Moyer's durability has Garza amazed

By JOE CHRISTENSEN, Star Tribune

Last update: October 24, 2008 - 12:41 AM

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — Matt Garza was 2 years old when Jamie Moyer made his major league debut on June 16, 1986.

It will make for quite a contrast when those two square off Saturday in Game 3 of the World Series.

Garza, 24, was the MVP of the AL Championship Series with big victories over Jon Lester in Games 3 and 7.

Moyer, 45, is 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA this postseason.

Asked if he can still see himself pitching at age 45, Garza said, "No. At 45, I want to be watching my son play. [Moyer's] doing it with will and guts. Pitching at 45 is pretty amazing."

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel seems to have no reservations sending Moyer back to the mound.

The crafty lefthander went 16-7 with a 3.71 ERA during the regular season.

"After all these years, I think he's earned the right to start a game in the World Series," Manuel said. "I think he's one of the big reasons why we're here today. He won 16 games this year, and at one time, this guy was our most consistent pitcher, whether you believe it or not."

Howard silenced

Ryan Howard helped the Phillies into the postseason by batting .352 with 11 home runs and 32 RBI in September.

Howard went 0-for-4 with three big strikeouts in Game 1 of the World Series. He went 2-for-5 in the Rays' 4-2 victory in Game 2, putting him at a .250 average with no homers and three RBI this postseason.

"He was trying too hard, and he wanted to hit too much," Manuel said before Game 2. "Take him for granted and start throwing to him, see what happens. He's had [146] RBI, 48 home runs. Check his batting average from the seventh inning on or late in the game and see what you come up with."

Howard batted .141 with nine homers and 25 RBI during innings 7-9 this year, according to baseball-reference.com.

"He will stay on my team, probably, as long as I manage," Manuel said. "I like him that much."

High local ratings

The Twins Cities provided Fox with one of its strongest big-market ratings for Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday night. KMSP had a 13.1 rating for Philadelphia's 3-2 victory to place Minneapolis-St. Paul fifth among the major markets in the country.

The four markets that had better ratings were Philadelphia (35.7), Tampa Bay (31.9) and Florida markets Orlando (14.4) and Fort Myers (13.3). Overall, Fox had a fast national rating of 9.2 for the game with a 15 share.

A McGraw returns

Country music star Tim McGraw, the son of late Phillies star Tug McGraw, will deliver the game ball to the mound with a local member of the Boys & Girls Club of America for Game 3 of the World Series on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park.

Country artist Taylor Swift will perform the national anthem before Game 3.

Staff writer Judd Zulgad and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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