The 2008

National League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series (NLDS) determines which two teams from the National League will advance to the National League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ...

(NLDS), the opening round of the 2008

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

playoffs, began on Wednesday, October 1 and ended on Sunday, October 5, with the champions of the three NL divisions and one wild card team participating in two best-of-five series. They were: * (1) Chicago Cubs (Central Division champions, 97–64) vs. (3)

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

(Western Division champions, 84–78): Dodgers win series, 3–0. * (2) Philadelphia Phillies (Eastern Division champions, 92–70) vs. (4) Milwaukee Brewers (Wild Card qualifier, 90–72): Phillies win series, 3–1. The underdog Dodgers swept the Cubs to advance to the NLCS, while the Phillies defeated the Brewers three games to one. The series marked the first postseason series victory for the Dodgers since winning the

1988 World Series The 1988 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1988 season. The 85th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Oakland Athletics and the N ...

, and the first such victory for the Phillies since the 1993 NLCS. The Phillies defeated the Dodgers for the National League championship, and went on to win the

2008 World Series The 2008 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2008 season. The 104th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Philadelphia Phillies and the Ame ...

, defeating the American League champion

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

in five games. __TOC__

Matchups

Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Milwaukee Brewers

Chicago vs. Los Angeles

Game 1

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

The Dodgers swiped Game 1 from the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Mark DeRosa Mark Thomas DeRosa (born February 26, 1975) is an American former professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 to 2013. He played for the Atlanta Braves (1998–2004), Texas Rangers (2005–2006), Chicago Cub ...

gave the Cubs an early lead in the second inning with an opposite-field two-run home run, but Derek Lowe settled in afterward by going six innings while three relievers held the Cubs scoreless over the last three innings.

Ryan Dempster Ryan Scott Dempster (born May 3, 1977), is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, and Boston Red Sox. Dempster batted and t ...

pitched four shutout innings, allowing two hits and four walks, but in the fifth, allowed three walks to load the bases for the Dodgers before James Loney's

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

put them ahead 4–2.

Manny Ramírez Manuel Arístides Ramírez Onelcida (born May 30, 1972) is a Dominican Americans (Dominican Republic), Dominican-American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for parts of 19 seasons. He played with ...

's home run in the seventh off Sean Marshall made it 5–2 Dodgers. Next inning, Blake DeWitt hit a leadoff double off

Jeff Samardzija Jeffrey Alan Samardzija (; born January 23, 1985), nicknamed "Shark", is an American professional former baseball pitcher. He played college baseball and football for the University of Notre Dame, and was recognized as a two-time All-American w ...

and scored on Casey Blake's single. In the ninth, Russell Martin's lead off home run off

Jason Marquis Jason Scott Marquis (; born August 21, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals, Ariz ...

made it 7–2 Dodgers. Greg Maddux pitched a scoreless bottom half as the Dodgers took a 1–0 series lead.

Game 2

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

The Dodgers struck first with a five-run second off Carlos Zambrano. After leadoff singles by

Andre Ethier Andre Everett Ethier (; born April 10, 1982) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2006 to 2017 and is second all-time in post-season appearances as a Do ...

and James Loney, two one-out errors allowed one run to score and load the bases with no outs. After a strikeout,

Rafael Furcal Rafael Antoni Furcal (born October 24, 1977) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Miami Marlins. With St. Louis, he ...

's RBI single made it 2–0 Dodgers, then Russell Martin cleared the bases with a double. All five runs scored were unearned.

' second home run in the series in the fifth, his record-stretching 26th postseason dinger, extended the Dodgers' lead to 6–0. In the seventh, Ramirez walked off Zambrano, who was relieved by Neal Cotts. After a walk and forceout,

Matt Kemp Matthew Ryan Kemp (born September 23, 1984) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He began his professional career in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization in 2003, and played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Dodgers fr ...

's RBI double made it 7–0 Dodgers. Chad Billingsley pitched innings, allowing one run in the seventh on back-to-back two-out doubles by

and

Jim Edmonds James Patrick Edmonds (born June 27, 1970) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and a broadcaster for Bally Sports Midwest. He played for the California/Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, ...

. In the eighth, RBI singles by Furcal and Ramirez off Carlos Marmol made it 9–1 Dodgers. Next inning,

Juan Pierre Juan D'Vaughn Pierre (born August 14, 1977) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2000–2013 for the Colorado Rockies, Florida/Miami Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Ch ...

reached second on a two-out error off

Kerry Wood Kerry Lee Wood (born June 16, 1977) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, and New York Yankees. Wood first came to prominence as a 20-year-old rook ...

, the Cubs' fourth of the game and one by each starting infielder, before Casey Blake's RBI single made it 10–1 Dodgers. In the bottom of the inning, Takashi Saito allowed a leadoff double and single before DeRosa's two-run double made it 10–3 Dodgers.

Jonathan Broxton Jonathan Roy Broxton (born June 16, 1984) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardin ...

in relief walked Felix Pie before retiring the next three batters to end the game and give the Dodgers a 2–0 series lead.

Game 3

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Before a sellout crowd in

, Russell Martin doubled, then took third on a base hit by Manny Ramírez in the bottom of the first despite a risky baserunning move that almost killed the momentum. Replays showed Martin was out, but the third base umpire ruled it safe. James Loney then stroked a double to right field off Rich Harden to score them both. Martin's RBI double after a walk in the fifth extended the Dodgers' lead to 3–0. It proved to be all the offense the Dodgers needed, as

Hiroki Kuroda is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for Hiroshima Toyo Carp from 1997 to 2007 before playing in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2008 to 2011 and ...

was locked in, hurling shutout ball into the sixth; the first 11 outs he recorded were all ground ball outs before he struck out Rich Harden to end the fourth.

Cory Wade Cory Nathaniel Wade (born May 28, 1983) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball with the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees. Amateur career Wade attended Broad Ripple High School. W ...

gave up a run on a pinch-hit

Daryle Ward Daryle Lamar Ward (born June 27, 1975) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and left fielder. He played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 to 2008 for the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirat ...

single in the top of the eighth after a leadoff double by

Derrek Lee Derrek Leon Lee (born September 6, 1975), nicknamed "D-Lee", is an American former professional baseball first baseman. Lee played with the San Diego Padres, Florida Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates ...

, but

took over and earned his first career postseason save by striking out

Alfonso Soriano Alfonso Guilleard Soriano (born January 7, 1976) is a Dominican former professional baseball left fielder and second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals, and Chicago C ...

to complete the sweep. The Cubs suffered their ninth consecutive post-season loss and second consecutive sweep.

Composite box

2008 NLDS (3–0):

over Chicago Cubs

Philadelphia vs. Milwaukee

Game 1

Citizens Bank Park Citizens Bank Park is a baseball stadium located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the city's South Philadelphia Sports Complex. It is the home playing field of the Philadelphia Phillies, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. The ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Phillies ace Cole Hamels pitched eight shutout innings of two-hit ball while striking out nine to give the Phillies their first playoff victory since Game 5 of the 1993 World Series. Yovani Gallardo gave up three runs, none earned, while walking five. All three runs came in the third on

Chase Utley Chase Cameron Utley (born December 17, 1978), nicknamed "The Man" and "Silver Fox", is an American former professional baseball second baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 16 seasons, primarily for the Philadelphia Phillies. ...

's two-run double after a single and error by Rickie Weeks, then three consecutive walks forced in another run. Brad Lidge got his first save of the postseason, allowing one run (on

Ryan Braun Ryan Joseph Braun (born November 17, 1983) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played his entire career for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2007 to 2020. Braun also played right field and f ...

's double after a

Ray Durham Ray Durham (born November 30, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. He is a 14-year major league veteran owning a .277 lifetime batting average with 1,249 runs scored, 2,054 hits, 440 doubles, 79 triples, 192 home runs, 875 ...

single) and runners to advance to second and third with one out, before striking out

Prince Fielder Prince Semien Fielder (born May 9, 1984) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers, and Texas Rangers. He was selected in ...

and Corey Hart to end the game.

Game 2

A crowd of 46,208, the largest in the five-year history of

, came out to watch

Brett Myers Brett Allen Myers (born August 17, 1980) is an American singer and former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, Chicago White Sox, and Cleveland Indians. Born and r ...

pitch seven innings giving up two hits and two runs while striking out four and walking three to lead the Phillies to victory, giving them their first 2–0 playoff series lead since the

1980 World Series The 1980 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) season. The 77th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Philadelphia Phillies and the Ameri ...

against the Kansas City Royals. The Brewers in the first loaded the bases with one out on a double and two walks. A walk to J.J. Hardy forced in a run, but Corey Hart hit into an inning-ending double play.

CC Sabathia Carsten Charles Sabathia Jr. (born July 21, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the New York Yankees. He also played for the Cleveland Indians and Milwauk ...

pitched innings on three days' rest giving up all five runs in the second inning. Back-to-back one-out doubles by Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz tied the game. Myers had the key AB for the Phillies as he stretched the AB from a 1–2 count into a walk. It unnerved Sabathia and, after another walk loaded the bases,

Shane Victorino Shane Patrick Victorino (born November 30, 1980), nicknamed "The Flyin' Hawaiian", is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodger ...

gave the Phillies the lead. It was the first postseason grand slam in Phillies history. The Brewers scored one more run in the seventh when Hardy hit a leadoff double, moved to third on a fly out and scored on

Craig Counsell Craig John Counsell (born August 21, 1970) is an American former professional baseball player who is the manager for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Counsell became the Brewers' manager in May 2015; he became the longest-te ...

's groundout.

's eighth inning single off Ryan Madson was the Brewers' only other hit of the game. Brad Lidge retired the side in order in the ninth inning for his second save in as many games in the playoffs.

Game 3

Miller Park American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium used primarily for baseball. It is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, just southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Milwauk ...

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

With their backs against the proverbial wall, the Brewers sent out Dave Bush to quiet the Phillies in the first ever postseason game at Miller Park. His offense picked him up early, however, taking some pressure off with two runs in the bottom of the first when two walks and a wild pitch by Jamie Moyer put runners on second and third with one out, then a sacrifice fly by

, scoring

Mike Cameron Michael Terrance Cameron (born January 8, 1973) is an American former professional Major League Baseball outfielder. He played for the Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, B ...

, and J.J. Hardy's RBI single made it 2–0 Brewers. Their struggling bullpen held the door closed after Bush's departure, giving up no runs in innings. The Brewers added to their lead in the fifth when Cameron was hit by a pitch by

Clay Condrey Clayton Lee Condrey (born November 19, 1975) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies. Condrey featured five pitches: a sinker, cutt ...

, moved to third on a single and scored on

's sacrifice fly. The Phillies scored their only run of the game when Jayson Werth hit a leadoff triple off Dave Bush and scored on Ryan Howard's groundout off Mitch Stetter. After failing to score with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth, the Brewers tacked onto their lead on

Jason Kendall Jason Daniel Kendall (born June 26, 1974) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1996 through 2010 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, and Ka ...

's RBI single in the seventh off Scott Eyre with two on.

Salomón Torres Salomón Torres Ramirez (born March 11, 1972) is a Dominican former professional baseball player. He began his career in with the San Francisco Giants, and also played for the Seattle Mariners, Montreal Expos, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Milwaukee Br ...

was in a jam in the ninth, with the bases loaded and nobody out, but a double play that should've scored a run didn't because

did not slide into second base, and interference was called. Torres pitched out of the jam, and the Brew Crew won their first post-season game since Game 5 of the 1982 World Series.

Game 4

Brewers fans got

thundersticks Thundersticks, sometimes known as bambams, are long, narrow plastic balloons that are used as promotional noise makers. The noise is created when two thundersticks are struck together. They are most often used at sporting events. Origin and p ...

as they entered Miller Park for Game 4, but the real thunder was supplied by the Phillies' bats, winning their first post-season series since the 1993 NLCS with

Jimmy Rollins James Calvin Rollins (born November 27, 1978), nicknamed "J-Roll", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (–), Los Angeles Dodgers (), and Chicago White S ...

leading off the game on the sixth pitch off

Jeff Suppan Jeffrey Scot Suppan (; born January 2, 1975), is an American former professional baseball pitcher and current professional baseball coach who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, ...

with a solo home run, then in the third inning with

Pat Burrell Patrick Brian Burrell (born October 10, 1976), nicknamed "Pat the Bat", is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays, and San Francisco Giants. Bur ...

(three-run) and Jayson Werth (solo) hitting back-to-back home runs.

Joe Blanton Joseph Matthew Blanton (born December 11, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Kansas City Royals, Pi ...

struck out seven in six innings of one-run, five hit ball, the only run coming in the seventh on

's home run. Burrell hit his second home run of the game in the eighth off

Guillermo Mota Guillermo Reynoso Mota (born July 25, 1973) is a Dominican former professional baseball relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. In his career, he pitched for the Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, Cleveland Indians, New Yor ...

. The Brewers got a run in the bottom half when

singled with one out off Ryan Madson, moved to second on defensive indifference and scored on

's single, but

Brad Lidge Bradley Thomas Lidge (born December 23, 1976) nicknamed "Lights Out" is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Lidge played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 2002–2012. He played for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phi ...

again pitched the final inning to close the game, although it was not a save situation as the Phillies advanced to the NLCS with a 6–2 win. Burrell became only the second Phillies hitter in their history to hit two home runs in a playoff game, the other being

Lenny Dykstra Leonard Kyle Dykstra (; born February 10, 1963), is an American former professional baseball center fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets (1985–1989) and Philadelphia Phillies (1989–1996). Dykstra was a thre ...

. He is also only the fifth National League player to hit two home runs in a series clinching game, joining

Steve Garvey Steven Patrick Garvey (born December 22, 1948) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres from 1969 to 1987. Garvey was the National ...

( 1974 NLCS), Johnny Bench (

1976 World Series The 1976 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1976 season. The 73rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Cincinnati Reds and the Ameri ...

Fred McGriff Frederick Stanley McGriff (born October 31, 1963) is an American former first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for six teams from 1986 through 2004. He was one of the most consistently productive powers hitters of the 1990s, post ...

(

1995 NLDS The 1995 National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of the 1995 National League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 3, and ended on Saturday, October 7, with the champions of the three NL divisions—along with a "wild card" team� ...

), and

Carlos Beltrán Carlos Iván Beltrán (; born April 24, 1977) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1998 to 2017 for the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, New York Mets, San Fran ...

( 2004 NLDS).

Composite box

2008 NLDS (3–1): Philadelphia Phillies over Milwaukee Brewers

References

External links

LAD vs. CHC at Baseball-ReferencePHI vs. MIL at Baseball-Reference
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