Did somebody say, ?team of destiny?? After the Dodgers? thrilling come-from-behind 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger Stadium on Friday night? the 11th time this season they?ve won in their last at bat - there?s definitely magic in the air, and it?s not the Orlando kind. And here?s the game recap from the press box. It was ?I Love The 80s? night, so it seems only appropriate to ask: is this the best Dodgers team since the World Series champion teams of 1981 and 1988? So far, the answer has to be yes. At 38-19, the Dodgers have the best record in baseball, and with an emerging group of talented young players, led by Andre Ethier, James Loney, Russell Martin and Matt Kemp, this is easily the most exciting Dodgers team in years. While the 80s championship teams hold the edge in starting pitching ? the ?09 Dodgers don?t have an Orel Hershiser or a 1-2 crafty veteran duo like Don Sutton and Jerry Reuss - the current team stacks up better offensively, as long as Manny Ramirez is in the lineup. The offense has been struggling of late, especially the guys (like Ethier) who benefited from hitting behind Manny. Even so, the Dodgers are a more-than-respectable 17-11 since Ramirez?s 50-game suspension began, and games like tonight?s show a resilience and never-say-die attitude that Dodgers fans haven?t been used to. Back to the game. They?re not kidding about this 80s thing. The Bangles sing the National Anthem. Then the Lakers? Sasha Vujacic, dubbed a ?child of the 80s? by the P.A. announcer, throws out the first pitch. By the second inning, fans are doing the wave. The Phils put two men on the first inning against Eric Milton but don?t score. Milton (2-0 3.14) is battling to stay in the rotation once Eric Stults returns from the DL. Milton is the prototypical journeyman pitcher: the last year his ERA was under 4.75 was 2003. But he?s a crafty lefty when he?s on, and left-handers who can pitch will never have trouble finding a job. In the bottom of the first, Juan Pierre gets things going with a base hit and a steal of second. If there?s anyone trying to make fans forget Manny Ramirez, it?s Pierre, who?s hitting .367 coming into tonight. Rafael Furcal hits a short fly that Chase Utley catches near the right field line, his back to the infield, and Pierre runs on him, and Utley guns him down at third. You can?t blame him for trying ? speed is one dimension Pierre adds that Manny doesn?t. The Phils have Milton in trouble every inning, but Milton battles. He allows a run on a forceout in the 3rd, then, in the 4th, he gets undone by an error by Orlando Hudson, muffing a sure force-play, and possible double-play, on a grounder he tries to shovel to Furcal. The error leads to a two-out, two-run double by Utley, and gives the Phils a 3-0 lead. Meanwhile, the junk man, Jamie Moyer, sails through the Dodgers lineup with his usual beguiling assortment of 70mph changeups, four-seam fastballs, and offspeed stuff that nibbles the corners. He may be the oldest pitcher in the major at age 46, but he doesn?t pitch like it. If Moyer wins Saturday night, he will match Bob Gibson for career victories (251). I don?t know about you, but I find it hard to say those two names in the same sentence. Then I remember that Gibson got his 251 wins over the course of 17 years; this season is Moyer?s 24th in the bigs. The Dodgers have been renowned this season for their patience at the plate and their ability to wait out pitchers. Joe Torre had described it, not so much taking the first pitch, as waiting for the right pitch to hit. But tonight, they?re going down early in the count. By the 6th inning, Moyer has thrown a tidy 66 pitches, hasn?t walked a batter, and the only run he?s given up came without a hit. The Dodgers finally get their second hit of the night when Kemp extends his hitting streak to 10 with a sharp single, but pinch-hitter Jamie Hoffman kills the rally with a 6-4-3 double play. One of the perks of being on press row is the hot dogs that are put out around the 5th inning. There?s no limit to how many you can eat. As I go to grab one, a smiling, sunburned gentleman holds the door open for me. ?Allow me,? he says. It?s Vin Scully. I wish I came back with a clever, witty response, but my tongue is tied like a reef knot. Down 3-1, the Dodgers hang around. Guillermo Mota, Brent Leach, Ramon Troncoso keep the Phils at bay from the 5th inning on, while the Dodgers scratch out a run when Loney lofts a soft fly ball to right field, Eric Bruntlett gets a late jump, and the ball drops in front of him for a single. 3-2 Phils after seven. A reporter notes that Lincoln was president the last time Moyer lasted 7 innings and 98 pitches. American Idol?s Brooke White sings ?God Bless America?. So much for 80s night. The Phillies leave the bases loaded in the 8th, and Jonathan Broxton strikes out the side in the 9th. Brilliant work by the Dodgers bullpen that will loom even larger after the events of the bottom half of the inning unfold. ?That was it, shutting down that ball club because they?re explosive,? Torre would say later. ?They gave us a chance to jump back into it.? The Phils lead 3-2 heading to the 9th, and Brad Lidge is on the hill. We all know that Lidge will never duplicate his perfect season of ?08, 41 of 41 saves, 7 more in the post-season. This year, he?s already blown four saves in 17 chances, so he?s human after all. But still Brad Lidge, one of the best closers in the game. And the Phillies have been in control of this game all night long, the Dodgers bats quiet, pressing, missing Manny?s punch. Lidge strikes out Furcal to start the 9th, then gets Hudson on a comebacker. Two out, nobody on, and now two strikes on the Dodgers? last hope, Casey Blake. Then Blake gets the end of his bat on a slider and plunks it into left for a hit. ?Blake did a good job getting his bat on the ball, good pitch, slider down where I wanted it,? Lidge says later. And Loney battles back from a 1-2 hole and draws a walk. The crowd of 52,000-plus begins to stir. Russell Martin hits a grounder to Pedro Feliz at third. 9 times out of 100, it?s an automatic out, game over. Except Feliz bobbles and drops it. By the time he throws, Martin is safe. Bases loaded. ?I think he tried to field it too quickly,? Loney says afterward. ?He?s usually more sure-handed than that.? ?Pedro makes that play as good as anybody,? Lidge says. ?That?s something you never see. I?ll take my chances with him over anybody.? (Feliz refuses to speak to reporters after the game). I am reminded of a game I covered for RealGM a year ago between these teams. The Dodgers wiped out a 6-1 deficit and Nomar Garciaparra stunned the Phillies with a walk-off home run in the 9th. This year, aging veterans like Nomar, Jeff Kent, and Luis Gonzalez are gone. The transfer of power to the next generation is complete. Andre Ethier steps to the plate. He?s slumped of late, his average down to .250, though a.333 clip over his last 8 games has raised it to .263. Twice in this inning, the Dodgers were down to their last strike, and Ethier takes no chances. He jumps on the first pitch he sees from Lidge and rips it down the right field line. Two-run double. Game over. The Dodgers race out of their dugout. Ethier winds up at the bottom of a happy pile somewhere near 2nd base. Pandemonium. After the game, hard rock blaring through the locker room, Ethier says: ?It was a fastball, comebacker inside. He had to be aggressive? you know he doesn?t want anything in the dirt, where we could steal a run with a passed ball. He's a slider guy who likes to keep his pitches down, so that's going to take something out of his game -- with the bases loaded and two outs. You look for something else, and that is what I got." Observes Lidge: ?Ethier was a little more aggressive than we thought he?d be.? To a man, none of the Dodgers seem surprised by the turnaround, the suddenness with which the game changed. ?As long as there are 27 outs, you play every one,? says Torre. ?The thing about bases loaded, you know they?re going to have to throw you strikes. He jumped on the first one he saw and obviously that?s why we?re sitting here talking about it."