Philadelphia Phillies: Top-10 moments from 2008 World Championship run

Victorino and Stairs lead Phillies to game four NLCS win

As the eighth inning rolled around in game four on the NLCS, the Dodgers had the Phillies on the ropes up 5-3. With a runner on first, Victorino stepped to the plate against Dodgers’ reliever Cory Wade.

Victorino wasted no time; Wade threw a 72 mile per hour curveball that hung just a bit too much. “The Flyin’ Hawaiian” turned on the offspeed pitch and lined one into right field. The ball quickly shot over the right field fence, and the Phillies had new life, tying the game up at five.

Two batters later Ruiz singled and then came pinch hitter Matt Stairs, who the Dodgers countered with Jonathan Broxton, then the rest is history.

Stairs quickly worked his way ahead in the count, and then Broxton delivered a 94 mile per hour fastball right over the heart of the plate. That pitch in which, “Stairs rips one into the night,” landed deep into the Dodger stadium seats.

That home run capped a four-run eighth inning for the Phillies which was the turning point in the series. If those two hits don’t happen and the Phillies lose that game, then the series is tied 2-2 and who knows what happens from there.

Thanks to clutch home runs from Stairs and Victorino, the Phillies didn’t have to worry about that possibility and went ahead 3-1. Where they then proceeded to close out the series in game five.