This is what it's all about (World Series '08, Game 4).

Maybe I should consider writing game summaries on side of whatever my job is after college...

Jimmy Rollins set the tone (2 for 3 after 4 innings) again tonight, leading off with a double that ricocheted off the concrete down the first base line.

But it did take some time for the Phillies to heat up.

After scoring their second run in the third inning, Joe Blanton let up a solo shot to Carl Crawford, cutting the Phils' lead in half.

The Phillies have not been doing well with RISP in the World Series (and their big hitters have not had great postseason performances), but this was all they needed:

The pitch to Ryan Howard. Belt high and away; he's crushed this one! No doubt about it; that ball's outta' here!* Three run home run, Ryan Howard!

Howard's homer in the fourth put the Phillies up, 5-1. Previous to Game 3, Howard was in a huge slump. Then he hit a home run, and everything turned around, indicated by his numbers in tonight's game (2 for 3, 3 RBI at that point).

Blanton let up another home run in the fifth to pinch hitter Eric Hinske (Note: It was the Rays' third home run of the series - putting their total in the postseason at twenty-six). Still, Blanton had pitched superbly through five innings (besides the two home runs).

Phillies silence Brewers with their own thunder

Jimmy Rollins led off the game with a solo shot, setting the tone, over the deafening ThunderStix given out to fans in Milwaukee yesterday. While this put the Phils on the board, they would need something more to quiet the crowd. And Pat Burrell provided it, with a three-run blast in the third.

Ken Mandel's article puts it quite nicely:

Perhaps the only noticeable phenomenon amid the earsplitting roar of nearly 44,000 ThunderStix was the moment they stopped thundering.

The instant Pat Burrell smacked a belt-high fastball through the controlled temperature of Miller Park, the atmosphere become controlled, too.

Subdued, even.

"That's when I knew something good had happened," Burrell said. "I didn't see where the ball landed. I hit it and ran, and it got quiet."

Real quiet.

The roar from those wanting an inning-ending out fell eerily silent. When Jayson Werth followed with another homer, the thunder transformed to boos, then resignation. By the third inning, those in the building just knew.

The Phillies actually ended up with four home runs, a post season high for the club, and every run for the Phils was scored on a homer (Prince Fielder hit a homer for Milwaukee). Burrell went 3 for 4 with 4 RBIs, and was the obvious choice for player of the game. The Phillies' power silenced the futile efforts of Brewers fans to get in their heads.

Winning this game put the Phils in the National League Championship Series, where they'll face the red-hot Dodgers. And we can only hope they can douse the flames.

Note: Pat Burrell and Jayson Werth's back-to-back homers in the third inning was the second time it happened in Phillies postseason history. The first time: Last year, when Aaron Rowand and - you guessed it - Pat Burrell - hit consecutive home runs in the third inning off Jeff Francis (Jeff Suppan let up today's double shots).