■NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin
Pat Burrell hit two home runs to power the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-2 win that eliminated the Milwaukee Brewers from the Major League Baseball playoffs on Sunday.
One of Burrell’s homers was a three-run shot, and Jimmy Rollins and Jayson Werth added solo homers for the Phillies to win the National League Division Series 3-1 and clinch their first trip to the NL Championship Series since 1993.
The teams have met for the NL pennant three times before: The Dodgers won in 1977 and 1978, while the Phillies took the flag in 1983.
Overshadowed by the offensive barrage was a pitching gem by Joe Blanton, who held the Brewers to one run in six innings after an eight-day layoff.
Rollins led off Sunday’s game with a homer, turning on a 3-2 pitch from Jeff Suppan and depositing it into the first row of seats in right field.
Two innings later, the Brewers opted to walk Ryan Howard to put two men on base and face Burrell, whose single in the second was his first hit of the postseason. Burrell made the Brewers pay, lofting Suppan’s 2-2 pitch deep into the left-field stands. Werth hit a solo homer to make it 5-0 and the sellout crowd at Miller Park booed Suppan.
The Brewers head for an offseason of uncertainty after their first playoff appearance in 26 years. Ace pitcher CC Sabathia, who almost single-handedly salvaged Milwaukee’s postseason hopes, is a free agent and isn’t expected back. Ben Sheets, the team’s second-best starter, might be gone, too.
And the Brewers need a manager after firing Ned Yost with 12 games left in the regular season.
RSS