Phillies rough up Sabathia for 2-0 lead

PHILADELPHIA—With one more loss to the Phillies, CC Sabathia and the Milwaukee Brewers will have all winter to rest.
Brett Myers rankled Sabathia with a pesky at-bat, and dominated the rest of the Brewers from the mound, as Philadelphia beat Milwaukee 5-2 yesterday behind Shane Victorino’s grand slam for a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five NL playoff series.

“I don’t think starting on three days’ rest had anything to do with it,” Sabathia said. “I just didn’t make pitches when I needed to.”
Myers, meanwhile, allowed just two runs on two hits in seven innings, pulling the Phillies within one win of the NL championship series. Ryan Madson and J.C. Romero worked the eighth while Brad Lidge had a suspense-free ninth for a change.
Pitching on three days’ rest for the fourth-consecutive start, Sabathia had his worst outing since joining the Brewers in a trade with Cleveland on July 7.
The burly left-hander allowed five runs and six hits—all for extra bases—in 3 2/3 innings. He also walked four, his second-highest total of the season.
“When you’ve got a guy like CC on the ropes, you’ve got to take advantage,” Victorino said.
Now, Sabathia might have to wait six months for his next start. And, that might be in a different uniform. The 28-year-old will be one of the most sought-after free agents at the end of the season.
The Phillies are closing in on their first trip to the NLCS in 15 years. Game 3 is tomorrow night in Milwaukee, with 45-year-old Jamie Moyer (16-7) pitching for the NL East champions against Dave Bush (9-10).
Sabathia was 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA in 17 starts for Milwaukee—almost single-handedly leading the wild-card Brewers to their first post-season berth since 1982.
But he struggled in the playoffs—again. He’s lost his last three post-season starts, including two against Boston in last year’s ALCS. Overall, Sabathia is 2-3 with a 7.92 ERA in the playoffs.
“I just didn’t finish at-bats, finish innings,” Sabathia said.