World Series Game 3: Philadelphia 5 - Tampa Bay 4

An hour and a half delay with HEAVY rains in Philadelphia was not enough to discourage this fan (Don McCracken), nor was it enough to derail the Phillies as they took a 2-1 series lead against the Devil Rays in the 2008 World Series.

It was a throwback night for Jamie Moyer, as the 45-year old was tough to solve through 6.1 innings, and held the Rays to only 3 runs in an eventual Phillies 6-5 victory. As always, it's tough to understand exactly how he goes about being so effective with an 82 MPH fastball, 75 MPH change up and slider, and a curve that sits at 69. Even with the pinpoint accuracy he sometimes shows, it just doesn't seem like his stuff is enough to keep hitters off balance three times through the lineup. But what I noticed this time, was that even Moyer's fastball (although I think we should call it a not-necessarily-slow ball) has a ton of movement on it. So it becomes harder for hitters to determine exactly where that fastball is going to end up. He also cuts it and tosses a two-seamer which I'm beginning to believe is one of the best 1-2 combinations in the game.

On the other side, Matt Garza took a minute or two to regain his composure after the hour-and-a-half rain delay, and his control was never what it was when he looked like the best pitcher in baseball against the Sox, but he was mostly solid through his 6 innings of work. The obvious exception being back-to-back home runs he surrendered to Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in the 5th. Howard seemed to find his stroke in this game, which is a dangerous prospect to Rays fans (do you think they know there's still more baseball to play?). Actually, it was an odd "coincidence" (I don't believe in such things in baseball) that Maddon told the wonder-bitch announcers that he'd have the flaps of his hat down at "5 past midnight" due to the cold. Well, he didn't and at exactly 12:05, Chase Utley hit a home run. More proof that the Baseball Gods dislike people who don't keep their word - remember that Mr. Maddon.

The end of the game was a bit of an oddity for both clubs, as neither bullpen could keep the other team at bay, the way it had all year long. Granted, each team was helped out by some costly errors and great base-running, but these teams have become accustomed to shut down pitching from their bullpen guys. Ryan Madson allowed a run to score in the top of the eighth, and going into the bottom of the 9th with a tied game, I was gearing up for a long night (and it was almost 2AM by that point). However the Tampa bullpen could not hold down the Phillies, and a lead-off walk by Eric Bruntlett and his glorious beard was turned into a triple by a stolen base, and a throwing error on that steal. In a classic Maddon move, the next two guys were walked and he went with 5 infielders to try and get three outs. The first batter, Carlos Ruiz, hits a dribbler down the third base line, and Longoria could not make the play at home.

The weird thing was, and never mentioned by the Buck-McCarver failure, was that if he had let that ball go, it might have had a chance to roll foul. But at that point in the game, you need to try and make a play. So the Phillies go up 2 games to 1, and the question becomes “how will the Rays respond?” Well, this is been a most resilient team all year long. Every time they have been counted out (by me more often than anyone, I assure you), they have bounced back and kept themselves on track. Can they do it again? Well they have Andy Sonnanstine taking the hill against Joe Blanton tonight, so we'll have to gear up to find out.


Written by Kyle Baxter: Certified Silly Goose