LOS ANGELES (AP) — Carlos Ruiz's three-run homer highlighted a five-run fifth inning and Raul Ibanez added a three-run shot in the eighth as Philadelphia beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-6 on Thursday night to win the opener of the NL championship series.

Manny Ramirez slugged a two-run homer for the Dodgers, but he grounded out weakly with two runners on against a struggling Ryan Madson to end the eighth. Brad Lidge pitched the ninth for the save.

‘‘It's like a prize fight, we just came up a little short,'' Dodgers manager Joe Torre said.

Lidge then worked around a single and a walk in the ninth, helped by a double play that made him for 3 for 3 in save chances this postseason – he posted three saves against the Dodgers in last year's NLCS.

Lidge was perfect in save tries last season when the Phillies won the World Series, but led the majors with 11 blown opportunities this year.

‘‘The Dodgers are a great team. They come from behind a lot so you take everyone seriously,'' he said. ‘‘Honestly, for some reason I've really been locked in this postseason. I felt really good mechanically. I feel like myself. I feel pretty comfortable right now.''

Home runs dominated on both sides in a game that lasted 4 hours, 2 minutes. Ruiz highlighted a five-run burst in the fifth and Ibanez homered in the eighth for an 8-4 lead.

James Loney also connected for the Dodgers. Ramirez, baseball's all-time postseason home run leader with 29, hit a two-run shot.

Los Angeles will start Vicente Padilla against Philadelphia's Pedro Martinez on Friday afternoon in Game 2.

Philadelphia's Cole Hamels thrived under pressure last October, earning NLCS and World Series most valuable player honors. But the left-hander hardly resembled the same pitcher in earning the victory, giving up eight hits and four runs in 5 1-3 innings.

It was his first outing since he left the ballpark in the division series against Colorado to be with his wife as she prepared to give birth.

At 21 years and 211 days, Clayton Kershaw was the youngest pitcher ever to start a Game 1 in a league championship series, and it showed.

The Dodgers lefthander was tagged for five runs in the fifth, when he set a LCS record for most wild pitches in an inning with three. He also tied the record for most wild pitches in a LCS game, shared by Tommy John and Juan Guzman.

Kershaw allowed four hits in 4 2-3 innings and walked five in his second postseason career start. He worked out of the bullpen in last year's NLCS, which the Dodgers lost 4-1 to the Phillies. He was 0-2 with a 5.23 ERA in two starts against them during the regular season.

‘‘It looked like he tried to overthrow the ball, got frustrated out there. Unfortunately, it got away from him quickly,'' Torre said. ‘‘As far as the pressure of the game, he certainly can handle it, but sometimes things get away from you.''

The Dodgers' usually solid bullpen couldn't contain the Phils' George Sherrill, their fourth reliever of the game, gave up Ibanez's homer on the first pitch, the first homer off him by a left-handed hitter in 79 at-bats during the regular and postseasons. Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth drew consecutive walks to open the eighth.