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Two days since Jimmy Rollins, authoring one of the signature moments in Philadelphia sports history, redirected Jonathan Broxton's 99 mph blazer to right-center and then, awash in giddy glory, proceeded to be pounded into cookie dough by teammates.
Two days since Ryan Howard, despite the fact that the witching hour had long since passed, lingered in the clubhouse wearing a neon smile as he pondered an improbable 5-4 victory and a commanding 3-1 lead in this NLCS.
"It looked like we were dead in the water," he said. "Biggest win we've had this year."
Two days since Carlos Ruiz's dusty, delirious game-winning slide across home plate prompted this sign from the frenzied faithful:
"No Dodger Blue in Red October."
And two days since Dodgers' manager Joe Torre, defiant in defeat, promised his team would indeed show up for Game 5.
"They still have to win four games," he said with a nod toward the Phils.
Two days, and still the unforgettable events of Monday night resonated. A Dodger victory would have tied the series, would have put an enormous burden on inconsistent Cole Hamels to win Wednesday, to save the world champs from a season on the brink.
At precisely 8: 07 p.m. on an apple-crisp evening, an evening pulsating with energy and excitement and expectations, Hamels unfurled the first pitch of Game 5 — a 90 mph fastball — to Rafael Furcal.
And with that, the hunt for Red October was renewed.
From the first base dugout, Charlie Manuel chomped down on his gum and studied Hamels closely. The Phils skipper said beforehand the tip-off to whether his former ace would return to form would be tied to two factors — location and first-pitch strikes.
"When he has trouble, the fastball will be up and out of the strike zone," Manuel said. "If he's throwing good low fastballs and getting ahead in the count, he's going to be tough."
Ryan Madson figured it wouldn't take long to find out if the lefty was all right.
"Sometimes, in the first inning or so, he runs into a little bit of trouble," the Phils' reliever said. "If he can overcome (it) and not get too angry with himself, keep (his) composure out there, he's usually pretty good."
Hamels fell behind on the first three hitters. Amid chants of "Beat L.A.!" he recovered to fan Furcal and retire Ronnie Belliard on a fly to right. Andre Ethier silenced the SRO crowd with a homer, and Manny Ramirez singled to right on the next pitch.
Suddenly, you remembered Madson's words about composure.
Hamels regrouped. He threw 23 pitches that first frame, and his 16th strike froze Matt Kemp for the final out. The Phils trailed, but deficits fuel the fire of this team. What was it that J-Roll had said in the early morning hours following Game 4?
"We believe in ourselves, we believe in our ability," Rollins said. "We know there are 27 outs. And just because you have two strikes and two outs, things can still happen. All it takes is a slip-up of a pitch, one swing of the bat, an error, anything to get the ball rolling. And as long as you continue to believe, good things will happen."
Good things happened for the Fightin's in the bottom of the first. Jayson Werth jump-started the offense with a three-run blast off ex-Phil Vicente Padilla. L.A. responded in the second via James Loney's leadoff homer. Pedro Feliz countered, punching Padilla's first pitch high into the South Philly sky to start the bottom of the inning.
It was that kind of night in the City of Brotherly Shove.
Spurred on by the towel-twirlers, Hamels found his groove. Last year's postseason MVP pounded the strike zone and retired eight straight. He whiffed Ethier; jammed Manny. He clung to a 4-2 lead, but the Dodgers were making him work — 76 pitches through four.
Leading 6-2 in the fifth, Hamels gave up his third homer, this to Orlando Hudson. A double by Furcal followed. It came on Hamels' 94 pitch of the night, and with the meat of the Dodger order due up, Manuel made a trip to the mound. He had seen enough.
Champagne was chilling in the Phils' clubhouse. Hamels was chillin' in the dugout.
It wasn't where he wanted to be. But he had helped carry the champs a step closer to where they hoped to be.
