So far, the team that scores first has gone on to win the game and it was the Phils who got on the board first as Chase Utley's RBI groundout scored a Jimmy Rollins leadoff single in the first. Matt Garza managed to hold the Phillies to just that single run as he stranded Jayson Werth at third by striking out Ryan Howard and getting Pat Burrell to fly out. The Rays tied the game in the second with a sac fly from former Jay Gabe Gross as he cashed in Carl Crawford after he doubled and stole third.
The 1-1 tie only lasted two outs in the home half of the second as Carlos Ruiz went deep to put the fighting Phils ahead 2-1. It would stay that way until the bottom of the sixth when Chase Utley and Ryan Howard (finally!) hit back to back jacks off Garza to give Philly a 4-1 cushion.
Meantime, Jamie Moyer was cruising along just nicely until the seventh. Carl Crawford laid down a bunt along the first base line and Moyer managed to dive for the ball and shovel it with his glove to first base to Howard, who bare-handed the ball to barely get Crawford. However, first base ump Tom Hallion did not see it that way and Crawford was safe. This wasn't as bad as Jorge Orta-Don Denkinger in the '85 World Series but that call would lead to a two-run rally for Tampa and Moyer's exit. Gross picked up his second RBI with a ground out off Chad Durbin to score Crawford and an RBI ground ball from Jason Bartlett pushed home a Dioner Navarro double to cut the Philly lead to 4-3. Former Jay lefty Scott Eyre was called upon to strikeout Akinori Iwamura to end the frame and leave a Willy Aybar walk at first.
Melvin Emmanuel Upton, slightly better known as "B.J.", wound up tying the game in the eighth. He reached on an infield single off Ryan Madson, stole second, stole third and came home. Carlos Ruiz's throw to third went horribly askew and that allowed Upton to cross the plate with the tying run.
Philly tried to take the lead in their half of the eighth when Jayson Werth tried to pull an M.E. Upton. He reached on a walk, stole second and saw Chase Utley go 3-2 on J.P. Howell before he swung on an offering out of the strike zone for the first out. Werth was then picked off second by Howell when he broke towards third for a rally-killing second out. Ryan Howard capped off the rally kill with, wait for it, another whiff!
Instead of the "Bridge to Lidge", it was the "Bolero to Romero?" as J.C. Romero took care of the Rays in order in the ninth to set the stage for the hometown nine. Howell plunked pinch-hitter Eric Bruntlett to start things off and he would be relieved by Grant Balfour, who wound up nearly plunking Shane Victorino. Instead, the ball went to the backstop and bounced right back to Dioner Navarro, whose errant peg allowed Bruntlett to reach third. Two intentional walks and a five man infield later, Carlos Ruiz hit a squibber along the third base line to score Bruntlett and that was your ball game. That was just the Phils second hit with a runner in scoring position as they are now 2-for-33 in the RISP position, yet they have the series lead. Again, baseball is a funny game!
I was selfishly hoping for Ruiz to make an out because Matt Stairs was on deck. Instead, Stairs was the first to congratulate Bruntlett at home plate. It was clearly the presence of the Canadian slugger and awesome former Jay in the on deck circle that allowed Ruiz to "drive" home the winning tally.
Game 4 goes tonight around 8:30. It's Andy Sonnanstine versus Joe Blanton. Who do you like?
