Standing outside the cramped visitor's clubhouse at Dodger Stadium, a room that reeked from champagne and beer, Charlie Manuel recounted a conversation with his mother last Thursday.
"She said, 'Pray for me,'" he recalled. "Then, she said, 'Charles Jr., you're going to win these games, and you're going to go to the World Series.'" Last Friday, June Manuel died.
She was right, though. The Phillies concluded the National League Championship Series on Wednesday night with a 5-1 victory at Dodger Stadium, and advanced to the World Series for the first time since 1993 and only the sixth time in their 126-year history.
And her son was at the helm.
Manuel was slated to fly from Los Angeles to his native Buena Vista, Va., late Wednesday night. There will be a viewing for his mother on Thursday, followed by the funeral Friday morning. He will rejoin the Phillies on Friday for a workout at Citizens Bank Park and will be with the team in advance of the World Series, which will begin Wednesday night either in Tampa or Boston.
In the past week, Manuel has grieved in his own way, spending time alone whenever he can and speaking often with his siblings in Virginia. Asked before Wednesday night's game if it has been difficult to be so far from home, Manuel said, "To me, home seems very close. It's not too far that I can't get there, and I think that's what makes things easier at times."
PHILLIES 5, DODGERS 1: Cole Hamels allowed one run in seven innings and was named MVP of the NL Championship Series. The Phillies wrapped the series up with a Game 5 victory and will advance to their first World Series since 1993. Jimmy Rollins, 2-for-17 through the series' first four games, belted a leadoff home run in the first inning. Ryan Howard, who was 5-for-28 in the postseason entering Game 5, went 3-for-4 with one RBI. Hamels allowed five hits and struck out five. Brad Lidge pitched a scoreless ninth inning to secure the victory.
