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Home | Sports | Twins

Rays squeeze out a 4-2 victory

David J. Phillip, Associated Press

Tampa Bay's Rocco Baldelli is out at home as Philadelphia's Carlos Ruiz tags him out during the second inning of Game 2 of the World Series Thursday. Baldelli tried to score from second on a hit by Dioner Navarro.

Tampa Bay's small-ball efforts, combined with the inability of the Phillies to move runners, resulted in a tied series.

By JOE CHRISTENSEN, Star Tribune

Last update: October 24, 2008 - 7:12 AM

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WORLD SERIES • GAME 2 TAMPA BAY 4, PHILADELPHIA 2

Game 3: at Philadelphia • 7 p.m. Saturday • TV: Ch. 9 • Series tied at 1-1

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ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — They have had strikeouts and line outs, ground outs and fly outs.

Pick a bad way to end a crucial at-bat, and the Phillies have done it.

Two games into the World Series, the Phillies are 1-for-28 with runners in scoring position. They have stranded 22 runners on base.

Tampa Bay starter James Shields and two relievers kept Philadelphia's hitters flailing in big situations Thursday night, as the Rays evened the Series with a 4-2 victory at Tropicana Field.

Game 3 is Saturday night in Philadelphia.

The Rays are 62-27 at home this season, so it was hard to imagine them falling into an 0-2 hole. But the Phillies were kicking themselves because they had chances to make that happen.

"I'm concerned about us hitting with guys on base because it looks like at times we might be trying a little too hard," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "But we can fix that."

The Phillies, who batted .263 with runners in scoring position during the regular season, went 0-for-13 in those spots during Game 1, but Chase Utley's two-run homer helped them escape that one with a 3-2 victory.

In Game 2, the Phillies went 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position.

"That's kind of really over the top because the Phillies are very dangerous," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

Nobody is struggling worse than Phillies leadoff man Jimmy Rollins, who is hitless in 10 World Series at-bats, including five with runners in scoring position.

Manuel hinted that his hitters pressed because they fell behind early. Tampa Bay scored two first-inning runs and built a 4-0 lead by the fourth inning against starter Brett Myers.

B.J. Upton hit a run-scoring single in the second inning, and Jason Bartlett scored Cliff Floyd with a squeeze bunt in the fourth.

The Phillies wasted golden scoring opportunities in the second, third and four innings. Each time, they put a runner on third base with one out, only to have Shields notch a big strikeout and escape the inning.

Coming through the minors, Shields earned the nickname "Big Game James." Shields lived up to the billing, holding the Phillies scoreless for 5 2/3 innings.

"That [nickname's] kind of a misconception; we're starting to play our first big games now," Maddon said. "He's pitching the same now as when he was trying to prevent somebody else from getting to the playoffs."

Dan Wheeler relieved Shields in the sixth inning and got Pedro Feliz to ground out with two runners aboard.

Then, with two outs in the seventh, Maddon turned to rookie phenom David Price, who recorded the final seven outs.

Eric Bruntlett made it 4-1 with a pinch-hit homer with two outs in the eighth, and the Phillies brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth.

Carlos Ruiz doubled and scored on a hard smash by Jayson Werth. An error was charged to Rays third baseman Evan Longoria on the play, but Maddon thought it was a tough play for the rookie, who is 0-for-8 in the Series and batting just .204 this postseason.

Longoria might be struggling, but Price isn't. Maddon stuck with the lefthander, even with the pressure building, and Price didn't disappoint.

He struck out Chase Utley with a nasty 88-miles per hour slider, then got Ryan Howard to ground to second base, ending the game.

"I was nervous -- very," Price said. "I usually don't even sweat out there, and my hat looks like I went swimming with it. You hear playoff baseball is even different than World Series baseball, and I definitely agree with that."

Philadelphia's hitters would have to agree.

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