The Dodgers knocked Jamie Moyer out of the game. Then they almost knocked Shane Victorino on the seat of his uniform pants.
Retaliation was performed swiftly by the Dodgers on Sunday night, as they claimed a 7-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies and narrowed their deficit in the National League Championship Series to 2-1 in front of an announced crowd of 56,800 fans that the Dodgers called the largest ever to watch a baseball game at Dodger Stadium.
"We felt like we couldn't lose tonight," said Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda, who held the Phillies to two runs in six-plus innings to earn his second victory of the playoffs.
An offense that had been dormant for two games and was urged by Manager Joe Torre to "take the game to them" pounded the 45-year-old Moyer for six runs in 1 1/3 innings, three on a bases-loaded triple by Blake DeWitt in a five-run first inning and another on a solo home run by Rafael Furcal in the second.
And after a couple of pitches were thrown too far on the hitter's side of home plate for the Dodgers' liking -- Russell Martin was hit on the left knee by Moyer in the first and was dropped by an up-and-in pitch from reliever Clay Condrey in the second -- Kuroda threw one over Victorino's head that led to the clearing of the benches and emptying of the bullpens.
"We wanted to send a message," said Manny Ramirez, who had a pitch thrown behind his back by Phillies starter Brett Myers in Game 2 that elicited no response that day from the Dodgers' pitching staff.
They wasted no time Sunday sending either of the messages they wanted to send.
Moyer was the Dodgers' first victim, as he endured a five-run, five-hit first inning.
"He kept talking about bringing the game to them and being aggressive," Martin said, recalling the words of Torre in the wake of their Game 2 loss.
The Dodgers started their assault on Moyer with three consecutive singles, scoring on a hit to left field by Ramirez that drove in Furcal. Ramirez has driven in runs in his last seven league championship series games, a record.
Martin took a pitch on his leg to load the bases.
A one-out single by Casey Blake scored Andre Ethier, the bases remaining loaded, and after Matt Kemp struck out, DeWitt delivered his three-run triple into the right-field corner.
"I think it was a little better tonight," DeWitt said of the Dodgers' approach early in the game. "Everybody played great from the first pitch on."
