Francisco Blasts Phils to Game 3 Win

Ben Francisco came through in a "pinch" to lead the Phillies to a 3-2 win in Game 3 of the NLDS as the Phillies closed to within one win of advancing to their fourth-straight NLCS.

Francisco hit a two-out, pinch-hit homer in the top of the seventh to get the Phillies on the board against Cardinals lefty Jaime Garcia (0-1). Up to that point the Phillies had managed just four singles off the tough St. Louis lefty.

Francisco's shot was only his second hit in 19 postseason at-bats and 13 plate appearances against Garcia.

"I knew the way the game was going I was probably going to be in there to pinch-hit off a lefty," Francisco said. "Got up there with a runner in scoring position, I was just trying to get a hit up the middle and he left one up and luckily it got out of here."

Francisco’s blast made a winner of Cole Hamels (1-0) who used 117 pitches while allowing five hits and three walks while striking out eight in six shutout innings.

Once Hamels was gone, rookie Vance Worley allowed three hits and a run in an inning-plus of work. After Brad Lidge failed to get an out, Ryan Madson came on for a five-out save. Mad Dog worked out of a one-out bases-loaded jam in the eighth by getting a double play before allowing a run in the ninth.

But Madson got Ryan Theriot to groundout (the pesky infielder’s first out of the day) to end the game.