The Phillies post-season roster had nine players 30 years of age or over and three rookies, Charlie Hudson, Kevin Gross, and Juan Samuel. The Dodgers entered the series as favorites after winning 11 of 12 games against the Phillies in the regular season. The Dodgers had shut out the Phillies five times, allowed only 15 runs total, and held Phillies hitters to a.187 batting average.
Wednesday, October 5, 1983, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California The Dodgers drew first blood with a Ken LandreauxRBI single in the first with two on. Gary Matthews tied it for the Phils in the second with a home run off Fernando Valenzuela. Valenzuela and Cy Young Award winner John Denny would continue dueling until the Dodger half of the fifth. Valenzuela led off and reached third when Garry Maddox misplayed a fly-ball. However, with one out, Valenzuela was thrown out at the plate on a Greg Brock ground ball. Seemingly out of the inning, Denny walked Dusty Baker and then gave up a tie-breaking two-run triple to Pedro Guerrero. The Dodgers' final run came in the eighth when Bill Russell walked with two outs, stole second, and scored on an RBI single by catcher Jack Fimple. Valenzuela and Tom Niedenfuer would combine to scatter seven hits for the win.
Game 3
Friday, October 7, 1983, at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania With the series shifting to Philadelphia, Dodgers starter Bob Welch was pulled from the game in the second after walking two with one out. A wild pitch and passed ball by reliever Alejandro Pena scored the game's first run. After Bo Diaz walked, Ivan de Jesus's RBI groundout made it 2–0 Phillies. Next inning, Joe Lefebvre's sacrifice fly with two on made it 3–0 Phillies. In the top of the fourth, rookie Charles Hudson allowed a leadoff single, then a two-out two-run homer by Mike Marshall to cut the Phillies' lead to 3–2. However, Hudson only allowed two other hits and pitched a complete game. Gary Matthews's leadoff home run in the bottom of the inning extended the Phillies' lead to 4–2. Next inning, Dodgers reliever Rick Honeycutt allowed a one-out single and double, then Matthews's two-run single off of Joe Beckwith made it 6–2 Phillies. Matthews hit another RBI single in the seventh off of Pat Zachry in the seventh that capped the scoring at 7–2 Phillies, giving them a 2–1 series lead.
Game 4
Saturday, October 8, 1983, at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Series MVP Gary Matthews hit a three-run homer in the first off Jerry Reuss after two straight two-out singles. Dusty Baker's leadoff home run in the fourth off of Steve Carlton put the Dodgers on the board. In the fifth, Pete Rose hit a leadoff single and scored on Mike Schmidt's double to knock Reuss out of the game. Schmidt then moved to third on a groundout and after an intentional walk, scored on Garry Maddox's fielder's choice off of Joe Beckwith. Sixto Lezcano added a two-run homer in the sixth off of Rick Honeycutt after a two-out single. Baker drove in the Dodgers' other run in the eighth with an RBI single off of Ron Reed after a leadoff single. One Dodger fan could be heard screaming "It was a whole new ballgame!" but the Dodger rally was short-lived as Steve Carlton pitched his second win, scattering 10 hits with relief help from Reed and Al Holland. The Phillies moved to their second World Series in four seasons. Out of the 14 postseason series that Pete Rose played in, this was the only one in which he did not record an RBI. He did hit well in the series, compiling six hits and one walk in 17 plate appearances. Oddly enough, in the 13 series in which Rose had an RBI, he never drove in more than two runs in any of them.
Composite box
1983 NLCS : Philadelphia Phillies over Los Angeles Dodgers
