Oswalt, Rollins Lead Phillies over Giants, Tie NLCS at 1-1

Players of the Day for Sunday, October 17, 2010

National League

Roy Oswalt (left) allowed three hits and one earned run over 8 strong innings and Jimmy Rollins (right) drove in four runs as the Phillies evened the NLCS with the Giants at a game apiece with a 6-1 victory.

The Phillies got on the board in the first inning as Giant starter Jonathan Sanchez allowed the bases to be loaded before issuing a walk to Rollins. Sanchez was able to escape with just the one run, but Oswalt was hammer-tough on the mound, not allowing a hit until Cody Ross' solo homer in the 5th.

That turned out to be the only run the Giants could push across. In fact, Oswalt only allowed one runner past first, that being Pablo Sandoval, with two out in the 8th, but Oswalt finished his stint by getting Aubrey Huff on a line out to center. In addition to the three hits, Oswalt walked three but struck out nine Giants, including leadoff hitter, Andres Torres, four times.

Rollins, who went 2-for-3, completed the scoring with a bases-loaded double in the 7th, which put the game pretty much out of reach. His other hit was a 4th-inning pop-up which landed between the pitcher's mound and home plate as none of the Giant infielders made a commitment to catch it.

The series takes a day off Monday, resuming Tuesday in San Francisco, at 4:19 pm ET. Matt Cain goes up the bump for the Giants against Cole Hamels.

American League

The best-of-seven ALCS resumes Monday night in New York with the series tied 1-1. Texas sends Cliff Lee to the mound against Andy Pettitte, who will be looking to extend his post-season record for wins to 20. Lee, however, has never lost a post-season start, with six wins to his credit. Game time is 8:07 pm ET.