by Ken Rosenthal

Comment

Oh, Torii Hunter and Co. did their best imitation of the Century Kids in the first two games of the Division Series and at various points Sunday night in Game 3.

But all of it is behind them now: The 11-game losing streak to the Red Sox in the postseason.

The absurd three-run bloop single by Jacoby Ellsbury that fell between Hunter and second baseman Howie Kendrick in shallow center field.

The 5-hour, 19-minute epic in which the Angels outhit the Red Sox, 16-7, yet needed 12 innings to defeat them, 5-4.

Maybe now the Angels can relax. Maybe now they can revive. I'm not sure I buy into the notion of a psychological shift in a short series, not when momentum in baseball rests with the next day's starting pitcher. But if ever there was a time for such a shift to occur, this is it.

In Game 3, the Angels scrambled to avoid getting swept. In Game 4, the Red Sox will scramble to avoid playing a decisive Game 5 in Anaheim.

The Red Sox were on the other side of this equation in the 2004 American League Championship Series, rallying to defeat the Yankees after falling behind, three games to none.

Once those Sox got going, they were liberated. The same thing could happen to these Angels, who should take comfort in the knowledge that they cannot play much worse than they have already.

They left the bases loaded twice in the first innings against Josh Beckett on Sunday night. Hunter and Kendrick had their communications breakdown on what should have been an inning-ending popup. Hunter got thrown out at second trying to stretch a single leading off the ninth.

To cap it all off, closer Frankie Rodriguez nearly blew another one, loading the bases in the 10th and going 2-0 on Jed Lowrie before getting him to fly out.

But in the end, the Angels could celebrate.

Catcher Mike Napoli hit two homers and singled to start the winning rally in the 12th. Second baseman Howie Kendrick delivered a sacrifice to advance Napoli and produced his first two hits of the series after an 0-for-11 start. Shortstop Erick Aybar delivered the game-winning hit — a flare to center off Sox left-hander Javier Lopez — to snap his own 0-for-13 start.

The Angels' bullpen, meanwhile, was magnificent, producing 7 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of left-hander Joe Saunders, striking out 11, allowing only seven baserunners.

The winning pitcher? None other than right-hander Jered Weaver in his first career relief appearance. Weaver walked David Ortiz to lead off the bottom of the 12th, but then retired Kevin Youkilis, Jason Bay and Mike Lowell to close it out at 12:47 a.m. ET.

Three games, two epics, and the chance for at least one more on Monday night. Angels righty John Lackey faces Sox lefty Jon Lester, and Angels righty Ervin Santana would face Sox righty Daisuke Matsuzaka in Game 5, if necessary.

Suddenly, it's a series.

Thank goodness, the Angels aren't the Cubs.

Phils rose to the occasion

Outfielder Jayson Werth coined the phrase, calling the Phillies "a team of necessity." Unlike the Mets and Cubs, who wilt at the worst possible times, the Phils respond to urgency, playing their best when the games matter most.

On Sept. 10, the Phillies trailed the Mets by 3 1/2 games in the National League East and the Brewers by four games for the wild card. They proceeded to sweep four straight from the Brewers, igniting a 16-4 run that carried them to the NL East title and now, the National League Championship Series.

"A team of necessity." It's the best kind, don't you think? A team of necessity doesn't collapse in September like the Mets or October like the Cubs. A team of necessity rises to the moment, leaving the excuses to others.

The Phillies rose up repeatedly down the stretch, most notably on the final Saturday of the regular season, when they beat the Nationals to clinch the division title. That victory, sealed with a spectacular double play started by shortstop Jimmy Rollins, enabled them to scratch ace left-hander Cole Hamels in the season finale and save him for Game 1 of the Division Series.

Hamels pitched eight shutout innings in the opener, setting the tone for the series. Yet, the Phillies were again in a tenuous position Sunday, leading two games to one. Win, and they would wrap up the series and preserve Hamels for Game 1 of the NLCS. Lose, and they would need Hamels to pitch Game 5 against — ahem — the Brewers' CC Sabathia.

Naturally, the team of necessity didn't flinch.

Rollins hit a home run on the game's sixth pitch to quiet the crowd at Miller Park. Left fielder Pat Burrell hit a three-run shot with two outs in the third inning, and Werth followed with another homer to increase the Phillies' lead to 5-0. Right-hander Joe Blanton allowed one run in six innings, Burrell added another homer in the eighth, and it was over.

Now comes the NLCS. The Dodgers will be a far more difficult opponent than the Brewers, who batted only .206 in the Division Series, failed to hit a home run and scored only eight runs in four games. But the Phillies' rotation again will line up in the proper order, and their bullpen should benefit from three days off.

Burrell had three hits Sunday after going 0-for-8 in the first three games, but the Phils' offense will need more out of second baseman Chase Utley, who was 2-for-15 in the series, and first baseman Ryan Howard, who was 2-for-11 with five walks, both of his hits coming in Game 3. The Dodgers' rotation, unlike the Brewers', will be rested and on a roll. To which the Phillies say: Bring it on.

In 2007, Rollins rankled the Mets, proclaiming the Phillies the "team to beat" in the NL East. Sure enough, the Phils caught the Mets after trailing them by seven games with 17 to play. They then got swept by the Rockies, creating a different kind of urgency for '08.

Rollins predicted a 100-win season last November; the Phillies fell eight victories short. But after the clinching the division title, the players vowed to advance further in the postseason than they did a year ago.

Mission accomplished. Next mission to come.

White Sox looked very Wise in victory

White Sox left fielder Dewayne Wise is the kind of player who makes the baseball postseason unlike any other.

Wise, 30, didn't even have a job at the start of spring training. Now, he's starring in the Division Series.

After hitting a three-run homer in Game 1, Wise was at it again in Game 3, drawing a walk, stealing a base and scoring in the third inning, then hitting a two-run double in the fourth to give the Sox a 4-1 lead.

The White Sox have now won four straight elimination games — three at the end of the season, and Sunday's 5-3 victory over the Rays.

On a team of survivors, Wise fits right in.

At the start of March, he was set to sign with an independent-league team, according to the Rock Hill (S.C.) Herald. Then his workout partner, White Sox minor-league outfielder David Cook, mentioned him to Sox farm director Buddy Bell, who remembered Wise from their days together in the Reds' organization; Wise was the Reds' fifth-round pick in 1997.

One thing led to another, and Wise signed a minor-league deal with the White Sox on March 2. The Sox summoned him from Class AAA on May 23 — then designated him for assignment eight days later, exposing him on waivers to all 29 other clubs.

No team claimed Wise, and the White Sox encouraged him to stay in their organization rather than ask for his release, saying they would try to get him another chance.

On June 17, Wise returned for good, providing refreshing speed for a plodding club.

"Well, I'll tell you, (Wise) will be faster than (Paul) Konerko)," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said then. "He can run backward and he'll be faster than Paul."

Wise runs forward, thank you very much, and for a guy who entered the season as a .201 hitter in 339 career at-bats, he's showing surprising power.

On Sept. 14, Wise hit a pinch-hit, game-winning grand slam in the second game of a double-header against the Tigers. The next night, he hit a two-run homer at Yankee Stadium. And now, he's crushing it in October.

Amazing how this game works: Wise, a left-handed hitting journeyman, suddenly finds himself platooning Nick Swisher, whom the White Sox for three top prospects last winter.

Wise will be in the lineup again in Game 4 against Rays right-hander Andy Sonnanstine on Monday — unless, of course, Guillen wants to be fired in the middle of a playoff series.

Dewayne Wise, postseason hero.

Only in baseball.