Dodgers vs. Phillies Game 3 live in-game updates

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TOP OF THE NINTH INNING (Phillies 11, Dodgers 0)

Chad Durbin replaces Lee. That’s modern big-league baseball for you. Lee is working on a 10-strikeout three-hitter, but his pitch count creeped over 110, so the manager goes to the bullpen. Durbin is assigned to protect an 11-run lead. Loretta lines to left. Furcal grounds to second. Belliard pops to the catcher. The best news for the Dodgers: They don’t have to face Lee in Game 4. The not-so-good news: They still have to face the Phillies’ batting order.

BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH INNING (Phillies 11, Dodgers 0)

Ronald Belasario now pitching for the Dodgers. Mark Loretta now playing third for the Dodgers. Belasario walks Ruiz. Lee steps to the plate to a loud ovation. It gets louder when Lee singles to center. Rollins grounds to first, both runners advancing. Victorino hits a three-run home run high over the right-field fence. Phillies lead, 11-0. You know what’s wrong with big-league baseball? No mercy rule. Utley follows with a single to right. When this is finished, will the Dodgers be too embarrassed to show up for Game 4? Utley takes second on a wild pitch. Howard grounds to first, Utley taking third. Werth grounds to third. Silver lining for the Dodgers: only one half-inning to go and the pain subsides.

TOP OF THE EIGHTH INNING (Phillies 8, Dodgers 0)

Loney strikes out. That’s three strikeouts in a row and nine for the night for Lee. Blake makes contact, flying out to right. Martin strikes out. Lee has faced 26 batters, two over the minimum for eight innings.

BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH INNING (Phillies 8, Dodgers 0)

Caray says ‘This has been a bittersweet night for Philadelphia fans.’ Bittersweet? Really? Where? Graphic shows the Eagles with nine points in an incredible loss to the Oakland Raiders. Very Philadelphia, that. Your baseball team is hammering the Dodgers in the league championship series and you’re complaining about the football team. Back to the baseball game, Howard leads off with a walk. Werth follows with a walk. That means a walk to the mound for Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt. Ibanez strikes out. Feliz grounds into a 5-4-3 double play.

TOP OF THE SEVENTH INNING (Phillies 8, Dodgers 0)

Belliard singles to right and takes second when Ethier grounds to second. Ramirez strikes out on a full-count pitch, which delights the home crowd no end. Kemp ends the threat, such as it is, by striking out.

BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH INNING (Phillies 8, Dodgers 0)

Ramon Troncoso becomes the Dodgers’ fourth pitcher of the night. He promptly strikes out Rollins and Victorino. Utley drives the ball to a farthest point of the park, Kemp hitting the center field fence as he reaches up and catches the ball.

TOP OF THE SIXTH INNING (Phillies 8, Dodgers 0)

Martin pops to right. Orlando Hudson, batting for Billingsley, flies to right. Furcal strikes out. TBS commentator Chip Caray says the way Lee is pitching, it looks like ‘this score will hold up.’ Unless, of course, the Phillies score more runs.

BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH INNING (Phillies 8, Dodgers 0)

Sager has the scoop from the fans behind the Phillies dugout: No one was hurt by Victorino’s flying bat. No, Phillies bats only hurt Dodgers. Howard flies to right. Werth strikes out. Ibanez walks. Feliz, hitless so far in the NLCS, ends that streak with a bang, crashing the ball off the scoreboard in right for a triple. Ibanez scores, giving Philadelphia a 7-0 lead. Ruiz singles to center, Feliz scores. Phillies have eight runs on eight hits. Lee strikes out.

TOP OF THE FIFTH INNING (Phillies 6, Dodgers 0)

Ramirez flares a single to right. The Phillies simply cannot stop Manny. Kemp strikes out. Loney forces Ramirez at second. Blake grounds to second. Score from the football game: Falcons 14, Bears 7.

BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH INNING (Phillies 6, Dodgers 0)

Lee and Rollins fly to center. Victorino swings at a 1-0 pitch, misses, and loses his grip on his bat, which lands in the seats behind the home dugout. Dodgers have a brainstorm: Have Victorino finish his at-bat without a bat. Heck, let that be the rule for all Phillies hitters from here on out. Alas, there are no takers on the proposal. Victorino proceeds to walk. See, he didn’t need a bat. Utley grounds to second. Billingsley has not allowed a hit in 2 1/3 innings of work.

TOP OF THE FOURTH INNING (Phillies 6, Dodgers 0)

Furcal strikes out. Belliard grounds to first. Ethier grounds to second. Lee has retired eight batters in a row. Dodgers are playing as if they’re trying to get this one over as soon as possible. Wonder who’s winning the Sunday night football game.

BOTTOM OF THE THIRD INNING (Phillies 6, Dodgers 0)

Ibanez grounds to second. Feliz hits a broken-bat grounder to short. Ruiz flies to right. A Dodgers pitcher completes a 1-2-3 inning! Let the second-guessing start now: Should Torre have started Billingsley? Discuss among yourselves.

TOP OF THE THIRD INNING (Phillies 6, Dodgers 0)

With the Dodgers needing (lots of) base runners, Casey Blake opens the inning by striking out. Russell Martin hits a one-hopper back to Lee. Torre needs some innings out of Billingsley so he lets his pitcher bat. His pitcher strikes out.

BOTTOM OF THE SECOND INNING (Phillies 6, Dodgers 0)

Has Kuroda finally settled down? The quick answer? No. Carlos Ruiz, Phillies catcher and No. 8 hitter, drives a ball deep into the left-center gap for a double. After eight hitters, the Phillies have already hit for the cycle. There’s action up in the Dodgers bullpen. Lee sacrifices succesfully, Ruiz moving to third. Kuroda’s first three pitches to Rollins are balls. Pitch No. 4 . . . finally, a strike. Rollins drills a fastball down the first base line, just beyond the diving reach of Loney. Result: RBI double, Dodgers trail, 5-0. With one out in the second inning, Torre goes to his bullpen, turning Game 3 of the National League Championship Series to Scott Elbert. Elbert’s first three pitches to Victorino are balls. Then, finally, a strike. Then, of course, another ball and Victorino walks. Chad Billingsley warming up in the bullpen. Elbert, looking very nervous, uncorks a wild pitch, Rollins moving to third and Victorino to second. Elbert walks Utley too . . . to load the bases for Howard. Howard hits a slow roller to Loney, who makes the tag. Runners move up, Rollins scoring on the play. Torre goes to the mound to bring on his third pitcher of the game, Billingsley. Billingsley gets two strikes on Werth. Repeat: A Dodger pitcher gets ahead on the count. Billingsley strikes out Werth to finally end the inning. Phillies lead, 6-0, after two innings. Phillies are on pace to win Game 3, 24-0.

TOP OF THE SECOND INNING (Phillies 4, Dodgers 0)

Manny Ramirez grounds a single to center. Matt Kemp, moved down in the lineup by Manager Joe Torre for this game, hits a broken bat flare to second baseman Utley. Loney grounds into a 3-6-3 double play.

BOTTOM OF THE FIRST INNING (Phillies 4, Dodgers 0)

Jimmy Rollins leads off with a routine fly to right. Shane Victorino singles to right and steals second. Chase Utley singles to right, Victorino thinks about testing Ethier’s throwing arm with a sprint toward home, but is held at third by third base coach Sam Perlozzo. Two men on base with Ryan Howard up. This is not shaping up as a triumphant return to the mound for Kuroda. Howard triples into the right field corner, Victorino and Utley scoring. Ethier is getting a workout chasing down Phillies base hits. Jayson Werth spares Ethier more exertion by hitting one deep over the center field wall. Two-run home run. That’s four consecutive hits for the Phillies and a 4-0 Philadelphia lead. Kuroda finally settles down enough to strike out Raul Ibanez and get Pedro Feliz to ground to third. But Kuroda has put the Dodgers into a deep and early hole.

TOP OF THE FIRST INNING (Dodgers 0, Phillies 0)

It’s cold in Philadelphia, 46 degrees at game time, about 50 degrees colder than the temperature at Dodger Stadium for Game 2. That has caused players to test various types of cold-weather gear, including ski masks that cover everything but the eyes and caps with ear flaps. TBS field reporter Craig Sager shows them all, noting that the equipment can impair communication. That must have been what happened Friday night when Angels Chone Figgins and Erick Aybar looked at each other and let a pop fly fall. Good news at game time: no rain. Cliff Lee, an American League Cy Young Award winner last year, is the Phillies’ No. 3 starter for this series. He opens by getting Rafael Furcal to fly out to left. Ronnie Belliard also flies to left, Raul Ibanez making a sliding catch. Andre Ethier strikes out.

-- Mike Penner

PRE-GAME

With the series tied, 1-1, Hiroki Kuroda takes the mound for the Dodgers to face Cliff Lee. Kuroda, who hasn’t pitched since Sept. 28, doesn’t figure to be able to give the Dodgers more than six innings.

But if it comes down to a battle of the bullpens, you would have to favor the Dodgers, as the Phillies’ bullpen has been erratic all season.

Game 3 is scheduled for 5 p.m. Pacific and you can follow Mike Penner’s live in-game updates right here.

You can follow Diane Pucin’s live commentary on how TBS is handling the telecast of Game 3 here.