Phils clinch, 5-1

Congratulations to the Phillies, who did everything right in clinching the National League pennant with a 5-1 win over the Dodgers. The Dodgers did nothing right. For the second straight outing, Chad Billingsley failed to pitch into the third inning. Rafael Furcal made three errors, and only Manny Ramirez brought the offense, knocking his 28th career October homer out to right field when the game was already out of reach. 5-1, the Phils win game five and win the series, 4-1 behind another stellar outing from Cole Hamels.

Now the Rays need to hurry up and beat Boston if they want equal rest in time for the World Series.

NLCS game five - Hamels vs. Billingsley

The most intriguing pitching match up of the postseason comes tonight when the Phillies and Dodgers throw their young guns in game five of the NLCS.

Philadelphia pitches 24-year-old Cole Hamels, who threw well in a game one win. The Dodgers counter with Chad Billingsley, who was rocked for seven runs in 2 1/3 innings in his game two loss.

This time Billingsley's got the crowd behind him, and Hamels has to deal with more adversity. Billingsley's been better at home this year (2.95 ERA), but Hamels is very strong on the road (3.19 ERA). This one should be a classic, if the youngsters can shake off the nerves.