| Newsday, Melville, N.Y. Oct. 10--PHILADELPHIA -- Move over, Manny. The Phillies can be dangerous, too. Even without the dreadlocks and head-scratching behavior. SAVE MONEY ON TRAVEL DEALS With so much hype surrounding Manny Ramirez, it was Chase Utley and Pat Burrell who changed the course of last night's game with a few powerful swings in the sixth. Utley smacked a tying two-run homer and Burrell finished the Dodgers' Derek Lowe with the go-ahead blast to give the Phillies a 3-2 victory in Game 1 of the NLCS at Citizens Bank Park. Ramirez and Lowe -- both potential free agents-to-be -- are auditioning for their next contracts this month, but neither could prevent his current team from slipping into a 1-0 hole in this best-of-seven series. Ramirez went 2-for-4 with an RBI double and has hit safely in 39 of 44 postseason games. Lowe allowed six hits and three runs in 5 1/3 innings. Brad Lidge, 41-for-41 during the regular season, earned his third straight save of these playoffs with a perfect ninth. Cole Hamels allowed six hits and two runs in seven innings as he improved to 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA in three career postseason starts. Lowe was 7-1 with a 1.41 ERA in his last 11 starts, including the NLDS victory over the Cubs, and 5-0 with a 0.85 ERA in his previous seven. He also had been unfazed in the past by hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park, where he was 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA and had held the Phillies to a .216 average. After five scoreless innings, Lowe was on his way to staying unbeaten in Philly. But he didn't survive the sixth. The inning got off to an ominous start when the usually accurate Rafael Furcal threw high and wide on Shane Victorino's grounder and the ball kicked off James Loney's glove for a two-base error on the shortstop. Next up was Utley, who had a .154 average (4-for-26) in six previous playoff games. He crushed the first pitch for a tying two-run homer, and as he circled the bases, Lowe yelled at himself. Said Utley, "He was pitching very well. He was keeping the ball down. He had a great sinker and slider. The pitch I hit was probably middle of the zone in terms of height. That's not really up, but for Derek Lowe, a sinker guy, it was up a little bit." Said Lowe, "That pitch to Utley, I pretty much knew he was going to swing at the first pitch. I should be better than that. It was a flat sinker over the plate. Sometimes you're better off throwing a non-competitive pitch. My instincts were right and I should have thrown a different pitch. All in all, it was one of those frustrating games. Even though it was close, you feel like you can do better." His night would soon get worse. One out later, Burrell ripped a line drive over the short wall in leftfield. Ramirez did little more than turn and watch. The Phillies had handled Ramirez fairly well before last night. He batted .212 (7-for-33) against them with eight strikeouts during the regular season, and Charlie Manuel suggested that his pitching staff would not necessarily back down to him. In short, he wasn't likely to get the full Bonds treatment. "I look at Manny in this series like Barry Bonds", Manuel said on the eve of Game 1. "He'll put some pressure on you, especially in big situations in the game, and he's got a chance to do something big in the moment and beat you. "But if we play seven games, it's pretty hard to walk Manny 28 times. There's going to be times, of course, when first base is open, and more than likely, he's going to be put on." In the first inning, Manuel failed to heed his own advice, and Ramirez burned the Phillies for it. With one out, Andre Ethier lined a double to leftfield, and first base was just sitting there waiting for Ramirez to occupy it. But Hamels went right at him, and after a checked-swing strike, Ramirez drilled the next pitch to deep centerfield. The ball caromed off the chain-link fence that runs along the top of the wall, and the Dodgers had a 1-0 lead. Another 10 feet to the left or right, and Ramirez would have had a two-run homer. NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES Los Angeles vs. Philadelphia Phillies lead series, 1-0 Last night: Phillies 3, Dodgers 2 Today: Dodgers (Billingsley 16-10) at Phillies (Myers 10-13), 4:35 p.m. Sunday: Phillies (Moyer 16-7) at Dodgers (Kuroda 9-10), 8:22 p.m. Monday: Phillies (Blanton 4-0) at Dodgers (TBA) 8:22 p.m. Oct. 15: at Dodgers, 8:22 p.m. Oct. 17: at Phillies, 8:22 p.m. Oct. 18: at Phillies, 8:22 p.m. if necessary All games on Ch. 5
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