Postseason Wrap- October 7

The first three games of the 2009 postseason were as impressive as the game the night before that concluded the regular season but it showed fans what to expect during the course of the playoffs.

Phillies 5-1 Rockies
Phillies up 1-0

WHAT WE LEARNED:
Cliff Lee is for real. Although he went into a slump in September after his spectacular results after the trade from the Indians in July, Lee proved to his team and to Philadelphia fans that h should have started Game 1 instead of Cole Hamels. Lee pitched a complete game giving up 6 hits and 1 run, while striking out five.
STAT OF THE GAME:
Every single Phillie in the lineup including Lee had at least one base hit in the game. The 4-5-6 combo of Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, and Raul Ibanez all had 2 hits in the win.
WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO:
In Thursday's Game 2, the Phils will throw 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels and the Rockies will counter with Aaron Cook. Look for the same lineups from each team but possibly a different outcome, Cook has postseason experience from 2007 and will not be afraid of the crowd at Citizens Bank Park.

Dodgers 5-3 Cardinals
Dodgers up 1-0

WHAT WE LEARNED:
The Dodgers will not pitch to Albert Pujols if there are runners on base. Pujols was intentionally walked by Randy Wolf in his first two at-bats. Joe Torre would obviously have his pitchers face Matt Holliday over Pujols because in the 1st inning he had Wolf walk Pujols to load the bases.
STAT OF THE GAME:
30 runners were left on base combined in the game. In a game that featured 23 hits and 13 walks, you would think the score would be more than 5-3, but not in this case. The teams set a postseason in Game 1 with the 30 LOB.
WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO:
Adam Wainwright vs. Clayton Kershaw. This matchup of two of the games best young pitchers will by far be the topic of discussion going into Game 2. Wainwright went 19-8 with a 2.63 ERA this season and is a Cy Young candidate, while Kershaw is coming off a 10-strikeout performance in his last start against Colorado.

Yankees 7-2 Twins
Yankees up 1-0

WHAT WE LEARNED:
Derek Jeter is the captain for a reason. After going down 2-0 in the 3rd, Jeter came back and hit a 2-run homer off of Twins' starter Brian Duensing and the Yankees never looked back. Jeter went 2-for-2, scored 3 runs, and had 2 RBIs
STAT OF THE GAME:
Yankees bullpen: 2.1 IP, 2H, 4 K
When Phil Hughes entered the game in the top of the 7th, Hughes came on and struck out Orlando Cabrera with runners on 2nd and 3rd. After Hughes finished his 2/3 inning of work, Phil Coke came on and got Jason Kubel to line out to Mark Texeira, then Joba Chamberlain got Delmon Young to ground out. Surprisingly, Mariano Rivera came out to pitch the 9th in a non-save situation and closed the game out for the Yanks.
WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO:
A day off for the Twins. If the Twins have any chance of taking Game 2 at Yankee Stadium, they need to do nothing today and just rest. After the marathon 12-inning game against Detroit on Tuesday, everyone could that Twins had no life in them by the later stage of the game.