Baseball: Dykstra finds his way home: Atlanta stunned by Phillies' lead-off hitter as Philadelphia prepare for their first World Series in 10 years

LENNY DYKSTRA came up with a 10th-inning solo home run that gave the Philadelphia Phillies a 4-3 victory over the fancied Atlanta Braves in game five of the National League play-offs.

With the final two games of the best-of-seven series to be played in Philadelphia tonight and, if necessary, tomorrow night, the Phillies are within one win of reaching the World Series for the first time in 10 years.

The blast by the Phillies' feisty lead-off hitter, known to his team-mates as 'Dude', made a loser of Mark Wohlers, the Atlanta reliever.

'Lenny is a red-light player,' Jim Fregosi, Philadelphia's manager, said. 'When the red light goes on, he gets the job done. He always finds a way to get it done. He came through in a big way today.'

Dykstra's homer put the Phillies back on track after the Braves had battled back from a 3-0 deficit with three runs in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings.

(Photograph omitted)