Dodgers try to even the series with Vicente Padilla, Philadelphia will counter with Pedro Martinez. To put it another way, ex-Phillie Padilla will start for the Dodgers and ex-Dodger Martinez will start for the Phillies.

BOTTOM OF THE NINTH INNING (Phillies 8, Dodgers 6)

Brad Lidge and his baggage (i.e. 11 blown saves) move to the mound, replacing Madson. Lidge immediately yields a line drive single to left by Kemp. Blake grounds to second to start a double play. Phillies fans watching at home exhale. Loney walks on a full count pitch. Nothing is easy with Lidge. Loney steals second without a throw. Belliard pops to short, Rollins clutching the final out in shallow center field. Lidge creates a save situation, Lidge gets the save.

TOP OF THE NINTH INNING (Phillies 8, Dodgers 6)

Jonathan Broxton now pitching for the Dodgers. Pierre stays in the game, replacing Ramirez in left. Rollins flies to left. Victorino grounds a single through the left side of the infield. Utley flies to left. Howard strikes out swinging.

BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH INNING (Phillies 8, Dodgers 6)

Ryan Madson now pitching and Francisco playing left for the Phillies. Loney lines a single to center. Loney is 3-for-4 on the night. Belliard singles to center, Loney stopping at second. Martin grounds a single between third and short; third base coach Larry Bowa decides to test Francisco’s arm. Good gamble. Loney beats the throw and scores, Belliard stops at second. Pierre, batting for Sherrill, hits a broken-bat roller to Madson, who throws to second to force Martin. Belliard takes third on the play. Furcal flies to deep right, Belliard tagging and scoring. With Pierre running on the play, Ethier singles into the hole between second and first. Pierre takes third on the play. Next up, with two outs and two runners on base: Manny Ramirez. Dodger crowd either standing or nervous on the edge of their seats. Anticlimax: Ramirez grounds to third.

TOP OF THE EIGHTH INNING (Phillies 8, Dodgers 4)

George Sherrill now pitching for the Dodgers. Dodgers infielders roll into the Ryan Howard Shift, but it’s not needed here; Howard walks. Werth also walks. Honeycutt comes out for a conference on the mound. Whatever was said didn’t take. Ibanez homers into the right field seats. Walks are killing the Dodgers. Dodgers have out-hit the Phillies, nine to six, but trail by four runs. Feliz flies to right. Finally, the first out of the inning. Ruiz singles to left. Ben Francisco hits for Park. Francisco flies to center, Kemp’s quick throw to the infield doubles Ruiz off first.

BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH INNING (Phillies 5, Dodgers 4)

Antonio Bastardo now pitching for the Phillies. Supply your own punch line here. Ethier doubles into the right-field corner. That’s it for Bastardo. He is replaced by ex-Dodger Chan Ho Park. Ramirez grounds to third, Ethier stays at second. Kemp strikes out swinging on a full-count pitch. Blake grounds to fourth. Dodgers leave the tying run at second.

TOP OF THE SEVENTH INNING (Phillies 5, Dodgers 4)

Hong-Chih Kuo now pitching for the Dodgers. Miguel Cairo, batting for Happ, strikes out swinging. Rollins singles under the glove of a diving Furcal. Victorino hits a grounder to third baseman Blake, who throws to second to force Rollins. Utley strikes out swinging.

BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH INNING (Phillies 5, Dodgers 4)

Blake fouls out to first. Loney and Belliard single to left, Dodgers have runners at second and first with one out. Manuel decides that is all for Hamels. Chad Durbin now pitching for the Phillies. The Dodgers remember him; Durbin had a 0.96 ERA against Los Angeles in the 2008 NLCS. Martin lines out to right. Jim Thome, ex-Phillie, hits for Belisario. Manuel calls on J.A. Happ to replace Durbin. There you have it -- conclusive proof the Phillies aren’t happless. Thome walks to load the bases. Torre wants a pinch-runner for Thome. Specifically, he wants pitcher Randy Wolf to pinch-run for Thome. This is a surprise for Wolf, who is chilling out in the Dodgers dugout without his cleats on. Dodgers call time out and umpires, showing great patience, allow Wolf to run back into the clubhouse to pull on and lace up some cleats. Advance preparation is always crucial during the playoffs. With Wolf finally in the game, Furcal grounds to second. Dodgers leave the bases loaded.

TOP OF THE SIXTH INNING (Phillies 5, Dodgers 4)

Ronald Belisario now pitching for the Dodgers. Ibanez grounds to short. Feliz and Ruiz ground to second.

BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH INNING (Phillies 5, Dodgers 4)

Martin drives a fastball to deep left field, ball bounces into the seats just inside the foul pole for a ground-rule double. Orlando Hudson, batting for Troncoso, strikes out swinging. Furcal singles to right, Martin rounding third and executing a perfect text-book slide, One problem: he’s 10 feet beyond third base, Martin scrambles on the wet grass back to third base. Ethier hits a double play grounder to short. Or it should be. Second baseman Utley pivots and sends his throw into the Philadelphia dugout. Martin scores, Ethier winds up standing at second. Ramirez homers to left and suddenly it’s a one-run game. Torre’s decision to let Kershaw pitch to Howard just gained more second-guess momentum. Kemp grounds to second.

TOP OF THE FIFTH INNING (Phillies 5, Dodgers 1)

Ibanez leads off with a single to left. Kershaw bounces a breaking ball well in front of home plate, Martin scrambles to keep the ball in front of him. It is ruled a wild pitch as Ibanez advances to second. Feliz walks. Three of the last four hitters to face Kershaw have reached base. Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt decides it’s time for a little chat on the mound. Whatever was said didn’t take. Ruiz homers into the Mannywood seats down the left-field line. Just like that, Phillies lead, 3-1. Kershaw walks Hamels. Still no outs. Kershaw is really laboring. Rollins hits a grounder to third for a force-out at second. Victorino strikes out on a wild pitch, Rollins moving to second. Kershaw uncorks another wild pitch, his third of the inning, an NLCS record. Rollins advances to third on the play. Utley walks on a full-count. That’s Kershaw’s third walk of the inning. Should Torre go to the bullpen? He’s reluctant; the pitcher`s spot is due up in the bottom of the inning. Kershaw stays in the game. Howard breaks the game open by lining a double to right field, scoring Rollins and Utley. Torre finally goes to the bullpen. Ramon Troncoso now pitching for the Dodgers. Werth flies to left. Nine Phillies bat in the inning, five score, Dodgers trail by four.

BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH INNING (Dodgers 1, Phillies 0)

Blake strike out. With Loney at bat, TBS shows footage of Steve Garvey, Bill Russell and Ron Cey, wearing Dodgers jerseys with their old numbers, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Three-fourths of the Dodgers’ great 1970s infield . . . but where’s Davey Lopes? Lopes is the Phillies’ first base coach. He was right there -- in the building. But he declined the invitation, not wanting to fraternize with the enemy. Lopes is old-school. Loney proceeds to pop to second. Belliard does the same.

TOP OF THE FOURTH INNING (Dodgers 1, Phillies 0)

Kershaw gets two quick outs -- Victorino pops to first, Utley fouls to third. Howard walks on a full-count pitch. Werth drives the ball to deep left field. Good news for the Dodgers: Ramirez successfully catches it.

BOTTOM OF THE THIRD INNING (Dodgers 1, Phillies 0)

Ethier strikes out. Midway through Ramirez’ at-bat, Caray mentions Phillies manager Charlie Manuel’s decision to start Pedro Martinez in Game 2. Caray: ``Pedro Martinez against the Dodgers. Wow!`` Still a long ways to go in this one. Ramirez pops to second. Kemp hits a dribbler back to Hamels.

TOP OF THE THIRD INNING (Dodgers 1, Phillies 0)

Pedro Feliz pops to second, Belliard standing on the base as he makes the catch. Ruiz walks. Hamels successfully sacrifices. Rollins hits a broken-bat grounder to second.

BOTTOM OF THE SECOND INNING (Dodgers 1, Phillies 0)

James Loney is up. Ron Darling notes that Loney was a former No. 1 draft choice for the Dodgers, who weren’t sure to develop Loney as a pitcher or a first baseman. Chip Carey says the Dodgers made the right decision. As if on cue, Loney homers to right field. Ronnie Belliard sends center fielder Victorino sprinting back to the track to haul in the baseball. The ball is really traveling tonight. At least when the Dodgers are at bat. Russell Martin grounded to third. Kershaw, a .104 hitter during the regular season, walks. Furcal hits a dribbler that catcher Carlos Ruiz fields and throws to first for the out.

TOP OF THE SECOND INNING (Dodgers 0, Phillies 0)

Howard, his first at-bat interrupted by Victorino’s pickoff, flies to left. Jayson Werth strikes out looking. Raul Ibanez, a No. 6 hitter with 34 home runs and 93 RBI, strikes out looking.

BOTTOM OF THE FIRST INNING (Dodgers 0, Phillies 0)

Cole Hamels, last season’s NLCS and World Series MVP, is pitching for the Phillies. Ryan Howard. Chase Utley. Cole Hamels. The Phillies have their share of players with two last names. Rafael Furcal leads off for the Dodgers and flies to left. Andre Ethier goes opposite-field with a single to left. Manny Ramirez strikes out. Matt Kemp singles to left, Ethier stopping at second. Casey Blake pops to second.

TOP OF THE FIRST INNING (Dodgers 0, Phillies 0) The Dodgers open Game 1 in Dodger Stadium, meaning they have home-field advantage for this series, which feels a little like an ill-fitting suit. The Dodgers stumbled down the stretch, their starting pitching rotation a mess, and now they face the defending World Series champions. But there it is in black and white: the Dodgers lead the Phillies in team ERA (3.41 to 4.16), batting average (.270 to .258) and wins (95 to 93). Clayton Kershaw get the starting assignment for the Dodgers. He’s the youngest pitcher to ever start a postseason game for Joe Torre. Jimmy Rollins pops Kershaw’s second pitch toward the first row near the Phillies dugout, but Dodgers catcher Russell Martin leans in to make the catch. Shane Victorino singles through left side of the infield. Chase Utley hits a deep fly to the warning track in center. With Ryan Howard at bat, Kershaw picks Victorino off first base, Victorino tagged out in a rundown.

Pre-game analysis:

The Dodgers added left-handed rookie pitcher Scott Elbert and right-hander Hiroki Kuroda to their roster and dropped right-handers Jon Garland and Jeff Weaver.
Manager Joe Torre says he made the move with Elbert because he wanted to have another lefty available against Philadelphia. Weaver got the victory in Game 1 of the division series. He sent home early Wednesday because he had a fever.
Torre says he left Weaver off because the Phillies have so many left-handed hitters. All-Star righty Chad Billingsley will pitch from the bullpen. He was mostly ineffective after the All-Star break.

You can follow Diane Pucin’s live commentary on how TBS is handling the telecast of the game here. And you can follow the in-game box score here.

-- Mike Penner