Phillies run right past Giants, 6-1, to even NLCS

Reporting from Philadelphia

The stop sign was up, but Roy Oswalt ran through it.

“I kind of threw my hands up on the top of my head, like, ‘Oh, no,’ ” said third base coach Sam Perlozzo, who signaled for Oswalt to not run home.

But Oswalt made it, scoring the first of the Philadelphia Phillies’ four runs in a decisive seventh inning that put them on their way to a 6-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series.

With the Phillies heading to San Francisco with the best-of-series tied, 1-1, they could reflect on their starting pitcher’s adventure on the basepaths and laugh, especially since that pitcher held the opposition to one run and three hits over eight innings.

“What the hell are we going to do, rope him?” Manager Charlie Manuel said. “I ain’t that good. I’m not a cowboy. I might look like one, talk like one, but I’m not one.”

Oswalt, who was driven in from second base on a single by Placido Polanco, said he didn’t see Perlozzo until he was halfway down the third base line.

Aside that miscue — or, perhaps, including that miscue — this was a night of redemption for Oswalt, the Phillies’ costly trade deadline acquisition.

Oswalt was pounded by the Cincinnati Reds in a division series start, as he was charged with four runs and five hits in five innings.

“I had a real good run on the ball tonight,” Oswalt said.

He wasn’t the only one to make amends.

Jimmy Rollins, who was one for 15 in the playoffs, was two for three. He drove in four runs, one on a bases-loaded walk in the first inning, and three on a bases-clearing double in the seventh that blew open the game.

“You figure out things,” Rollins said. “You solve problems.”

Ryan Howard, who hasn’t looked like himself for some time, was also two for three with a double and a walk. His presence at the Eagles football game at neighboring Lincoln Financial Field earlier in the day drew some attention, but like Oswalt’s ignoring of Perlozzo’s stop sign, was something to be laughed at by the end of the night.

“I’m a rebel, a reckless renegade,” Howard said.

The Phillies went into the game with a plan to make the effectively wild Jonathan Sanchez throw a lot of pitches, and the plan worked.

Sanchez struck out the side in the first inning, but three walks and an error by Mike Fontenot gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead.

The Giants tied the score, 1-1, in the fifth inning, when Cody Ross hit his fourth home run in three games.

Ross’ home run broke up Oswalt’s no-hitter. Home runs by Ross had also counted as the Giants’ first hits in each of their two previous games — he took Derek Lowe deep in the sixth inning of the a division series and did the same to Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay in the third inning on Saturday in Game 1.

But the Phillies struck back right away, as Shane Victorino led off the bottom of the inning with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Polanco.

Oswalt singled to lead off the seventh. He moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Victorino.

Then came his mad dash to the plate that extended the lead to 3-1.

Perlozzo’s stop sign turned out to be a decoy of sorts, as Giants first baseman Aubrey Huff said it made him cut off Andres Torres’ throw from center field.

“I actually thought the ball was going through, that he wasn’t going to have a chance,” Perlozzo said.

dylan.hernandez@latimes.com