PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The World Series will go on without the Phillies.
For the first time in three years, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Cole Hamels and the rest of the Philadelphia nucleus will sit out the series. Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt, two All-Star newcomers expected to help extend the postseason run deep into October, are still without a ring.
Instead, the San Francisco Giants will meet the Texas Rangers, beginning on Wednesday. The Giants snapped the Phillies’ streak of NL pennants by silencing Philadelphia’s big bats and handing them a 3-2 loss in Game 6 of the NL championship series.
The Phillies, who have won four straight NL East titles, were a favorite for the World Series on the strength of their loaded rotation. Instead, they’re working their way backward down the ladder — World Series title against Tampa Bay in 2008, World Series loss against the Yankees in 2009 and now, an NLCS loss to San Francisco.
They were trying to become the first NL team to win three straight pennants since the 1942-44 St. Louis Cardinals.
