While you were sleeping, the Phillies moved one win away from punching their ticket to a return trip to the NLCS.

If the Phils win today, it's a rematch with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

On Sunday night, the Phils most consistent pitcher all season, J.A. Happ, struggled. He was out of the game after three innings.

The Phillies least dependable pitcher, however, saved the game.

Brad Lidge, who has suffered through the worst year of his career following his best season, nailed down his first save opportunity of the postseason and gave Phils fans a reason to hope he can revive his '08 form for the rest of the month in a 6-5 win.

With the game-tying run on second, Lidge got two very big outs. Former MVP Jason Giambi, called on to pinch hit, fouled out to third; with two outs, Troy Tulowitzki hit a shallow fly ball to left to end the game.

Lidge used a cutter, a pitch he's thrown in the bullpen but hadn't trotted out in games until the last week of the regular season, to get Giambi out.

The game ended at 2:15 a.m. on the east coast. It was played through bitter cold temperatures - it was 35 degrees, tying a postseason record low, at first pitch.

But Ryan Howard's ninth-inning sac fly and Lidge's performance in the bottom of the inning made the portion of the 50,109 fans at Coors Field in Phillies red forget about the weather.

Since Sunday night's game ended after bars closed in Philly - and just before our papers printed - you won't read any reaction/quotes in today's paper.

So here is what was said and heard in the winning clubhouse after the victory that moved the Phils one win away from dispatching the Rockies.


Brad Lidge, on beginning a new chapter in 2009 with his first postseason appearance: "It felt great. I really feel like the last week or so I had a couple of outings at home and I felt real comfortable, real good. I kind of start to get that feeling again that things were going to go right... When the postseason starts, it's a completely new slate."



Shane Victorino, who moved Jimmy Rollins over on the ninth with a sac bunt, on Lidge: "There have been a lot of questions about who’s going to be the closer and who’s going to be the guy. All along I wanted Brad to have the ball. He came out tonight and showed what he was brought here to do, to close games.
You throw everything that’s happened this year, you throw that (stuff) out the door. It’s about right now. He did what he needed to do and that’s definitely big in crucial situations."


Ryan Madson, who surrendered the game-tying run in the seventh, on Lidge in the ninth: "It’s huge, especially here, he lives here and got to do it in front of a lot of family and friends. I bet her felt that support behind him. It was good to get him in there and have a good outing. Hopefully he’ll roll with that all the way. I’m happy for him... he got it done."


Ryan Howard, on Lidge: "He’s been in these situations before. You have ups and downs in a season. He had a perfect season last year and I think people may have expected him to continue that. But you have to be real. It wasn’t going to happen. But right now he’s there when we need him."


Chase Utley, on Lidge's save: "Brad was great. I felt like he had the game under control. When it got a little iffy there at the end he made some good pitches."


Howard, on his game-winning sacrifice fly and on a Phillies offense that's played fundamentally-sound baseball since the postseason began: "With a runner on third and less than two outs, I was just trying to get a good pitch to drive. I tried to stay up the middle of the field. I just tried to get than run home.

"Right now you have to do what you have to do to get runs home and win games. I think everyone looks at us as a team that’s going to hit a lot of home runs, but we know that’s not going to happen every time. We have to figure out ways to play some small ball and get runs in and get runs home."


Utley, who put the Phils in front 1-0 with a first-inning home run, on the offense's small ball approach in the ninth: "We have a very good team. We can do a lot of different things. We can hit home runs obviously. But guys can run, steal bases... we have good hitters."


J.A. Happ, who picked a bad time for arguably his worst start of the season: "
"I was close, but not quite there. It wasn’t what I expected of myself... It wasn’t obviously the position I wanted to put us in, but we did a great job of battling. (Joe) Blanton came in and did a great job. Everybody is picking each other up. It was a great win for sure."



Happ, on whether he thinks he could be available for Game 5 since the Phils may need a lefty after Scott Eyre left with an appearent ankle injury: "Yeah. Absolutely."