Homer-happy Phils beat Dodgers 8-6 in NLCS opener

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Brad Lidge(notes) and the Philadelphia Phillies picked up where they left off a year ago against the Dodgers in the NL championship series.

Carlos Ruiz(notes) and Raul Ibanez(notes) hit three-run homers, reliever Ryan Madson(notes) got a key out and Lidge finished the Phillies’ 8-6 victory over Los Angeles in Game 1 Thursday night.
Manny Ramirez(notes) homered, but grounded out weakly with two runners on against a struggling Madson to end the Dodgers’ two-run rally in the eighth. They stranded 10 runners in the game.

“It’s like a prize fight, we just came up a little short,” Dodgers manager Joe Torre said.

Lidge then worked around a single and a walk in the ninth, helped by a double play that made him for 3 for 3 in save chances this postseason—he posted three saves against the Dodgers in last year’s NLCS.

England 3-0 Belarus

England rounded off an impressive World Cup qualifying campaign with a comfortable victory over Belarus at Wembley.

Peter Crouch pressed home his claims for a place in the squad for South Africa by taking advantage of Wayne Rooney's absence to spearhead a new-look England attack and score twice.


He put England ahead in the fourth minute when he slid home a cross from Aston Villa's Gabriel Agbonlahor as Fabio Capello's side swiftly took control against a poor Belarus side.

Shaun Wright-Phillips, another member of Capello's undercard still with much to prove as the countdown to the World Cup continues, added the second after 59 minutes following a short corner from substitute David Beckham.

Playing for Davies, US draws with Costa Rica 2-2

American players wanted to win for Charlie. They didn’t, but it sure felt like a victory when the United States scored with just seconds remaining in its final World Cup qualifier.

After Jonathan Bornstein’s goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time gave the United States a 2-2 tie against Costa Rica on Wednesday night, players took a victory lap. They carried a banner with the No. 9, the jersey number of Charlie Davies, their teammate who is hospitalized with serious injuries from an automobile accident.

“We used Charlie’s situation to motivate us,” goalkeeper Tim Howard said. “We’re happy he was alive, and that in itself gave us a lift. Charlie would give anything at this moment to put on a jersey and have it all back. You almost kind of feel lucky and privileged, and that was kind of motivation to us.”