Friday, October 24, 2008

(Devil) Rays Even The Series

In two close games (3 - 2 Phillies on Wednesday, 4 - 2 Rays tonight) the Phillies and the Rays split the first stand in Tampa Bay. I think even Fox Sports was interested in the game they were covering. I'm not sure, though, because due to some provident malfunction of my DVR, there was no sound on tonight's broadcast. Still, for anyone who'd rather see a competitive ballgame than a fistfight, this has to be good.

The Phillies' inability to hit with runners in scoring position is a troubling thing. I don't expect a .300 average there, but something better than zero would be nice, don't you think? They had runners in scoring position with fewer than two outs in almost every inning, it seemed, and yet could only score late in the game, with one of the runs a solo homer. In contrast, the Rays seemed to do the right thing every time they had someone on second or third. They managed to score four runs, only one on a base hit. All the other runs were driven in by ground balls or bunts.

The series moves to Philadelphia now, where the Phillies hitters may be able to see the ball better. Here's hoping, anyway.


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