NLCS: Carlos Ruiz I

PHILADELPHIA - The night will be remembered for the home runs by Chase Utley and Pat Burrell and the pitching of Cole Hamels but it was the lesser-known man behind the plate that also played a key role in shutting down the Dodgers in the Phillies' 3-2 victory in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on  Thursday.

Panamanian catcher Carlos Ruiz called a strong game for the Phillies, as he always does. He also had two hits in three at-bats.

"Carlos brings a lot of confidence out there which is huge for a pitcher and catcher relationship," Phillies reliever Ryan Madson said. "He doesn't think he knows it all and we always talk after the game. He's great to work with and he calls a good game."

With Ruiz behind the plate, Hamels allowed six hits and two runs in seven innings for the victory. Madson allowed one hit in his inning pitched and closer Brad Lidge pitched a perfect ninth for the save to seal the victory.

Ruiz's plan of attack was simple: throw strikes.

"Our strategy was to be aggressive and attack the strike zone early," Ruiz said. "We started off a little slow but (Hamels) worked really hard to keep us in the game. He kept them to two runs and our offense was able to come back. I think we did a good job overall."

The Dodgers scored first in the first inning on a double (near-home run) off the center field wall by Manny Ramirez. The Dodgers left fielder finished 2-for-4 but would not hit with a runner on base after the first inning.

"I didn't know if (Ramirez) really got it that well, but he put some backspin on it and it took off," Hamels said. "I thought maybe it would have been off the wall a little bit lower, not the very top.  I'm just lucky enough it didn't go out, because it definitely helped out and definitely put us in a better favor than down 2‑0 instead of 1‑0."

The Phillies rallied in style. Trailing 2-0, Utley hit a two-run home run to tie the game in  the sixth. One out later, Burrell followed with what turned out to be the game-winning home run.

Then it became interesting.

With the Phillies up 3-2, Madson replaced Hamels to start the eighth inning and immediately struck out Andre Ethier. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel strolled to the plate with Ramirez on his way to the plate.

It was a quick conversation. Ruiz was in the middle of it.

"I wanted to make sure we knew how to pitch him and what we wanted to do," Manuels said. "I definitely didn't want to say nothing negative, but at the same time I wanted to stay positive and reinforce how we wanted to pitch him.  Manny was the tying run, and he wasn't the winning run."

Ramirez lined out to third base for the second out of the inning.

"Our strategy with Manny was to keep the ball low and throw good strikes," Ruiz said. "(Hamels) didn't get the location in the first inning and you have to give credit to Manny for being such a good hitter. He got a hit and that's part of baseball. But if we can keep him from batting with runners on base that is going to be important for us."