FINAL. Rays 4, Phillies 2
The Phils made a hard charge in the final innings, but tonight couldn't overcome stranding 11 runners on base as the Rays take Game 2 at home.
Final Tally
Phillies - 2 runs, 9 hits, 2 errors
Rays - 4 runs, 7 hits, 1 error
WP: Shields (1-0)
LP: Myers (0-1)
Time of Game: As Yankees TV voice Michael Kay would say, "a manageable" 3 hours, 5 minutes
Tampa Bay might have taken Game 2, but Philadelphia did what they needed to do by winning Game 1 and go home to Philly for Game 3 Saturday night with the series tied 1-1.
Probable Starters for Game 3 (Saturday, 8 p.m.)
TB: Matt Garza
PHI: Jamie Moyer
***
Top 9th
Due up: Ruiz, Rollins, Werth.
Feels like I've posted "due up: Ruiz, Rollins, Werth" four times tonight. Because I have.
Price stays in the game to start the 9th.
Ruiz leads off with yet another hit, a double down the left field line. Good night for Ruiz: 2-for-2 with 2 doubles and 2 walks. No out, Rollins up next.
Price came very close to hitting Rollins, the replay shows it might have nicked Jimmy's jersey but the umpire says no and the at bat continues. J-Roll is just struggling right now.
Rollins hits a floater that Bartlett catches in shallow left. One out, Ruiz still on second, Werth up next.
Werth hits a liner that bounces off the heel of Longoria's glove and over the head of Bartlett into left field. Ruiz is able to score from second but Werth stays on first. 4-2 Rays, one out, and Utley comes to the plate as the potential tying run. Werth's shot ruled an E5 on Longoria.
Utley goes down swinging. Two outs, Werth still on first.
And the game comes down to Howard as the tying run...
who goes after the first pitch and grounds out into the shift to Iwamura to end the inning and the game.
One run, one hit, one error, one left.
***
Bottom 8th
Due up: Pena, Longoria, Crawford
Myers finally exits the game for the Phils and Manuel brings in J.C. Romero to face at least the lefty Pena.
Pena strikes out looking. One out, Longoria up next.
Official final line on Myers: 7 Innings, 7 Hits, 4 Runs ( 3 Earned), 3 BB, 2 K
Longoria pops out to second. Two out, Crawford up next.
Crawford gets into one, but it's a loud out to Werth to end the inning.
Last Chance for the Phils
No runs, no hits, no errors, none left
End 8th. Phillies 1, Rays 4
***
Top 8th
Due up: Burrell, Victorino, Dobbs
Fox just aired the MasterCard commercial with Mr. Bill. One of my current favorites.
If nothing else tonight for the Phillies, Myers has stepped up and might have given the whole bullpen a night off, which could play a role in Game 3.
Burrell pops up in foul territory, Longoria goes to the edge of the track near the Philly dugout but makes the play. One out, Victorino up next.
Victorino hits a chopper that Longoria fields and throws to first to retire Victorino. Two outs.
With the lefty Price, Charlie Manuel pinch-hits Eric Bruntlett for Dobbs and promptly deposits a ball into the left field bleachers for a HOME RUN to finally put Philadelphia on the board. 4-1 Rays, two outs, Feliz up next.
Feliz grounds out to short to end the inning.
One run, one hit, no errors, none left.
Middle 8th. Phillies 1, Rays 4
***
Bottom 7th
Due up: Bartlett, Iwamura, Upton
Myers still in the game to start the seventh as Bartlett hits a leadoff single to center field. One on, Iwamura up next.
Hard to believe that Myers only has 75 pitches. He might go the whole game as pitch No. 76 is a line drive from Iwamura to Burrell for the first out with Upton up next.
Solid graphic by Fox there: the Rays' 2-3-4 hitters are 2-for-8 with 3 RBI, a huge difference from last night when they went a combined 0-for-12.
But of course, the very next pitch, Upton grounds into his third double play of the series and Myers gets out of the inning.
No runs, one hit, no errors, none left
End 7th. Phillies 0, Rays 4
***
Top 7th
Due up: Ruiz, Rollins, Werth
Wheeler stays in the game to start the 7th.
Price continues to warm up and one would think he would come in if it gets to Utley and/or Howard as Ruiz stays alive in his at bat.
Ruiz works the count full, he's been a tough out tonight, and he walks again to lead off the inning. He has reached all three times he's come to the plate tonight. No outs, Rollins up next.
Wheeler falls behind Rollins 2-0 before throwing a strike to make it 2-1. The Phillies can still come back in this game, but they are going to have to start soon and they have to come up with a big hit. Rollins just does check his swing on a 2-2 pitch in the dirt and takes the count to 3-2.
Ruiz takes off as Rollins strikes out but the throw from Navarro hits the bag and Ruiz is safe at second. One out, Werth up next in yet another at bat for Philadelphia with runners in scoring position.
Werth is 0-for-8 with RISP in the postseason. More good news for Phils fans.
Make it 0-for-9. Werth goes down looking on a 90 mph fastball low and away. 2 outs, Utley up next and out comes Maddon to the mound to bring in David Price to face Utley.
The rookie Price, the first overall pick in the 2007 MLB draft, was electric in his two appearances in the ALCS, getting the win in Game 2 and the save in Game 7 despite only appearing in five games during the regular season after he was called up in September. He did however have a 1.93 ERA in those five appearances. And he's only 22.
Utley is the first Phillie to face him and Price is a little wild, walking Utley on four pitches to bring up Howard with two on and two out. Last night, this might have cause some concern but Howard is 2-for-3 tonight with a double.
Howard battled back to 2-2 before Price gets him looking with a fastball on the outside corner to end the inning and turn Philadelphia away again.
STRETCH TIME
No runs, no hits, no errors, two left.
Middle 7th. Phillies 0, Rays 4
***
Bottom 6th
Due up: Floyd, Navarro, Baldelli
Official final line on Shields: 6 2/3 innings. 0 runs, 7 hits, 2 BB, 5 K
Myers stays in the game and gets Floyd to chop one to second and Utley. One out, Navarro up next.
Action in both bullpens, Eyre and Chad Durbin throwing for Philadelphia, the Rays' dynamic rookie David Price warming up for Tampa as Navarro pops one up in foul territory that Feliz can get to. Two outs, Baldelli up next.
Myers strikes out Baldelli on three pitches to end the inning.
No runs, no hits, no errors, none left
End 6th. Phillies 0, Rays 4
***
Top 6th
Due up: Howard, Burrell, Victorino
Totals through 5:
Phillies - 0 runs, 5 hits, 2 errors
Rays - 4 runs, 6 hits, no errors
Howard hits a sharp liner that Iwamura easily fields in short right and retires Howard. One out, Burrell up next.
Shields has 93 pitches so far, he's been able to pitch out of a lot of jams as Burrell fouls off No. 94 to the left side.
No. 95 was a ball but No. 96 results in Shields' fifth strikeout as Burrell chases a high fastball. Two out, Victorino up next.
Victorino grounds one under the glove of a diving Pena for a single to keep the inning alive for Dobbs. One on, two out
Like Hamels last night, Shields hasn't had his best stuff. A lot of the pitches the Phils' are just missing, but it's been good enough as Tampa has action in their pen, looks like Dan Wheeler warming up. Makes sense, Shields is over 100 pitches now.
Dobbs hits a liner, Upton makes a dive at it and...it shorthops into Upton's glove for a single. Victorino easily goes to third on the hit. Two on, two out, Feliz up next.
Pedro Feliz will come up trying to break the 0-for-21 RISP slump for Philadelphia, but it won't be against Shields as Maddon comes out and will bring in a righthander.
Shields leaves after going 6 2/3 innings, allowing no runs on seven hits, with five strikeouts and two walks. This could change as he is responsible for Victorino on third and Dobbs on first.
It is Wheeler, Brad Lidge's former set-up man in Houston that enters the game to face Feliz.
Fox flashes up a graphic showing Feliz is 2-for-15 with RISP in the playoffs. Not good if you're a Philly fan.
The slump is now 0-for-22 in the series as Feliz grounds into the fielder's choice at second to end the inning.
No runs, two hits, no errors, two left.
Middle 6th. Phillies 0, Rays 4
***
Bottom 5th
Due up: Upton, Pena, Longoria
Upton flies out to Burrell. One out, Pena up next.
Pena walks. One out, Longoria up next.
Pena gets himself into scoring position by moving to second on a throwing error by Ruiz, but Myers recovers by striking out Longoria. Two outs, Floyd up next as Scott Eyre is throwing in the Philadelphia bullpen.
No need for him for now as Crawford grounds to second to end the inning and strand Pena at second.
No runs, no hits, one error, one left
End 5th. Phillies 0, Rays 4
***
Top 5th
Due up: Ruiz, Rollins, Werth
The Phillies have had the leadoff runner on for the last three innings and haven't been able to get a run in while the Rays are slowly pulling away. If they want to stay in this game, they need to start getting hits with runners in scoring position.
As I write, make that four innings in a row as Ruiz walks to lead off the inning. Rollins up next.
Just another reason to love Fox, as they aired the interview with the Rays coach they taped between innings, Ruiz is retired on a fielder's choice. Rollins reaches at first. One out, Werth up next.
Werth does a nice piece of hitting as he looked like he was jammed but he still was able to drive it up the middle for a hit. Rollins stops at second and once again, the Phils have a runner in scoring position. Two on, one out, Utley up next.
Utley hits a soft liner that Baldelli snabs in right and is able to double off Werth at first to end the inning and make it 0-for-21 in the series with RISP. Either the Bengals or Lions might win a game before the Phillies get a hit with runners in scoring position. Then again...
No runs, one hit, no errors, two left
Middle 5th. Phillies 0, Rays 4
***
Bottom 4th
Due up: Floyd, Navarro, Baldelli
Another promo for The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror XIX. It's just not the same.
Floyd gets a broken-bat single over the head of Rollins on the first pitch of the inning. One on, no outs. Navarro up next.
Navarro grounds one up the middle for a base hit, Floyd goes to second. No outs. Baldelli up next. With the way this game is going, how big was that play at the plate that got the Phillies out of the second with only the one run?
Baldelli hits a sharp grounder to third. Feliz goes to Utley for one, but Baldelli can still run and beats the throw at first. Floyd goes to third on the fielder's choice. One out. Bartlett up next.
Bartlett shows bunt and gets a good one down to first. Myers to Howard retires Bartlett at first but Floyd scores on the sacrifice. 4-0 Rays, two out, Baldelli on second. Iwamura up next.
Iwamura grounds out to end the inning, but Tampa is able to manufacture a run. This is why they went 54-27 at home this season.
One run, two hits, no errors, one left
End 4th. Phillies 0, Rays 4
***
Top 4th
Due Up: Howard, Burrell, Victorino
Howard looks much looser in this game. After he fouls one off down the left field line, he hits a sharp ball through the infield shift to right for a single and his second hit of the night. Third straight inning with the leadoff man on, the Phils have to drive at least one of these runs in, don't they? Burrell up next.
Burrell hits a slow roller to third that Longoria throws to first to retire Burrell. Howard moves to second. One out. Victorino up next.
Victorino hits a sharp grounder that bounced off Pena's glove, deflected to second behind Iwamura. He grabbed it and threw to first but Victorino is safe by over a step. Howard goes to third, one out. Dobbs up next. Give Victorino a hit.
Will Dobbs break the 0-for-18 RISP streak? No. Strikes out swinging for the second out. Feliz up next. Make it 0-for-19.
Feliz makes it 0-for-20 as he grounds out to Longoria at third to end the inning.
No runs, two hits, no errors, two left
Middle 4th. Phillies 0, Rays 3
***
Bottom 3rd
Due Up: Pena, Longoria, Crawford
Fox comes back from commercial just before Myers' first pitch to Pena. Don't you just love TV?
Pena lines out to Rollins. One out. Longoria due up next.
Longoria pops up to Utley at second, who battles the roof and the cowbells to make the play. Two out. Crawford up next.
Crawford flies out to Burrell and Myers gets exactly what he needed. A quick inning.
No runs, no hits, no errors, none left
End 3rd. Phillies 0, Rays 3
***
Top 3rd
Due Up: Ruiz, Rollins, Werth
Ruiz hits a double to right center and the Phillies have the leadoff man on for the second straight inning. No out. Rollins up next.
Rollins hits a liner to second that Iwamura needed to make a psuedo-slide on to grab and retire Rollins at first. Ruiz advances to third. One out. Werth up next. They need to get this run in. So far, Philly is 0-for-16 with Runners In Scoring Position in the series.
Make it 0-for-17. Werth goes down swinging. Utley up next.
0-for-18. Utley grounds out to second to end the inning.
No runs, one hit, no errors, one left.
Middle 3rd. Phillies 0, Rays 3
***
Bottom 2nd
Due up: Floyd, Navarro, Baldelli
Floyd leads off against Myers and grounds one up the middle, but Rollins makes a nice play to his right and retires Floyd. One out. Navarro up next.
Navarro lines a base hit just underneath a diving Utley. One on, one out. Baldelli up next.
Baldelli check-swings at a 3-2 offering. First Base ump says no swing and Baldelli walks. Two on, one out. Bartlett up.
Bartlett hits a dribbler that Feliz can't handle, but it would have been a tough play. Ruled an infield single. Bases loaded, one out.
Which brings up the top of the order and Iwamura, and elicits a visit to the mound from Phils pitching coach Rich Dubee and the rest of the infield. Philadelphia couldn't add to their lead many times last night, let's see if the Rays can.
Myers catches a break when Iwamura pops out to short. Two out. Upton up next.
Upton delivers with a base hit to right that scores Navarro, but Werth delivers a frozen rope to Ruiz that retires Baldelli at home to end the inning.
One run, three hits, no errors, two left.
End 2nd. Phillies 0, Rays 3
***
Top 2nd.
Due Up: Howard, Burrell, Victorino
Howard leads off with a double for his first hit of the series. Big confidence boost for him and maybe the Phils as well. Runner on second, no outs. Burrell up next.
Burrell battles back and earns a walk. It would be huge for Philadelphia if they get at least one run back. Two on, Howard still at second, no out. Victorino up.
Victorino quickly popped out to Longoria at third. One out. Dobbs up next.
Shields bounces one to Dobbs, Howard and Burrell advance, but Dobbs strikes out. Two out. Feliz up next.
Feliz gets good contact and lines it to center, but it hangs in the air long enough for Upton to grab it to end the inning.
No runs, one hit, no errors, two left on
Mid 2nd. Phils 0, Rays 2
***
Bottom 1st
Iwamura, Upton, Pena due up.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden in a Rays visor reads off the Rays' lineup on Fox tonight.
Iwamura takes the count to 3-1 early against Myers. I mentioned the first inning has been his undoing at times this year. Iwamura walks on five pitches and reaches to lead off for the second straight game. Not a good start for Myers, but it's early. Upton up next.
Myers was very good in his 15 regular season starts since being brought back from the minors. 9-4 with a 3.32 ERA.
Upton gets a hit to right that rolls under Werth's glove, Iwamura goes to third and Upton goes to second, still no one out, Pena up next. E9 for Werth, no hit for Upton. This is a great start for the Rays and for their own confidence and the confidence of Shields, they need something here.
Myers is rattled. He falls behind Pena 3-0 before throwing a strike on an off-speed pitch.
Pena grounds out to second, Iwamura scores on the fielder's choice. 1-0 Rays, 1 out, Upton at third.
Longoria up next and he promptly grounds out to Rollins at short. Not pretty but it scores Upton from third. 2-0 Rays, 2 out, none on.
Crawford retired to end the inning, but the damage is done.
Two runs, one hit, one error, none left.
End 1st. Phils 0, Rays 2
***
Top 1st
Due up: Rollins, Werth, Utley
Rollins leads off against Shields to start the game, and actually didn't go after the first pitch. He does, however, pop up the full count offering to Iwamura at second for the first out.
Werth is up next, he hits a sharp grounder to third that Longoria bobbles momentarily but recovers in time to retire Werth at first, two out.
Utley up next, he doesn't bunt but instead takes ball one in the dirt.
Not surprisingly, after his homer in the first last night, Shields being very careful with Utley. But a good sign for the Phils so far is that Shields took the count full to Rollins and Werth, and Utley is battling at 2-2.
Utley finally lines out to Upton at center, three out.
No runs, hits, errors or men left.
Mid 1st. Phillies 0, Rays 0
***
Joe Buck and Tim McCarver make their first appearance of the evening after Los Lonely Boys did the National Anthem. For those of you wondering, Taylor Swift and Patti LaBelle will sing the Anthem at Games 3 and 4 at Citizens Bank Park, according to a post by St. Petersburg Times' pop music critic Sean Daly on the paper's Rays blog.
After Mike Schmidt presented the lineups on Fox last night, Dallas Green gets the honors for Game 2. Wonder if the Rays will come out in a line and introduce themselves on tv, only to cut off Bartlett again as they did in Game 1.
Less than one minute to first pitch.
***
Hey everybody, I'm women's tennis reporter Tom Copain here bring you Game 2 of the World Series between the Phillies and the Rays here on MAKE PLAYS. I am coming to you live from the basement here at the James Building in State College, so like the Phils and Rays, I am indoors. Although we do have a window here so we might actually have more natural light than Tropicana Field. Unfortunately, they do have us beat in the Aquarium Department.
After another strong start from Cole Hamels in the Phils 3-2 win in Game 1, Brett Myers gets the start in Game 2. Myers has been very good since being brought back after a short stint in the minors earlier this season. He is 2-0 in the postseason, albeit with a 5.25 ERA in two starts. The key for him will be getting out of the first inning, which has been his nemesis all year long. If he can get out of the first inning and have his devastating curveball hitting its spots, then Philly has a good chance tonight.
Tampa Bay answers with fellow righty James Shields, who was the Rays' No.1 starter for both the ALDS and ALCS before manager Joe Maddon decided to flip Shields and last night's starter Scott Kazmir before that infamous Game 5 against the Red Sox. Shields, nicknamed "Big Game James," has been just that, going 14-8 with a 3.56 ERA during the regular season. He's been pretty good during the postseason despite the record, going 1-2 with a 3.72 ERA in three postseason starts.
With the two righthanders on the mound, both teams have made at least one change to their lineups for Game 2. The Phillies will put pinch-hitter extrordinare Greg Dobbs into the starting lineup as the DH and batting seventh, replacing Chris Coste. With Myers on the mound, the Rays have inserted former Expo and Marlin great Cliff Floyd in the lineup as the DH replacing Willy Aybar. Maddon also gives inspirational story and Pride of Rhode Island Rocco Baldelli his first World Series start tonight, replacing Ben Zobrist in right field.
And so, here are the rest of the starting lineups:
Phillies
1) Jimmy Rollins - SS
2) Jayson Werth - RF
3) Chase Utley - 2B
4) Ryan Howard - 1B
5) Pat Burrell - LF
6) Shane Victorino - CF
7) Greg Dobbs - DH
8) Pedro Feliz - 3B
9) Carlos Ruiz - C
Brett Myers - P
Rays
1) Akinori Iwamura - 2B
2) B.J. Upton - CF
3) Carlos Pena - 1B
4) Evan Longoria - 3B
5) Carl Crawford - LF
6) Cliff Floyd - DH
7) Dioner Navarro - C
8) Rocco Baldelli - RF
9) Jason Bartlett - SS
James Shields - P
