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Pitching Is Defining Factor In Loss

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By MARC LANCASTER

mlancaster@tampatrib.com

Published: October 23, 2008

Updated: 10/23/2008 01:13 am

ST. PETERSBURG - The Rays will get another chance to play that underdog role they seem to enjoy so much.

The opening game of the World Series saw to that, as the Phillies jumped out to an early lead and never let go, defeating the Rays 3-2 before 40,783 fans at Tropicana Field.

Tampa Bay's homefield advantage is gone, along with any thoughts that Sunday's dramatic ALCS clincher against the Red Sox might propel the Rays past the Phillies after the National League champs went a week without a game. It's up to the Rays to respond in Game 2 tonight before the series relocates to Philadelphia for three games without a roof or the designated hitter.

"I think we're as confident as ever," Evan Longoria said. "We'll take the loss in stride. Obviously, it's a tough one, like any one, but it gives us confidence going into tonight knowing that we did lose the first game of that Boston series."

As is usually the case this time of year, Game 1 was defined by pitching. Cole Hamels bettered Scott Kazmir - by plenty in style points but a slimmer margin in results - and both bullpens turned in impressive efforts. At the end of the day, the Phillies had just enough to hold on.

Kazmir again found himself in first-inning trouble Wednesday night, but unlike in his previous start against the Red Sox, he couldn't wiggle out of it unscathed. A one-out walk to Jayson Werth was the setup, and Chase Utley followed by hammering a 2-2 offering out to right.

As Utley became the 34th player in history to homer in his first career World Series at-bat, the Rays knew they would have to come from behind again if they wanted to take the opener.

Momentum was squarely on the Phillies' side in the early going as they continued to pile up base runners. The Rays pulled it back a bit in the second, which ended when B.J. Upton gunned Shane Victorino down at the plate as his opposite number attempted to score from third on a very shallow fly ball to left-center. Upton's throw reached Dioner Navarro on one hop, and the catcher made the tag to complete a huge double play.

That was the only highlight for Upton in his World Series bow, though. A nearly unstoppable force at the plate in the first two rounds of the playoffs, Upton grounded into a double play in the first inning, then did so again with the bases loaded in the third. In fact, Upton was responsible for all three runners the Rays left on base in the game.

Philadelphia tacked on another run in the fourth - and it proved to be a big one - by going station to station with Victorino. He led off with a single, moved up on a Pedro Feliz single, went to third on a Chris Coste groundout and scored on another groundout by Carlos Ruiz. That made it 3-0 and the Rays needed something positive to happen.

Carl Crawford provided it in the bottom of the inning. After coming up short on a well-hit fly ball to center his first time up, Crawford pulled a Hamels offering to right-center, sending it over the wall for a two-out homer.

Tampa Bay chipped another run away the following inning, when Jason Bartlett worked a two-out walk from Hamels and stole second before scoring on Akinori Iwamura's double to left-center.

The pitchers on both sides took care of business from that point forward. Once the starters were through, two outstanding bullpens held serve until Brad Lidge finished it off in the bottom of the ninth by setting down the meat of the Rays' lineup for his 47th save in as many chances this season.

The final 11 Rays batters went down in order, with only one of them hitting the ball out of the infield - an Iwamura fly to right in the eighth.

Reporter Marc Lancaster can be reached at (813) 259-7227.

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