Day two of the Major League Baseball playoffs began yesterday with yet another afternoon contest at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia as the Phillies were vying for a 2-0 lead over the Colorado Rockies and was completed at Angels Stadium in Anaheim in front of 45,070 screaming fans.

Today I continue my “Stars” column which I plan on contributing to throughout the entire MLB playoffs as often as I possibly can.

Yesterday I named one individual star per game for their outstanding postseason efforts.

Cliff Lee, Derek Jeter & Rafael Furcal were the standouts on day one for this writer.

Today I have made new selections.

Keep in mind this is my personal opinion only.

Colorado Rockies @ Philadelphia Phillies Game 2 (Philadelphia leads Colorado 1-0)

Yorvit Torrealba

I originally had tabbed Carlos Gonzalez as my star of this game as the young speedster, who has been shopped around over the past years, (traded from Arizona to Oakland to Colorado in a year) went three for five in the game with a double out of the Rockies lead off spot, but I am one of the baseball critics who cannot appreciate bad mistakes in important games.

Gonzalez was picked off twice in this game, one of which he was very lucky to slide into safe on. The only reason Gonzalez was not out on the play was due to a double clutch by Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard. The other pickoff of Gonzalez resulted in an out as the over aggressive leadoff hitter seemed far too amped up on the base paths for the Rockies.

So I made the decision to change my decision and give my “star of the game” nod to Colorado Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba.

Torrealba had a down year for the Rockies, only playing in 64 games this season batting .291 with 2HR & 31RBI.

Torrealba came up big in game two for the Rockies as he took last season’s most dominating postseason pitcher Cole Hamels deep in the top of the fourth inning for a two run home run.

At the time the home run added to an already 1-0 lead making the score 3-0 in favor of the Rockies, but the Rockies only held on to win the game 5-4 in the end.

Sure, any of the Colorado runs could have been the deciding run in the game, but I am still under the impression that Torrealba’s was the most important as it was an energizer for the Rockies as they got to Phillies starter Cole Hamels knocking him out of the game after five innings.

Also, for those interested Hamels left the ball park during the game as his wife Heidi was in labour with their first child.St.Louis Cardinals @ Los Angeles Dodgers Game 2 (Los Angeles leads St.Louis 1-0)

Adam Wainwright

Game two on the day saw the Los Angeles Dodgers square off against the St.Louis Cardinals in what turned out to be the most exciting playoff game yet as the Dodgers used a ninth inning rally to defeat the Cardinals 3-2

In my opinion, the best player in the game did not end up playing for the winning team.

My star for the game goes to St.Louis starter Adam Wainwright.

Yes, choosing Wainwright may not be a popular decision, especially considering he did not pick up the win in this game, but how can anyone argue with the fact that Wainwright, a top choice for the National League CY Young award, pitched eight innings allowing one earned run on three hits, walking one and striking out seven.

The only run Wainwright allowed came in the bottom of the fourth inning off the bat of hot hitting Andre Ethier.

Wainwright is not to blame for the St.Louis loss. The botched fly ball catch in left field by Matt Holliday accompanied with the very shaky late inning performance of Cardinals closer Ryan Franklin and a magical late inning hit from super utility veteran Mark Loretta spelled defeat for the Cardinals.

Even with the late inning collapse of the Cardinals, Wainwright still earns star of the game honors in my opinion.

Boston Red Sox @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Game 1

John Lackey

The late game in the baseball nightcap came courtesy of the high powered offense of the Boston Red Sox squaring off against the small ball, run manufacturing Angels of Anaheim.

The star of the game was obviously apparent to any person who witnessed the game first hand.

Angels starter John Lackey, who has come up big in the postseason before, was dominating on the mound against the Red Sox.

Lackey pitched seven and a third innings of shutout baseball, allowing no earned runs on four hits, walking one and striking out four against one of the most dangerous offensive teams in baseball.

The outstanding performance of Lackey allowed the Angels to do what they do best.

Manufacture.

The Angels got on base a ton (every hitter in the lineup recorded a hit aside from Chone Figgins & Bobby Abreu who recorded four walks) and on the backing of a three run home run off the bat of centre fielder Torii Hunter and their typical small ball antics, the Angels took the first game of the series 5-0 over the Red Sox.

Day three of the MLB Playoffs will feature only two games as teams will be travelling.

The New York Yankees will host the Minnesota Twins tonight at 6:07pm EST followed by the Boston Red Sox at the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at 9:37pm EST.

Pitching matchups on the night are:

Minnesota Twins – Nick Blackburn

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New York Yankees – AJ Burnett

Boston Red Sox – Josh Beckett

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Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – Jered Weaver