Phillies Manhandle Rays, Go Up 3 to 1 in WS
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1st Baseman Ryan Howard pounded 2 homers and drove in 5 runs while going 3 for 4. Starter Joe Blanton helped his own cause with a solo homer while holding the Rays through six fine innings as the Phils uncorked their offense. Rightfielder Jayson Werth chipped in with a 2 run homer as the Phillies pummelled Tampa Bay pitchers to win by a 10-2 score on Sunday and go up by 3 games to 1 in the series.
Joe Blanton was a horse out of the starting blocks, his fastball and off-speed pitches working to near perfection as the Phillies offense, working on nearly all cylinders, struck against Andy Sonnanstine for single runs in the first and third innings. Blanton retired 11 of the first 13 Rays hitters he faced before leftfielder Carl Crawford went yard for a solo homer to rightfield on a 1-2 pitch with 2 out in the fourth. The Phillies offense finally broke out of it’s doldrums of the first 3 games.
AP baseball writer Ronald Blum provides this note on the Phils’ offense for Yahoo sports;
The Phillies were 4-for-14 with runners in scoring position and are 6-for-47 in the Series.
Shortstop Jimmy Rollins opened the game for the Phils with a double to rightfield and advanced to 3rd base on rightfielder Jayson Werth’s fly out to rightfield. Sonnanstine walked 2nd baseman Chase Utley on 4 pitches and went to 2nd base as Howard reached on a fielder’s choice to the pitcher that netted no outs as Rollins eluded a rundown between 3rd and home. Sonnanstine walked leftfielder Pat Burrell on 5 pitches forcing in Rollins with the 1st Phils run. Centerfielder Shane Victorino followed by grounding into a fielder’s choice with Utley out at home — bases still jammed. 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz flied out to centerfield to end the inning. Rollins, like Howard, had a big game going 3 for 5 and scoring 3 runs.
Sonnanstine got through the second inning okay only surrendering a Rollins single to centfield. But in the third, Utley led off reaching on a fielding error by 2nd baseman Akinori Iwamura. Howard pounded a long single to right sending Utley to 3rd. Burrell and Victorino both popped out to shortstop. Feliz singled to left scoring Utley with the Phils’ 2nd run. Catcher Carlos Ruiz, the hero of Saturday’s game 3, singled through the hole at 2nd base to load the bases. But Blanton fouled out to 1st base to end the threat.
After Crawford’s fourth inning homer narrowed the score to 2-1, the Phils struck Sonnanstine for 3 fourth inning runs as he struggled with his offspeed pitches throughout. Rollins reached on a 2nd fielding error by 2nd baseman Iwamura. Werth walked on 4 pitches as Rollins took 2nd. After Utley struck out, Howard pounded a 3 run homer to leftfield as the Phils went up by 5-1. Victorino ended the inning by popping out to 3rd base.
In the fifth Blanton got the first 2 outs before pinch hitter (for
Sonnanstine) Eric Hinske pounded a 2-1 pitch from Blanton for a solo homer to centerfield to cut the score to 5-2.
But with 2 out in the Phillies’ fifth inning, Blanton seemingly closed his eyes with the count 2-1 as reliever Edwin Jackson served up a pitch in his wheelhouse. I can’t believe that rip. I tell you, he looked like Greg Luzinski. Blanton blistered it out to leftfield and the Phils’ lead was 6-2.
Meanwhile, when Blanton was replaced after six innings inning having thrown 99 pitches, Chad Durbin, Scott Eyre and Ryan Madson shutdown the Rays on 1 hit in the seventh with Madson retiring the side in order in the eighth on 9 pitches. Madson had 3 strikeouts in his 1 1/3 innings of work.
Phillies Nations’ Tim Malcolm had these thoughts on Blanton;
Blanton pitched superb. He went six innings, giving up just two runs and striking out seven. He located all his pitches, never ever getting into much trouble while making the Rays look dead on arrival. The bullpen cleaned it up without a dent, per usual.
In the eighth, the Phils exploded on Rays’ relievers Dan Wheeler and Trever Miller for 4 runs as Werth and Howard added icing on the cake each hitting a 2 run homer to cap a Phillies performance where they totally out-classed Tampa Bay in every component of the game.
AP baseball writer Blum further notes;
Blanton became the first pitcher in 34 years to homer in the World Series…
Blanton, with a Greg Luzinski body type that’s a throwback to an era of pudgy pitchers, gave up four hits—including solo homers to Carl Crawford and pinch-hitter Eric Hinske—struck out seven and walked two in six innings.
Just 2-for-33 (.061) with one RBI in his career to that point, Blanton homered in the fifth off Edwin Jackson. It was just the 15th home run by a pitcher in the Series, and the first since Oakland’s Ken Holtzman in 1974. No NL pitcher had homered since the Cardinals’ Bob Gibson in 1968.
If the Phillies win Monday, it would mark the first time the Series has gone five straight years without reaching a Game 6. The only other four-year stretch without a Game 6 was 1913-16. … Lenny Dykstra (1993) is the only other Phillies player with a multihomer Series game.
On Monday, lefthanders Cole Hamels and Scott Kazmir face-off in a rematch of game 1. Hamels has a shot at sealing the Rays’ fate and ending the series in Philadelphia. If need be, the teams have Tuesday off for travel to return to Tampa Bay where they would play games 6 and 7.
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