Recap: Philadelphia vs. Tampa Bay
Sports Network | October 26, 2008
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - The Phillies are one victory away from ending a quarter-century worth of championship frustration in Philadelphia.
Ryan Howard homered twice and drove in five runs, and Joe Blanton hit his first major league homer and had seven strikeouts over six-plus dominating innings, powering the Phillies to a 10-2 victory over Tampa Bay in Game 4 of the World Series.
Blanton belted a solo homer in the fifth inning, Howard added a three-run blast in the fourth and a two-run shot in the eighth, and Jayson Werth clubbed a two-run homer in the eighth.
Ahead 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, the Phillies need one win for their second title, with the other coming in 1980. Philadelphia hasn't had a major sports title since 1983 when the 76ers won the NBA championship.
Jimmy Rollins went 3-for-5 and scored three times for the Phillies, who headed into Sunday 2-for-33 with runners in scoring position. They went 4-for-14 in those situations in Game 4.
The Phillies acquired Blanton (1-0) from Oakland on July 17, and the right- hander has been a pleasant surprise, going 6-0 since then. That includes a pair of playoff victories. He allowed four hits and two runs, on homers to Carl Crawford and Eric Hinske, before departing in the seventh.
Andy Sonnanstine (0-1) was lifted after giving up six hits and five runs -- three earned -- through four innings for the Rays.
The Phillies will have their ace on the mound for Monday's Game 5 in 24-year- old Cole Hamels, while the Rays go with fellow lefty Scott Kazmir in a pitching rematch of the opener. Hamels, who won Game 1, is 4-0 with a 1.55 earned-run average in the 2008 playoffs.
The big offensive output came less than 24 hours after a wild 5-4 ninth-inning Phillies win that ended at 1:47 a.m. (et) when Eric Bruntlett scored on a Carlos Ruiz dribbler. One night later the Phils powered their way to a huge victory and gave themselves a chance to clinch the championship at Citizens Bank Park in front of their title-thirsty fans.
It's been a horrendous series for Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria, the 3-4 hitters for the Rays. They've combined to go 0-for-29 with 16 strikeouts.
