Phils swing back – and reach fences

LOS ANGELES – Shane Victorino and the Philadelphia Phillies struck back with long balls rather than beanballs to move within one victory of the World Series.

After ducking a pitch thrown over his head the previous day, Victorino and much-traveled pinch-hitter Matt Stairs delivered two-run homers in the eighth inning to lift Philadelphia over the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-5 Monday night for a 3-1 lead in the N.L. Championship Series.

Lefty ace Cole Hamels, who won the series opener, can pitch the Phillies to their first World Series since 1993 in Game 5 here on Wednesday night, facing Game 2 loser Chad Billingsley.

“This was the biggest game we’ve won so far,” Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said. “But the next one is even bigger. That’s kind of how we look at it.”

Brad Lidge got his first four-out save for the Phillies, remaining perfect this season. It was the first time the visiting team has won a game in 12 meetings between the clubs this year.

After squandering a pair of leads on Monday, Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers have a tough task ahead. Only 11 teams in major league history have come back from 3-1 deficits to win a best-of-seven postseason series – two in the NLCS.

There were no brushback pitches or other trouble, 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.

Victorino was one of seven people fined Monday for conduct during the near-scuffle.

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 it at 5.

“We keep fighting,” Victorino said. “We keep plugging along.”

Then, after a two-out single by Carlos Ruiz, Dodgers manager Joe Torre called upon closer Jonathan Broxton, the seventh L.A. pitcher. Broxton tried to throw a 3-1 fastball past Stairs, and the 40-year-old left-handed hitter drove it more than halfway up the right-field pavilion to put the Phillies ahead.

“I try to swing for the fences,” Stairs said. “That’s what I’ve done my whole career. I was very fortunate to square one up tonight.”

Broxton allowed only two home runs in 69 innings during the regular season.

“I fell behind in the count and made a mistake over the plate and he cashed in,” Broxton said. “He’s a home run hitter. You’ve got to wipe it out and get ready to play them again. It’d been nice to even up the series.”

But that didn’t happen.

The Phillies hit an N.L.-leading 214 home runs during the regular season and have nine in eight playoff games, good for 17 of their 35 runs.

Lidge, the Phillies’ sixth pitcher, earned his fifth postseason save in five chances – but it wasn’t easy.

Lidge entered a game in the eighth for the first time this year when he came in with two out and nobody on. 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, making the Phillies 85-0 when leading after eight innings this year, including six in the postseason.

“I don’t think I can say I would do anything differently, really,” Torre said about the way he handled his bullpen. “We just didn’t get the job done. Cory Wade’s numbers against left-handed hitters this year has been really good. He threw a breaking ball and it stayed up and Shane just knocked the hell out of it.”

Torre canceled the Dodgers’ workout for today.

“These guys are fighting their hearts out, and just I told them to be back here on Wednesday to be ready to play baseball,” he said. “We have to win the remaining games. We can only do it one at a time. I sense we’ll be back right here with the right attitude.”

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.

Juan Pierre, making his first start of the postseason, followed with a double and pinch-hitter Matt Kemp walked. Scott Eyre relieved and first baseman Ryan Howard threw wildly past first on Rafael Furcal’s sacrifice bunt, allowing Pierre to score and putting runners at second and third.

Andre Ethier lined to first and, after Ramirez drew his second intentional walk of the game to load the bases, second baseman Chase Utley snared Martin’s liner and turned it into a double play.

The Dodgers took a 3-2 lead in the fifth, scoring twice with Ramirez delivering the key blow. Furcal walked and Ethier singled before Ramirez lined Joe Blanton’s first pitch to left to drive in Furcal, who ran through third base coach Larry Bowa’s stop sign and barely beat Pat Burrell’s throw home. Ethier scored on Martin’s grounder.

The Phillies tied it in the sixth when Howard scored from third on Chan Ho Park’s two-out wild pitch.