Giants Only Need One Win, but Phillies Confident for NLCS Game 6

PHILADELPHIA -- The NLCS will resume Saturday with Game 6, and the Phillies have the Giants right where they want them.

And vice versa.

If ever a 3-2 series could seem to be even, this is it. Obviously the Giants have the mathematical edge, needing to win just once to go to the World Series, but the Phillies are going to be at home, with the momentum of a Game 5 victory – for whatever that's worth – and a pair of aces to take the mound in the next two games.

Roy Oswalt is 10-0 in his career at Citizens Bank Park, including a stifling eight-inning performance against the Giants in Game 1. The Giants will give the ball to Jonathan Sanchez, who is talented but less experienced.

If it goes to Game 7, it would be Cole Hamels against Matt Cain.

The math still favors the Giants. In major league history, teams that have led 3-2 in best-of-seven series have won the series 69 percent of the time. The Phillies, who trailed 3-1 after Game 4, would actually need to win three in a row, which is a tough task in the playoffs.

"We've won three in a row a bunch this year," Oswalt said. "No one's panicked yet. I know we've got our backs against the wall. But we feel if we get back here in Philadelphia, we have a real good chance of winning the next two."

The Phillies have talked bravely about how they enjoy having the pressure, even though they haven't really been underdogs in anything all year. Even when they slipped earlier this season, it was because of injuries.

"When you see us finish the seasons, especially the second half of the seasons the way we do, it's the fact that they really kind of know if we're behind ... they start turning it up more and things like that," manager Charlie Manuel said.

"We've won three in a row a bunch this year. No one's panicked yet."
- Roy Oswalt Having Oswalt on the hill is one reason the Phillies are comfortable. Oswalt's Game 2 performance was an encouraging outing after his sloppy game against the Reds in the NLDS. It was more in line with his past postseason performance. Oswalt had been 4-0 with a 3.66 ERA in the postseason heading into this year, including winning the MVP award of the 2005 NLCS against the Cardinals.

He said his experience helps him keep a normal routine in the playoffs.

"After you have over 300 starts in the big leagues, you try to treat it as another start and you don't try to get caught up in too much of the hype of it," he said. "Sometimes I think guys get caught up and try to do too much and get out of their game. I think the biggest thing is to stay within your game and pitch like you normally do."

One lingering question about Oswalt will be whether his one-inning relief appearance in Game 4 on Wednesday has any impact on him. Oswalt had thrown his between-starts bullpen session hours earlier. Oswalt said it won't be an issue.

The Giants will counter with Sanchez, who was not sharp in his Game 2 outing against the Phillies. He started the game by issuing three walks in a 35-pitch first inning, but then he settled down. He was trailing only 2-1 when he started the seventh by giving up a hit to Oswalt, who was his last batter. Oswalt came around to score later in the inning, running through a stop sign to do so.

Sanchez said he did not feel nervous during his previous game at Philadelphia. He had, after all, pitched the Giants' regular season clincher in Game 162 and Game 3 of the NLDS against the Braves. The Giants won both games. The final regular season game was a similar situation to the one he'll face in Game 6. The Giants could clinch with a win, but they'd face a winner-take-all game the next day if they lost.

Sanchez said he was eager to have the chance to pitch another clincher.

"It's going to be great to get to the World Series," Sanchez said when asked what it would feel like if he won. "Never been there. We've got a lot of guys on the team that have never been there, and to be able to do that, it's going to be something special for me."