Shane Victorino and much-traveled pinch-hitter Matt Stairs hit two-run homers off two of Los Angeles’ most reliable relievers in the eighth inning Monday night, lifting the Phillies to a 7-5 victory over the Dodgers and a 3-1 lead in the National League Championship Series.
It was the first time the visiting team has won a game in 12 meetings between the teams this year.
With a runner at first and one out in the eighth, Victorino lined Cory Wade’s first pitch into the right-field bullpen to tie the game at 5. Then, after a two-out single by Carlos Ruiz, Dodgers manager Joe Torre called upon closer Jonathan Broxton, the seventh Los Angeles pitcher.
Broxton tried to throw a 3-1 fastball past Stairs, and the 40-year-old left-handed hitter drove it halfway up the the right-field pavilion to put the Phillies ahead.
Broxton, the seventh Los Angeles pitcher, allowed only two homers in 69 innings during the regular season.
The Phillies picked up Stairs from Toronto on Aug. 30. He has played for 11 teams in his career.
The Phillies hit an NL-leading 214 homers during the regular season, and have nine in eight postseason games, good for 17 of their 35 runs.
There were no brushback pitches or other trouble Monday night, unlike Game 3 when the benches and bullpens emptied in the third inning, moments after Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda threw a pitch over Victorino's head in retaliation for Philadelphia's high and tight pitches earlier in the series.
Brad Lidge, the Phillies' sixth pitcher, got four outs for his fifth postseason save in five chances, but it wasn't easy.
Lidge, a perfect 41-for-41 in save opportunities during the regular season, entered a game in the eighth for the first time this year, coming in with two outs and nobody on. Manny Ramirez greeted him with a double, and Russell Martin struck out but reached first on a wild pitch before James Loney flied to left.
Lidge retired the side in order in the ninth, giving the Phillies an 85-0 record when leading after eight innings this year, including six wins in the postseason.
The Dodgers scored twice in the sixth for a 5-3 lead. Casey Blake, who struck out in his first two at-bats, greeted reliever Chad Durbin by hitting a 1-2 pitch over the left-field wall for his first postseason homer.
