In reality, the only truly “must” game in a postseason series is the last one. But finding themselves down after Game 1 for the first time since the 2007 NLDS vs. the Rockies, the Phillies knew the importance of winning last night.
“Our team has experience and has showed in the past it can be down and come back,” said Charlie Manuel prior to NLCS?Game 2. “It’s all up to us.”
“We can control where we’re going and what we’re going to do. Yeah, we lost the [first] game. We also won the three games in the division playoffs.
“It’s up to us to come back and play good today.”
In other words, panic is not in their vocabulary.
“We just have to regather our focus,” said Shane Victorino. “It’s a seven-game series. We have a long way to go.”
Or do they?
“Yeah, there’s urgency, because you don’t have 100 games to go,” conceded Victorino, “but you can’t add the extra pressure saying, `We’ve got to do it now.’
“The more you think about it, the more pressure you add to yourself. We’ve just got to go out there and find a way.’’
Phillies fans can take comfort in one thing. They usually do.
