Werth’s homer, Howard’s triple give Phillies early 6-0 lead over LA in NLCS Game 3

Werth, Howard give Phils early 6-0 lead in Game 3

PHILADELPHIA — Jayson Werth’s two-run homer and Ryan Howard’s two-run triple gave the Philadelphia Phillies a 6-0 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers after three innings Sunday night in Game 3 of the NL championship series.

Jimmy Rollins’ RBI double in the second inning made it 5-0 and chased Hiroki Kuroda. While the Los Angeles pitchers struggled, Phillies starter Cliff Lee cruised.

With the series tied at 1, Game 3 began on a brisk 46-degree night with players wearing long sleeves. They left the sunscreen and the balmy, 90-degree temperatures behind at Dodger Stadium.

The Phillies brought their bats and rocked Kuroda, making his first start since Sept. 28, in the first inning.

Shane Victorino, who exchanged heated words with Kuroda in last year’s NLCS, singled to right and stole second. Chase Utley started to make up for two costly throwing errors in the first two games with a single, sending Victorino to third.

Known more for his mammoth homers than legging out extra-base hits, Howard hustled out of the box on a shot into the right-field corner. His headfirst slide into third gave him his first career postseason triple and the Phillies a 2-0 lead. Howard extended his postseason RBI streak to seven straight games and he has reached base in 16 straight.

Werth followed with a shot into the shrubs beyond the center-field wall for his first postseason homer of 2009 that sent the fans into a frenzy and made them forget about the chilly temperatures.

Kuroda was unavailable for the division series against St. Louis because of a herniation in his cervical spine. He had already sat out two months with an oblique strain and another three weeks after he was struck by a line drive.

He was finished after recording just four outs.

Rollins drove in Carlos Ruiz, who doubled to lead off the second inning. Scott Elbert relieved Kuroda and didn’t fare any better.

He walked Victorino, threw a wild pitch, and walked Utley to load the bases. Howard’s RBI groundout made it 6-0.

Exit Elbert, enter Chad Billingsley.

Lee picked up early where he left off in the division series. After going 1-0 and allowing two earned runs in 16 1-3 innings against Colorado, the left-hander again was in control.

Andre Ethier batted in the first with chants of “Let’s Go Phillies!” echoing throughout Citizens Bank Park. The bundled-up fans dressed in their Phillies red energetically waved their white rally towels and erupted when Ethier went down swinging.

The Phillies beat the Dodgers last year in the NLCS in five games and went on to defeat Tampa Bay in the World Series.

Former Phillies Vicente Padilla and Randy Wolf were booed during NLCS introductions. Former shortstop and manager Larry Bowa received a mixed reaction and there was a nice ovation for former slugging first baseman Jim Thome.