Tampa ties it up
POSTED: Friday, October 24, 2008
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. » Big Game James. That's quite a nickname for a pitcher with 32 major league wins.
SCHEDULE All games on KHON, Ch. 3; KKEA, 1420-AM. All times Hawaii time.
|
James Shields definitely deserved it last night.
Shields stymied the slumping Philadelphia Phillies, rookie David Price got the final seven outs and the plucky Tampa Bay Rays rebounded from a rare home loss with a 4-2 victory that tied the World Series at 1-all.
“;It was kind of a joke at first,”; Shields said. “;I ended up pitching a couple of good games in the minor leagues and they say my whole organization is calling me 'Big Game.' They don't call me by my first name anymore.”;
After dropping the opener, the young Rays earned their first World Series win with help from a squeeze play and a checked swing.
Tampa Bay never really got a huge hit, but neither did the Phillies, as Jimmy Rollins & crew fell to 1-for-28 with runners in scoring position.
WORLD SERIES All times Hawaii time |
“;That might be one of our sloppiest games all year,”; manager Charlie Manuel said. “;I'm concerned about us hitting with guys on base, because it looks like at times we might be trying a little too hard. But we can fix that.”;
The series shifts to Philadelphia for Game 3 tomorrow night, though rain is in the forecast. ALCS MVP Matt Garza is scheduled to pitch for Tampa Bay against 45-year-old Jamie Moyer, making his World Series debut.
The Rays scored on Jason Bartlett's safety squeeze and built another rally when Rocco Baldelli walked on a checked swing that seemed to confuse players and umpires alike.
Shields pitched shutout ball into the sixth, working out of trouble just as Hamels did for a 3-2 win Wednesday night. Tampa Bay is 5-3 at home in the postseason after going a major league-best 57-24 during the season.
“;I didn't feel too much pressure,”; Shields said. “;The guys in the clubhouse were real relaxed before the game.”;
The 23-year-old Price, called up in September after he was the top pick in last year's draft, struck out slugger Ryan Howard with two on to end the seventh.
The hard-throwing lefty gave up a pinch-hit homer to Eric Bruntlett in the eighth, then stayed on to close it out against Philadelphia's big boppers.
Carloz Ruiz led off the ninth with a double, and a pitch from Price appeared to graze Rollins' jersey. But it was not called a hit batter, and a frustrated Rollins soon popped out.
Ruiz scored when third baseman Evan Longoria booted Jayson Werth's grounder for an error, but Price fanned Chase Utley and got Howard on a game-ending grounder.
“;I was nervous—very,”; Price said. “;I usually don't even sweat out there and my hat looks like I went swimming with it.”;
Philadelphia's lone hit with runners in scoring position was Shane Victorino's infield single in the fourth, and that didn't even produce a run.
Living up to his catchy monicker, Shields outpitched Brett Myers. Baldelli thwarted a potential Phillies rally with a strong throw, and Tampa Bay took advantage of two costly mistakes by Werth.
Shields usually flourishes at home, where he was 9-2 with a 2.59 ERA during the season.
He looked surprised when he was pulled in the sixth. He doffed his cap to the crowd, and Dan Wheeler got Pedro Feliz on an inning-ending grounder with runners at the corners.
The Phillies had a chance to rally in the fifth after putting two on with one out. Utley hit a looper to right that was caught on the run by Baldelli, who fired to first behind Werth for an inning-ending double play.
Baldelli also was involved on a confusing call in the second that helped Tampa Bay make it 3-0.
He checked his swing on a full-count pitch and plate umpire Kerwin Danley immediately raised his right arm as if to call strike three. But then Danley pointed to first base for an appeal, and umpire Fieldin Culbreth signaled safe.
“;It was his intention to go to first base for help on a half-swing that he had as ball four,”; said Mike Port, Major League Baseball's vice president for umpiring. “;He just gave a confusing mechanic. But he had called it a ball, and it was ruled no half-swing anyway. So it was just that particular mechanic that caused confusion.”;
Myers and several Phillies infielders were puzzled.
“;I thought he called the guy out,”; Manuel said.
Port said the umpires would not be available for comment.
With the bases loaded and two outs, B.J. Upton hit an RBI single to right. Werth made a strong throw to cut down Baldelli, who crashed into Ruiz but couldn't dislodge the ball.
Rays 4, Phillies 2
| Philadelphia | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. |
| Rollins ss | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Werth rf | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .333 |
| Utley 2b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .250 |
| Howard 1b | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .222 |
| Burrell lf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 |
| Victorino cf | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
| Dobbs dh | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .333 |
| a-Bruntlett ph-dh | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
| Feliz 3b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .286 |
| Ruiz c | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .400 |
| Totals | 36 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 8
|
| Tampa Bay | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. |
| Iwamura 2b | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .429 |
| Upton cf | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .250 |
| CPena 1b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .000 |
| Longoria 3b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Crawford lf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .125 |
| CFloyd dh | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 |
| Navarro c | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 |
| Baldelli rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 |
| Bartlett ss | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .667 |
| Totals | 28 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3
|
| Philadelphia | 000 | 000 | 011 | — | 2 | 9 | 2 |
| Tampa Bay | 210 | 100 | 00x | — | 4 | 7 | 1
|
a-homered for Dobbs in the 8th.
E—Werth (1), Ruiz (1), Longoria (1). LOB—Philadelphia 11, Tampa Bay 4. 2B—Howard (1), Ruiz 2 (2). HR—Bruntlett (1), off Price. RBIs—Bruntlett (1), Upton (1), CPena (1), Longoria (1), Bartlett (1). SB—Ruiz (1). S—Bartlett. GIDP—Upton.
Runners left in scoring position—Philadelphia 6 (Utley, Howard, Feliz 4); Tampa Bay 2 (Iwamura, Crawford).
Runners moved up—Rollins, Burrell, CPena, Longoria.
DP—Philadelphia 1 (Rollins, Utley and Howard); Tampa Bay 1 (Baldelli and CPena).
| Philadelphia | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP | ERA |
| Myers L, 0-1 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 85 | 3.86 |
| JRomero | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0.00
|
| Tampa Bay | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP | ERA |
| JShields W, 1-0 | 5 2/3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 104 | 0.00 |
| Wheeler H, 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 0.00 |
| Price | 2 1/3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 42 | 3.86 |
Inherited runners-scored—Wheeler 2-0, Price 1-0.
WP—JShields.
Umpires—Home, Kerwin Danley; First, Fieldin Culbreth; Second, Tom Hallion; Third, Jeff Kellogg; Left, Tim Tschida; Right, Tim Welke.
T—3:05. A—40,843 (36,048).
