Unlikely heroes extend Dodgers' postseason run

It hadn’t been Edman’s season or Pages’ postseason until the IIth inning of the NLDS-clinching win.

- By KEvIN BAXTER

This hasn't been the best of seasons for Tommy Edman or the best of postseasons for Andy Pages.

But both stepped up when they were needed most Thursday, with Edman singling to start the winning rally and Pages' soft comebacker to the mound starting the strange play that gave the Dodgers a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 of the National League Division Series.

The victory sends the team on to next week's NL Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers.

For Edman, baseball's biggest stage has long been a comfortable place. If teammate Kiké Hernández has proven to be one of the best postseason players in recent history, Edman isn't far behind. In five playoff series with the Dodgers, Edman, a .258 hitter in the regular season, is batting .306. And last October he had 11 hits and 11 RBIS against the Mets in the NLCS, winning MVP honors.

"Tommy is a competitor," infielder Miguel Rojas said during the Dodgers' beer-soaked victory celebration, a pair of ski goggles on his head and a bottle of champagne in one hand. "I feel like everything that happens to him in this stage is not a coincidence."