--LHP Cole Hamels watched from the Phillies' dugout Monday night as Dodgers RHP Derek Lowe made his fourth career start on short rest. Someday, perhaps, Hamels will do the same. For now, though, the Phillies haven't asked their ace lefty to pitch with less than the standard four days between starts, and pitching coach Rich Dubee said they probably won't until at least next season. Not after Hamels, frequently injured early in his career, finally stayed healthy for a full season and logged 227 1/3 innings, second-most in the National League. Likewise, Hamels said he hasn't volunteered to pitch on short rest, mostly because he knows the Phillies prefer to handle him with care. Hamels, who had never pitched more than 187 1/3 innings before this season, will start Game 5 on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium. "It wasn't even in my mind because they've convinced me or talked to me enough to where because of the workload I have gone through, they don't want to push me to my limit," Hamels said Monday night before Game 4. "I think pitching every five days is a good assessment of what I can do, and I can be at my best. I don't think they want to risk it with me trying to go an extra day early for one more win because it takes four."
--CF Shane Victorino ducked to avoid getting hit by a pitch in the third inning of Game 3. But he still got socked in the wallet. Victorino was fined $2,500 by Major League Baseball after exchanging words with Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda, who threw a pitch near his head. The situation escalated into a benches- and bullpen-emptying brawl. Phils reliever J.C. Romero was docked $1,000 for jawing with Manny Ramirez, while first-base coach Davey Lopes was fined $500 for chirping at Dodgers third-base coach Larry Bowa. Kuroda ($7,500), Ramirez ($2,500), Dodgers first-base coach Mariano Duncan ($1,000) and Bowa ($500) also received fines from MLB vice president Bob Watson. The players may appeal the fines through their union. The coaches don't have the same recourse. --SS Jimmy Rollins went 1-for-13 in the first three games of the NLCS. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel credited the Dodgers for changing their approach to how they pitch Rollins. "He's been kind of in-between at the plate, as far as between fastballs and breaking balls, and he's been late on fastballs and too early on slow stuff, especially when he chases it down off the plate," Manuel said. "His swing has not been short and quick like when he's hitting good. He can correct that." Rollins went 1-for-4 with a first-inning single in Game 4.
BY THE NUMBERS: 11 -- Postseason RBI for CF Shane Victorino.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "My whole career, even back in the early days, my approach was try to hit the ball out of the ballpark. And it's something I enjoyed doing. In batting practice, I try to hit every ball out of the ballpark. I'm not going to lie -- it's fun. I try to hit home runs and that's it. I'm not going to hit a single and steal second base. So I think the biggest thing is to get up there, swing hard and elevate." -- OF Matt Stairs after his game-winning homer in Game 4
