Game 1 of the NLCS tonight began as a battle of two excellent starting pitchers, but ended with a stamp from a couple of ex-Dodgers. Both Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum didn't pitch badly -- each pitched seven innings, Halladay giving up four runs, Lincecum allowing three -- but both had impossible acts to follow given their first postseason starts.
↵Each pitcher gave up two home runs on the night. The two allowed by Halladay came off the bat of Cody Ross, who was in the Dodgers' organization for a little over two years, from 2004 to 2006. Ross was traded by the Dodgers in April 2006 to the Reds, where Ross briefly played before finding a long-term home in Florida. Ross was acquired on a waiver claim by the Giants on August 22.
↵The other Dodger-related home run came off the bat of Jayson Werth, who like Ross was acquired by the Dodgers in 2004, was non-tendered by the club after missing all of 2006 after a series of wrist injuries. Werth took Lincecum deep in the sixth inning to cut the Giants' lead to 4-3, but the score remained, giving San Francisco the win and 1-0 series lead.
↵The other ex-Dodger outfielder in the NLCS is Shane Victorino, who was lost in the 2002 Rule 5 draft, returned to the Dodgers, then lost again in the 2004 Rule 5 draft. Victorino didn't complete the ex-Dodger home run trifecta, as he went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts, including a swinging whiff to end the game.