The new, improved, Manny Ramirez-led Los Angeles Dodgers will face the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League division series. LA swept the NL-best Cubs out of the division series, and the Phillies dropped only one game to the Wild-Card winning Brewers in the first round. The Dodgers will be without outfielder Andruw Jones and closer Takashi Saito, who missed much of the season with an elbow injury. Manny Ramirez and a healthy Rafael Furcal will give the Phillies pitching quite a challenge, both were red-hot during the first round of the playoffs. Joe Torre knows what it is like to win in the postseason, and will get the most out of his team. 2008 NLCS Schedule Game 1 – Thursday, October 9th 8:22pm @ Philadelphia Game 2 – Friday, October 10th 4:35pm @ Philadelphia Game 3 – Sunday, October 12th 822:pm @ Los Angeles Game 4 – Monday, October 13th 8:22pm @ Los Angeles Game 5 – Wednesday, October 15th 8:22pm @ Los Angeles Game 6 – Friday, October 17th 8:22pm @ Philadelphia Game 7 – Saturday, October 18th 8:22pm @ Philadelphia Pitching Matchups Game 1 – Cole Hamels vs Derek Lowe Game 2 – Brett Myers vs Chad Billingsley Game 3 – Hiroki Kuroda vs Jamie Moyer Check out our full selection of MLB Championship and World Series playoff tickets, and our growing selection of 2009 MLB Tickets.

On Thursday the Brewers sent ace CC Sabathia to the mound, hoping that he could lead the NL Wild Card winners to a 1-1 tie in the NLDS. Phillies’ centerfielder Shane Victorino had other plans. Having already gotten a hit off of Sabathia in the previous inning, Victorino stepped to the plate in the second with the bases loaded and a run already in. Victorino put Philadelphia ahead for good with a towering grand-slam homer to left field. Sabathia lasted just 3 2/3 innings, throwing 98 pitches and giving up five runs on six hits and four walks. Phillies starter Brett Myers had a shaky first inning; giving up an RBI double to JJ Hardy to give the Brewers the early lead. Myers would settle down and throw seven solid innings to lead the Phils to 2-0 in the series. Game 3 of the NLDS matchup between the Phillies on Brewers will be at Miller Park on October 4th at 6:30pm. Full MLB Division Series Schedule MLB Playoff Tickets

August 5th, 2008. This was the first day that instant replay was to be tested in the MLB. Just like clockwork, Shane Victorino hit a shot that seemed to have gone left of the foul pole. The umpires got together, discussed what they saw, and called the shot fair. Instant replays on TV clearly showed the ball sailing foul. So why didn’t the umps use the new instant replay system? They can’t. The instant replay system test is merely a “watch and wait” deal to see how accurate the camera systems would be. The umpires cannot see anything on the replay cameras until the game is over. Umps will not use any sort of camera system until a plan to smoothly integrate them into the game is hatched. Phillies starter Jamie Moyer was 10-0 in 10 starts at the Marlins, but got the tough luck loss giving up two runs across five innings. Florida pounded the Phils bullpen for 6 runs in the last three innings of the game to seal the victory, and gain a game on the NL East leading Phils.

Just one day after coming back from 6 runs down on Saturday, the Philadelphia Phillies came back from a 5-0 deficit to best the Atlanta Braves on Sunday. A nearly 2-hour rain delay in the bottom of the second inning ended Jorge Campillo and Joe Blanton’s starts, and sent both clubs scrambling for replacements. Philadelphia chose Adam Eaton, who gave up 3 runs to make it 5-0 Braves. The Braves sent in Jo-Jo Reyes, whose disastrous 4th inning would tie it back up. Phils’ catcher Chris Coste hit a two run homer, followed by a 3-run blast by Shane Victorino later in the inning. Julian Tavarez came in to relieve Reyes, and was promptly greeted by a Pat Burrell solo shot. The Phils opened up the game in the bottom of the sixth, scoring five runs on timely hits by Victorino and Ryan Howard, as well as a 2-run shot bu Jayson Werth. The Braves would get three back in the 8th, but closer Brad Lidge pitched a solid ninth inning for his 24th save of the season. The Phillies are currently one game behind the Mets in the NL East, with the Florida Marlins a game behind them. Philly opens up a 3-game series at NL-worst Washington on Monday night. East contenders Florida and New York will play the first of three at Dolphin Stadium. Braves catcher Brian McCann left after a home plate collision with Shane Victorino. X-rays were negative, and McCann should only miss a few days with a mild concussion.