Rays get even in Series’ Game 2

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. | In a sense, the Philadelphia Phillies accomplished what they needed to in the opening segment of the 104th World Series. They took Game 1 at Tropicana Field and thus head back north this weekend having wrested home-field advantage away from the Tampa Bay Rays.

But in the wake of a 4-2 loss in Game 2 on Thursday night, the Phillies probably can’t help but wonder what could have been had they managed to come through only a couple of times in clutch situations.

Had Jayson Werth just rapped a single instead of striking out, had Chase Utley only gotten his line drive to fall in for a hit instead of landing in the right fielder’s glove, had Ryan Howard just taken the bat off his shoulder instead of watching strike three whisk by, perhaps Philadelphia would be heading home with a commanding 2-0 series lead.

Instead, this best-of-seven series is now tied, and the Rays again have to feel optimistic about their chances.

“We’ve been in that position before,” veteran Cliff Floyd said. “We lost the first game of the LCS. Guys know how to handle the situation. … We’re never too high, never too low. That’s our approach.”

Thanks to some well-executed fundamentals early on (including a successful squeeze bunt) and some effective pitching by James Shields and Co., Tampa Bay bounced back from its Game 1 defeat and gave a sellout crowd of 40,843 reason to celebrate.

But make no mistake, this game could have easily swung to the Phillies, who continued their inept performance with men in scoring position, going 1-for-15 to leave themselves 1-for-28 for the series.

“We’ve been getting more guys on base than they have,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “We’ve been getting more hits than they have. We’re just not executing.”

Knowing the challenge they faced coming into this one - avoiding an 0-2 deficit at home - the Rays made sure to seize control of the game from the start. Shields, who finished with 5 2/3 scoreless innings, cruised through the first and set the stage for his teammates.

Akinori Iwamura walked, and B.J. Upton singled to open the bottom of the inning, and when Werth booted Upton’s base hit, it allowed both men to move into scoring position and ultimately cross the plate on back-to-back groundouts.

Another run in the second, on Upton’s two-out single to right, made it 3-0. And even though Werth made up for his earlier error by gunning down Rocco Baldelli at the plate, the damage was done.

“We came in here knowing it would be a tight series,” Upton said. “These ballclubs are a lot alike, and every game is going to be like this.”

The Phillies could have made this one even tighter, but they kept fouling out, grounding out and striking out every time a scoring opportunity presented itself. They somehow got away with the lack of clutch hitting in winning Game 1 - they set a World Series record by going 0-for-13 with men in scoring position - but that good fortune wasn’t going to last forever.

Shields put two men on the second, one in the third, two in the fourth, two in the fifth and two more in the sixth, and yet not a single one crossed the plate.

“I’m concerned about us hitting with guys on base,” Manuel said. “It looks like at times we might be trying a little too hard. But we can fix that.”

Story Continues →