Moyer rocked by Dodgers in first inning
2nd-oldest pitcher to start a postseason game removed in 2nd
 Stephen Dunn / Getty Images Jamie Moyer walks off the field after being removed from the game in the second inning on Sunday. |
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LOS ANGELES - Jamie Moyer sure looked his age against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 45-year-old Philadelphia left-hander — the second-oldest pitcher to start a postseason game — put the Phillies in an early hole Sunday night and they never recovered.
Moyer gave up three singles and a run on his first five pitches, barely resembling the 16-game winner he was during the regular season.
“They came out swinging on him,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “They were not taking very many pitches. They hit some balls hard and also seemed like everything they hit went through for a hit.”
The Dodgers went on to a 7-2 victory that left them trailing the best-of-seven NLCS 2-1, with Game 4 on Monday night at Dodger Stadium. Neither team has won on the road in 11 meetings this season.
“We’ve got to come out tomorrow and hopefully pitch better,” Moyer said. “We’ve been pretty resilient all year. We came to play two and we’ll see what happens.”
The Phillies fell to 3-12 in Game 3 of playoff series, including 2-5 in the NLCS.
Moyer allowed six runs and six hits in 1 1-3 innings, and struck out two in his shortest outing since July 4, 1998, when he lasted one inning for Seattle at Texas.
His stint was also the shortest by a Phillies starter in a postseason game since Larry Christenson lasted one-third of an inning in Game 4 of the 1980 World Series against Kansas City.
Moyer’s pitch count (32) didn’t come close to equaling his age. At 45 years, 329 days, he became the oldest pitcher to start a league championship series, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
The aggressive Dodgers went after him from his first soft toss.
Manny Ramirez, who came in batting .340 lifetime against Moyer, lined a single to left that scored Rafael Furcal in the first inning.
Dodgers catcher Russell Martin was plunked on the left leg by Moyer’s pitch his first time up, setting the stage for both benches and bullpens to clear in the third after Los Angeles starter Hiroki Kuroda threw a pitch over Shane Victorino’s head.
Martin was hit with first base open, loading the bases for Casey Blake, who hit an RBI single.
“He’s a pitcher that definitely needs to get the count in his favor, and then he tries to expand the zone,” Martin said. “We were just being aggressive. He was throwing hittable pitches early in the count and we just jumped on them.”
One out later, Blake DeWitt, one of three left-handed batters in the lineup against Moyer, lined a 2-2 pitch with two outs into the right-field corner to cap the five-run inning.
“I was trying to throw something away and I went down the middle,” Moyer said. “That’s probably the monkey that broke my back.”
Moyer’s trademark patience couldn’t overcome his mistakes, with the Dodgers hitting his pitches in the 80-mph range like they were taking batting practice. He got help getting out of the first from the plate umpire, with Nomar Garciaparra and Matt Kemp taking called third strikes.
Furcal chased Moyer with a leadoff homer in the second that extended the Dodgers’ lead to 6-1. A grim-faced Moyer walked off the mound and took a seat in the dugout, where he watched his teammates fail to make much of a dent in their deficit.
Between innings, Moyer said he was thinking, “Hopefully I can get them to hit it at somebody in the second inning. I made some pretty good pitches in the first inning and they hit them, and one really poor pitch to DeWitt.”
Catcher Carlos Ruiz liked what he saw during Moyer’s warmup.
“I told the bullpen coach, ‘He’s got a good chance to go six, seven innings,”’ Ruiz said. “They came very aggressive. They were looking for a pitch to hit.”
Moyer made everyone forget his age with a strong regular season, racking up his most victories since 2003 and riding a six-game winning streak into the postseason. He won a career-high 10 games on the road, but that’s where he’s faltered in the postseason.
“It wasn’t his night,” Manuel said. “He’s been consistent all year long for us. He’s one of the reasons why we’re playing here.”
Moyer’s two losses in October dropped him to 3-3 in seven career postseason starts. He lost Game 3 of the division series 4-1 at Milwaukee, lasting just four innings and giving up four hits and two runs in the first inning.
Moyer has struggled at Dodger Stadium, where his latest loss dropped him to 1-4 in his career. His previous start in Los Angeles was a 10-3 defeat on July 16, when he again gave up three runs in the first inning.
The only pitcher older than Moyer to start a postseason game was Jack Quinn, who was 46 years, 99 days when he started Game 4 of the 1929 World Series for the Philadelphia Athletics.
It’s possible Moyer could return if the series stretches to a seventh game, and clearly the veteran would like a chance to redeem himself.
“I’ve pitched too many innings, pitched too many years. One game doesn’t make or break your career,” he said. “Obviously, it’s the playoffs and it’s magnified even far more. You got to handle it professionally and deal with the ups just like you deal with the downs.”
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