Hamels's value was apparent

Dodgers baffled by lefthander

LOS ANGELES - The Philadelphia Phillies partied on the field at Dodger Stadium for more than a hour after last night's 5-1 victory in Game 5 of National League Championship Series. In the center of it was Cole Hamels, the talented lefthander who won two games in the series and was named MVP.

Hamels went 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA in the series with 13 strikeouts in 14 innings. Overall, he's 3-0 in this year's playoffs.

Shane Victorino, who has 11 RBIs in the postseason, gave credit to Jimmy Rollins for getting last night's game started with a home run.

"He did the same thing in Milwaukee [in the Division Series], a game that was crucial," said Victorino. "And leading off with a home run kind of threw the momentum our way."

There were many heroes for the Phillies, including Matt Stairs, who won Game 4 with a two-run homer in the eighth inning; Victorino, who had four RBIs in Game 2; and Brad Lidge, who saved three of the four wins and closed out last night's clincher.

Brett Myers won't have to make his Game 6 start, but he made his mark in Game 2 when he got the win and went 3 for 3 with three RBIs. Myers also threw behind Manny Ramírez's head in that game and was a contributor to the momentum the Phillies never surrendered.

The Phillies will play the first two games of the World Series in the American League city, which means Myers's offensive ability will be negated in his likely Game 2 start because of the designated hitter.

"Bad for me, good for them," he said. "No, I'm just kidding. The games will be easier for me to focus on just pitching rather than having to worry about going up there and hit and stuff like that."

Myers twisted his right ankle while running the bases in Game 2, but he said, "My ankle is fine. Just tape it up. I've been icing it. I should be ready to go."

Too soon to tell

Greg Maddux, who threw 38 pitches in relief of Chad Billingsley (the fifth NLCS pitcher to lose twice in a series that went five games) last night, said after the game he's not ready to make a decision on his future. Maddux, 42, said he would see what type of interest there is in his services and then consult with his family about possibly pitching one more season . . . What did Dodgers manager Joe Torre tell his players after the loss? "I told them I was proud to be their manager. This has been an up-and-down year. I think they learned to come together." Asked how the Phillies prevailed, Torre said, "They live by the homer and they die by the homer, and they got us this time." . . . Last night was the 20th anniversary of Dodger Kirk Gibson's walkoff homer against Dennis Eckersley and the A's in Game 1 of the World Series. Torre said, "I was watching it develop. I watched when Mike Davis stole second base and now all they need is a single and I remember talking to Kirk about this. Once [Davis] got to second base he said, 'Yeah, I was just looking for a single to left.' That's when the backdoor slider sort of stood there for him." . . . Phillies manager Charlie Manuel left for Roanoke, Va., after the game to attend the funeral tomorrow for his mother, June.