Wikipedia:
2007 National League Division Series |
The 2007 National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of the 2007 National League playoffs, began on Wednesday, October 3 and ended on Saturday, October 6, with the champions of the three NL divisions and one wild card team participating in two best-of-five series. They were:
- (1) Arizona Diamondbacks (Western Division champions, 90-72) vs. (3) Chicago Cubs (Central Division champions, 85-77); Diamondbacks win series, 3-0.
- (2) Philadelphia Phillies (Eastern Division champions, 89-73) vs. (4) Colorado Rockies (Wild Card qualifier, 90-73); Rockies win series, 3-0.
Colorado earned the wild card after winning a one-game playoff with San Diego. Although the division winner with the best record normally plays the wild card team, the Diamondbacks played the Cubs, rather than the wild card Rockies, because the league does not pair teams from the same division against each other in the division series.
Both series represented the first time the opponents had met in the postseason, and the Rockies' victory was their first in any postseason series. The Diamondbacks and the Rockies met in the NL Championship Series, with the Rockies becoming the National League champion and going on to face the American League champion in the 2007 World Series. This was the first time under the expanded playoffs format first used in 1995 that two teams from the National League's Western Division had played against one another in the NLCS.
Managers:
- Bob Melvin, Arizona; Lou Piniella, Chicago
- Charlie Manuel, Philadelphia; Clint Hurdle, Colorado
Umpires:
- Ed Montague, Sam Holbrook, Greg Gibson, Mike Everitt, Mike Reilly, Mark Carlson (Diamondbacks-Cubs)
- Dale Scott, Jim Reynolds, Chuck Meriwether, Jeff Kellogg, Derryl Cousins, Ed Hickox (Phillies-Rockies)
Television:
| Series | Network(s) | Play-by-play | Color Commentator |
| Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Chicago Cubs | TBS:HD | Dick Stockton | Ron Darling |
| Philadelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rockies | TBS:HD | Don Orsillo | Joe Simpson |
Matchups
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Chicago Cubs
- Arizona won series, 3-0
Game 1, October 318-game winners Carlos Zambrano and Brandon Webb matched each other pitch for pitch in the opening game of the series. Stephen Drew's 4th inning home run stood as the game's only run until Ryan Theriot's run-scoring single in the 6th tied the game. Unfortunately for Chicago, that would be all their offense as Carlos Marmol would take the loss, allowing a home run to Mark Reynolds and a sacrifice fly to Conor Jackson in relief of Zambrano. José Valverde threw a hitless 9th inning to save the game for Arizona.
HRs: ARI – Stephen Drew (1), Mark Reynolds (1). Game 2, October 4
HRs: CHC – Geovany Soto (1) ARI – Chris Young (1) Game 3, October 6Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois Three solo home runs from Chris Young, Eric Byrnes, and Stephen Drew behind 6 innings pitched (1 run on 5 hits) from Liván Hernández, and 4 double plays turned on defense put Game Three out of reach for the Chicago Cubs who were swept out of the post-season by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
HRs: ARI – Chris Young (2), Eric Byrnes (1), Stephen Drew (2) Philadelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rockies
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Game 1, October 3Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 17 and 15-game winners Jeff Francis and Cole Hamels began the 2007 postseason by retiring the side in order. The face of the game quickly changed in the second frame when Todd Helton tripled to center field in his first career postseason plate appearance. RBI hits by Garrett Atkins and Yorvit Torrealba and a bases-loaded walk by rookie Troy Tulowitzki earned the Rockies a three-run lead that was never relinquished. Matt Holliday homered in the 8th inning to provide insurance after consecutive home runs by Aaron Rowand and Pat Burrell to lead off the Phillies' half of the 5th. The Phillies wasted an ultimately solid effort from Hamels, who walked four in 6.2 frames but did not allow a hit after the decisive second inning. Manny Corpas picked up the save for Colorado.
HRs: COL – Matt Holliday (1) PHI – Aaron Rowand (1), Pat Burrell (1) Game 2, October 4Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Troy Tulowitzki and Matt Holliday hit consecutive one-out home runs in the first inning off Phillies rookie starter Kyle Kendrick to set the tone for game 2. The Rockies' runs were quickly answered by virtue of Jimmy Rollins' lead-off home run; Rockies starter Franklin Morales, coming off his own rookie season, would then surrender the lead in the second inning to run-scoring hits from Rollins and catcher Carlos Ruiz. That lead then vanished two innings later when Kaz Matsui hit a 2-out grand slam off Phillies reliever Kyle Lohse. Philadelphia loaded the bases in the 8th inning, but Manny Corpas earned a four-out save in stranding all three runners, sealing the Rockies' 10-5 victory. Matsui was a single short of hitting for the cycle.
HRs: COL – Troy Tulowitzki (1), Matt Holliday (2), Kazuo Matsui (1) PHI – Jimmy Rollins (1), Ryan Howard (1) Game 3, October 6Not even a computer malfunction plunging Coors Field into darkness for 14 minutes could stop the roll the Rockies have been on since the middle of September. Kazuo Matsui got the Rockies on the board in the bottom of the 5th with an RBI triple, scoring Yorvit Torrealba from first with the game's first run. Shane Victorino broke the Phillies scoring drought with a solo home run to right in the top of the 7th. After being released mid-season by the Red Sox, J.C. Romero became one of the most reliable bullpen arms for the Phillies down the stretch by not giving up a single run in 15⅔ innings pitched in September. Unfortunately for Philadelphia in Game Three, Romero faltered and surrendered the go-ahead run by Jeff Baker in the bottom of the 8th. Manny Corpas came on to nail down his 3rd consecutive save in the 9th, sealing the series sweep. Colorado became the first team to sweep Philadelphia in a postseason series since Cincinnati did so in the 1976 NLCS.
HRs: PHI – Shane Victorino (1) Quotes
See alsoReferences
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