The Phillies are known for their offensive firepower, but they've got plenty of team speed and already are showing it off in the postseason.
In a 5-1 victory over Colorado in Game 1 of their NL division series, Chase Utley, Shane Victorino and pitcher Cliff Lee had stolen bases. Ryan Howard got caught trying to steal second by Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba.
The Phillies led the majors in stolen-base percentage (81.0) for the third straight year. They were the only NL team to have 200 homers and 100 steals, reaching those totals for the third straight year.
First-base coach Davey Lopes gets most of the credit for Philadelphia's success rate.
``Davey sees things that no one else really sees,'' said Utley, who has stolen 25 straight bases since getting caught on Sept. 2, 2008. ``Every day he's watching the starting pitcher to try to find out any keys for us to steal bases, and he also gives us that confidence over there. If Davey tells us to go, why not? We go, and a lot of times we're safe.''
Lee became the first pitcher to record a steal in the team's postseason history when he swiped second in the third inning Wednesday.
On Thursday, he pinch ran in the ninth inning and was left stranded on second base as the Rockies beat the Phillies 5-4 in Game 2 to even their series at 1.
``That was totally Davey Lopes. That was totally him,'' Lee said. ``By no means was I out there thinking I was going to steal a base. He told me a little pointer, I saw what was going on and he said, 'If you think you can get it, go ahead and go,' and I did.''
Lopes was a four-time All-Star who had 557 career steals in 16 seasons from 1972-87.
``Davey sees things I don't see,'' manager Charlie Manuel said. ``Seriously, Davey Lopes is tremendous, really.''
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MAUER'S MEMORIES: Joe Mauer would love to lead his hometown Twins to the World Series. The last time they made it, he missed out.
Mauer, who grew up a Twins fan in St. Paul, Minn., was 8 years old when Minnesota beat the Atlanta Braves for the 1991 championship. His aunt and uncle had four tickets to Game 6, but his two older brothers got to go while Mauer stayed home.
``I was the one left out,'' he said. ``Hopefully, I can make up for that.''
That game turned out to be one of the most memorable in Twins history. Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett made a clutch catch and hit a game-ending homer to send the Series to a seventh game.
``Oh, yes, I bring it up a lot,'' Mauer said with a smile on Wednesday. ``They were going to take my parents but my parents felt like I needed to have a baby sitter or something for the game. So my aunt and uncle took my two older brothers and I had to stay home and watch with my parents. So I was pretty upset about that.
``I always say the only way they can make up for that is if I'm playing in a Game 6 and we win it. So hopefully that will happen,'' he said, then added: ``I may not leave them tickets.''
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ONE TOUGH OPPONENT: Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has a simple reason for Minnesota's troubles against the New York Yankees this year.
The AL East champs are good.
``That's just a pretty good team,'' he said Thursday. ``I mean, I wish I had all the answers to say 'Wow, this is why we lose here; this is why we don't win.' It's not that simple. We have had our opportunities, we just haven't come up with big hits.''
The Yankees beat the Twins 7-2 in Game 1 of the AL division series Wednesday night to improve to 8-0 against the AL Central champs this year. They are 31-10 in 41 home games against Minnesota since 2000.
Four of New York's wins against the Twins this year were one-run victories.
``What happened in the regular season doesn't matter anymore,'' Twins outfielder Denard Span said. ``Once you get into the playoffs, anything can happen. I've seen so much crazy stuff happen in the playoffs, in baseball period. We just feel like if we can win Game 2, that would be real big.''
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GOING TO ST. LOUIS: Dodgers pinch-hitter Jim Thome is looking forward to playing Game 3 in St. Louis, about 150 miles from where he grew up in Peoria, Ill.
``I've always said St. Louis is probably, fans-wise, one of the better baseball cities in the game,'' he said Thursday. ``It's fun to go there and feel that atmosphere towards baseball.''
Loyalties were split in Thome's family, with one of his brothers rooting for the Cardinals and another brother and his father being Chicago Cubs fans. Peoria was divided nearly down the middle with fans of both teams.
``I'm proud to call it home,'' said Thome, who now makes his offseason home in the Chicago suburb of Hinsdale. ``I'm glad I grew up in Peoria because it's salt-of-the-earth people. They're genuine.''
Thome struck out in one at-bat in the Dodgers' 5-3 victory over St. Louis in Game 1 of the NL division series Wednesday. The slugger went from being designated hitter for the Chicago White Sox to pinch-hitter in Los Angeles after waiving his no-trade clause last month.
``It is one at-bat. That is a little bit of a challenge,'' he said. ``But the at-bats usually that I get mean something, and that's what's exciting.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
