Recap: Philadelphia vs. Tampa Bay
Sports Network | October 27, 2008
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - With the rain intensifying at Citizens Bank Park, the Rays rallied to tie the Phillies in Game 5 of the World Series, putting Philadelphia's championship on hold until at least Tuesday.
Carlos Pena, who had been held without a hit in the first four games, doubled and scored in the fourth inning, and delivered the tying RBI single in the sixth, lifting Tampa Bay to a 2-2 tie before the tarp covered the field prior to the bottom of the sixth.
A short time later, Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced the game would be suspended until there are proper playing conditions, whether that's Tuesday or Wednesday.
Shane Victorino's two-run single in the first frame provided Philadelphia with the lead on a wet night with temperatures diving through the 40s, but instead of closing it out Monday the Phillies find themselves in a dogfight and in a waiting pattern.
The rain wasn't expected to let up the rest of the night and the forecast for Tuesday calls for more wet weather with cold, very windy conditions.
The game will be suspended from the point where it left off, with the Phillies coming to bat in the bottom of the sixth.
B.J. Upton reached first on an infield hit with two outs in the sixth. He then stole second, sliding into second safely through the mud and puddles before Pena lined a single to left-center field. The throw home was late.
Pena went to second on a passed ball, but Evan Longoria flied out to center before the tarp came on the field.
Pena and Longoria didn't have a hit in their first 31 at-bats combined in this series, but are 3-for-6 in Monday's game.
Cole Hamels, who came into the game with a 4-0 record this postseason, was on the mound through the sixth inning, hoping to help the Phillies break a long championship drought in Philadelphia.
The Phillies are up 3-1 in the best-of-seven series. A win would not only give the Phillies just their second-ever title and first since 1980, but it would also give the City of Brotherly Love its first championship of any kind since 1983, when the 76ers beat the Los Angeles Lakers for the NBA championship.
Lefty Scott Kazmir, who lost to Hamels in Game 1, started for the Rays, but was lifted after allowing four hits and the two runs in four-plus innings.
Jayson Werth walked with one out in the first inning and Chase Utley was hit by a pitch. Ryan Howard, who homered twice and had five RBI in Philadelphia's 10-2 win Sunday, then struck out. Pat Burrell walked before Victorino lined a 2-1 pitch to left field. Pedro Feliz then singled to left, but Kazmir escaped the bases-loaded jam by getting Carlos Ruiz to fly out.
Pena and Longoria, who had been held to 0-for-29 through four games of this series, combined to finally put Tampa Bay on the board in the fourth. Pena doubled high off the wall in right field with one out in the fourth, and Longoria followed with a ground single to left-center field, past a diving Jimmy Rollins at shortstop.
If the Rays can force Game 6, it would be indoors, at Tropicana Field.
There have been 42 teams that have taken a 3-1 World Series lead, 36 of them have gone on to win a title. However, there have been six teams to rally from that deficit, the last being Kansas City in 1985 when the Royals beat St. Louis.
