One For Each “P” Team, Thus Far

The first ever Philadelphia vs San Diego major North American sports league post-season entity stands at a game apiece after the Phils “opened” (2-0), but dissipated an early (4-0) lead and lost (8-5), dropping their game 2 NLCS record to (2-8), (0-4) on the road (’77, ’83 and ’09 all vs L.A., the same 111 wins franchise that lost to S.D. days back, were the other game 2 NLCS road losses.)

This NLCS shifts to Philly for a Friday game 3 of the NLCS, this at night, exactly 45 years and 2 weeks after the incredible L.A. comeback win that year and a scant 2 weeks after the Phils replicated the “trailed by 2 runs/T9” L.A. road comeback in the 12/8 series opener at St. Loo.–(eerily exactly 45 years later).

San Diego won its previous 2 NLCS, winning 3 straight home tilts after losing the first two at Wrigley Field in Chicago vs the Cubs in ’84 and going up (3-0) in an eventual 6 game NLCS triumph vs the Braves in ’98. In the latter series S.D. went (3-0) at Atlanta.

In the subsequent World Series, first the wire to wire (they got off to a (35-5) start) ’84 Tigers 5’d the “P-Pads,” winning the opener at S.D. and #’s (3-5) in Detroit, before the 114 “reg” wins (125 total) ’98 Yankees swept them.

Philadelphia is (5-4) in previous NLCS, losing in their first 3 (’76-’78), winning their next 5 (’80,’83,’93,’08 and ’09–they “titled” in ’80 and ’08, the franchise’s only such triumphs) before losing in 2010 to the first of 3 straight “odd year” S.F. Giants’ World Series winners under manager, Bruce Bochy.

The Phillies lost both #2 and the NLCS in ’76,’77, and’78. They lost in ’10 after getting a series squaring home win in game 2.

They won the NLCS despite losing #2 in ’80,’83, ’93 and ’09. In ’08, the only time they went up (2-0) in NLCS play and just the second time in what is now an aggregate 17 Phils’ LCS or World Series, that a Phils’ LCS or World Series stood (2-0) Phils, they 5’d L.A. en route to that second crown.

Steve Garvey, whose teams went (5-0) in LCS play (L.A. won in ’74,’77,’78 and ’81–S.D. in ’84) with him as LCS MVP, 10 years apart in ’74 and ’84, hit a dramatic game winning home run for S.D. in the Saturday night #4 vs the Cubs in the ’84 NLCS.

Essentially Steve and his teams could be “nominated” but not “elected,” as they were (1-4) in World Series play, the lone triumph by the Dodgers in strike marred 1981.