Hamels, Bullpen Silence Rays For 1-0 Lead
Posted by Tim Malcolm, Thu, October 23, 2008 12:07 AM | Comments: 79
Posts
Cole Hamels pitched a magnificent seven innings of two-run ball, putting the Phillies ahead in the 2008 World Series with a 3-2 win over the Rays.
Hamels gave up a home run to Carl Crawford and a double to Akinori Iwamura, but struck out a handful while containing the Rays big hitters (2-3-4 went 0-for-12 with five strikeouts). He was very good, especially late, and got a lift from a couple double play balls.
The difference in the game was the mistakes. The Rays committed an error, played a tad too aggressive and looked a little off-center in their first World Series game. The Phils did too, but just not as much. To wit, Ryan Howard looked lost with an 0-for-4, 3 K game, and Jimmy Rollins left five on base with an 0-for-5. But the Phils limited mistakes and let pitching do the talking.
Behind Hamels, Ryan Madson was sparkling with a 1-2-3 eighth inning, and Brad Lidge quelled fears with a 1-2-3 save.
Chase Utley got the Phils off to a huge start with a two-run home run. The Phils got a third run via a Carlos Ruiz RBI groundout. They got their runs when they needed them, then held the Rays down with superb pitching. The result: a 1-0 lead in the World Series.
Associated Press photo
Pop quiz: Which National League team had the highest production, 
Posts: 0 JOsh
Awesome game! The pitching was great. Just gotta get the bats going a little more for the rest of the series.
Posted: 12:15 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 SJ Will
GO PHILS!! This shuts up all those bitches that said the rays would sweep. You don’t even know what you’re dealing with. Let’s Go Phillies! Great win! Keep ‘em coming.
Posted: 12:17 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Karch
A beautiful, beautiful game and now, only three more wins to go! I would have liked some more clutch hitting, but here’s hoping for more of that in game 2.
Posted: 12:18 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 dan
HELL YES!
Posted: 12:19 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 J-Man
Yea the bats gotta show up with RISP,we went like 0-13 i think it was and your right Tim,Howard looked lost and so did J-Roll
Posted: 12:19 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 dan
If you have five dollars and Cole Hamels has five dollars, Cole Hamels has more money than you.
Posted: 12:19 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Chase Mutley
Amazing! Apologies to Grumpy Miner for being the best Mets fan this year but still, stay the F out of this series unless you’re for our team.
“Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no tellin’ who
That it’s namin’.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin’.”
- Chase Mutley
Posted: 12:25 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Isaiah
Hey Jim Caple, STICK IT. And way to go BRIDGE TO LIDGE. I dont know where 97 mph came from but i dont care. Let’s get two tomorrow.
Posted: 12:31 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 christopher
pitching was out of this world this game. shut the rays down. winning this first game in tampa bay is so big, i couldn’t be happier.
Posted: 12:31 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 JoshinDC
Ok so Howard, Rollins, and Burrell didnt do that well hitting. A WIN IS A WIN! I just don’t care how anyone wins, just WIN!
Go Phils. PLEASE win in Philly!
Posted: 12:36 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Jim
Did hamels get the ashburn award (again) or has this just not been updated. I’m all for him getting it tonight, but I wonder about Utley as a candidate.
Posted: 12:37 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 christopher
they just made a great call on the post game show. remember when jimmy predicted this team would win 100 games? well guess what number win this was for the phils? the man is a prophet!
Posted: 12:38 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 T Marty
How Big was that! Cole, you did done good, as did Madson and Lidge. 11 runners stranded, gulp!, But the Phillies Win Game One!!!
Posted: 12:43 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Rick
Chase appears locked-in and that will help Ryan after tonight…
Jimmy will come around! Dont’ worry and have faith in this special team! I know they left a lot of guys on base tonight, but they will hit better after this game with RISP.
When Cole has pitched, at times all season, they have let off the throttle a little bit after they gained a lead. I think tonight was about honing back in on the live pitching! Luckily they had the luxury of Cole pitching tonight to afford them the opportunity to do just that.
Tomorrow’s game should be a different story since they just sat around taking BP for the past seven days! Now they’ve seen the gametime situations, they’ve avoided the layoff caused sweep, and Brett WILL come out tomorrow gunnin to beat this team.
BTW – After tonight, I don’t think homefield advantage is much of an advantage at all for the Rays. That crowd was tame. Let them ring their bells all they want, but when this Rays team comes to “the bank” they WILL hear the loudest crowd they’ll ever hear throughout their careers. I honestly believe they have no clue what they’re entering into and they have not seen anything even close to it thus far.
Posted: 12:45 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Rick
Oh and one more thing, I think Chad Billingsley has better ‘stuff’ than any one of these Rays pitchers (with the exception of maybe David Price) and we saw what this lineup did to him.
Not only once, but twice!!!!
Posted: 12:49 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Mazinman
I’m not too surprised that Howard stuggled. I think log layoffs hurt a power hitter more than one who bats for average. I am sure he will produce before the series is over.
Thank goodness for the beauty that this Hamels-Madson-Lidge. They way they are going right now they can shut down any offense.
Three more!
Posted: 12:57 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 fills fan
I’m putting this out there for tonite….. Let’s give myers a free pass to do whatever he want no questions asked with his wife we need his a game tommorow!
Posted: 01:06 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Phillyguy
I really felt that Hamels won the game for us this time, but, the problem was that we couldn’t clinch all those opportunities we had to score. I feel that we need to be more aggressive with our batting. we were very aggressive in the first several innings which had our best opportunities to score.
Howard is clearly not a factor in these post season games, so I suggest the fans forget about him. Our offence guys are Victorino, Burrell, Utley, Ruiz.
Don’t get me wrong I hope Howard and J-Roll can turn it around but I just feel that if they havn’t done it by now, its not happening.
I thin Phillies win this in 5!!!
Posted: 01:06 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Rick
Phillyguy, all will be well!! Have some faith.
Ryan and Jimmy are TOOO good of hitters to NOT be a factor in this Fall Classic. Seriously, tonight they were just knockin off a little rust. Tomorrow they’ll be a better and after some BP with Uncie on Friday, they’ll be primed for Saturday!
Posted: 01:12 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 maxhole
you forgot werth
Posted: 01:23 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 NEPA
I agree that the bats will come alive tomorrow night. Whether it was a little rust from the long lay off or just some minor pressing caused by the pressure of the WS, I expect this team to come out a lot looser tomorrow. Getting a win in this first game is so huge. It allows everyone to relax a little bit while still keeping that competitive edge. And another great thing is, no matter what happens tomorrow (actually tonight) we will still have a chance to celebrate a world championship in Philly in Game 5. It may be a lot to ask, but it sure would be nice.
Posted: 01:30 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Phillyguy
I’ve been a Philadelphia sports fan since I moved to Philly when I was 12, in 96, that year we lost the Stanley Cup to the Red Wings. Since then I’ve rooted for nothing but Philly teams, however, we haven’t won anything. I think this is our best chance ever. We WILL WIN THIS IN 5 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! even if Nutter thinks we’ll win it in 6.
Posted: 01:37 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 J-Man
You guys think Dobbs gets the start at 3rd tomorrow and Stairs DH?Thats what their saying on ESPN they think Cholly will do…The Rays have clearly shown the are going to pitch to Howard because he got pitches to hit tonight and they also pitched to Big Papi in the ALCS,i just hope he can break out of his slump soon and make em pay.
Posted: 01:58 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Keith
I think they should do that, what would the lineup be?
Posted: 02:05 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 SarconesDeli
Sarcone’s Deli Supports its Phillies !
Bring home the World Championship !
http://www.sarconesdeli.com
Posted: 06:33 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 C.J. Henry
I don’t know about that, I think Feliz is too valuable at 3rd base with his glove. I mean he made a very clutch play to save a couple runs in the 3rd inning. It might be more important to stop runs than to get them as we saw in game 1.
Posted: 06:46 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 rich
I can’t believe you Tim, you’ll mention how Howard was 0-for-4 and Jimmy was 0-for-5 and no mention of Coste 0 for 4 (totally sucked) with 5 LOB and Burrell 0 for 3 (with his shuffle). Boy talk about influencing the readers in an unfair way.
Straight up bias. Straight!
Posted: 07:08 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 mikemike
Was it me or am I just being a homer. But the announcers just kept praising rays and madden. It sounded like the atlanta announcers, when they had skip carey.
Posted: 07:09 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Jim
I know you are all going to think that Hamels pitched a great game. I am a diehard Phillies fan. Young enough to have never seen a championship in Philadelphia. Hamels was one big play away from getting blown out of the water (the Upton groundout with the bases loaded for example).
He didn’t go inside at all, he stayed outside and over the plate. I’m so happy the phillies won, and hopefully quieted down some of the critics who don’t get the fact that the phillies are just the better team. Hopefully Myers comes out firing inside tonight, early and often.
GO PHILLIES!!!
Posted: 07:12 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Jim
Tonights Lineup Should be:
Rollins SS
Utley 2B
Werth RF
Howard 1B
Burrell LF
Victorino CF
Dobbs 3B
Stairs DH
Ruiz C
Stack it with lefties against the righty starter.
Posted: 07:13 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 chase mutley
reading all the major outlets this morning you would have thought that we lost last night.
3 to go!
Posted: 07:14 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Chuck
MVPs of this game for me:
*Utley
*Hamels
*Madson
*Lidge
*Feliz (HUGE DP to end threat AND, what really isn’t being talked
about…….a big play to end it. That catch was not easy!)
Notables:
*Werth
*Coste (Remember……he moved those runners over so the 3rd run
could score)
*Howard (What???) Ok he looked horrible at the plate and was rusty
in the field…..BUT……He made a HUGE play off the bat of Upton
when he caught that pop-up near the rail to end the inning.
Needs Improvement:
*Howard
*Victorino
*Burrell
*J-ROLL!!!
Posted: 07:44 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Isaiah
Jim, I dont believe Hamels had any troubles going inside. I recall him doing it numerous times. While Hamels did get into some trouble, part of the reason I think it was a good game is he was able to make the pitches to get out of the trouble. Now come on Brett let’s get #2.
Posted: 07:51 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 bull
hamels went inside often, upton specifically couldnt catch up inside the double play in the first his pop ups…and longoria was caught looking inside as well…if anything i thought he was coming inside too much to the lefties…and please no more curves to the LH hitters…he gets killed on that
Posted: 08:04 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 harry
hamels went inside a lot, thats how he set stuff up outside. the upton check swing double play in the first inning was a pitch he got jamed on inside. i think the key to this series is pitch inside and keep the ball down. boston didn’t do that. thats why their pitching got ate alive.
Posted: 08:14 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Jeff
Great win. Awsome pitching. Too many RISP left on base.
Posted: 08:30 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Jim D.
god reading foxsports this morning you would think the phils lost by ten runs. they all have that tim mccaever mentality.
Posted: 08:37 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Phils2611
I want to see what happens when the Phillies win the World Series…
Fox sports announcers will probably say something like:
“WOW! What an amazing series by these Tampa Bay Rays! Talk about a remarkable season, going from last, to almost 1st!”
Posted: 08:55 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Mark
Great pitching by Hamels, Madson, Lidge. Great to see them hit the scoreboard early. Hopefully, they’ll score more runs to give pitchers elbow-room in the next games. They’re gonna need to score more to win the series.
Posted: 09:01 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Jason Bintliff
This is ridiculous. We are now three games away from the World Series and these friggin announcers sound as if Cole Hamels just shot thier very yappy dog. I’m sorry, but I was under the assumption that a Nationally televised game was supposed to have nationally unbiased commentators. Ken Rosenthal is a sad, sad, little man who wears a bad hairpiece. Tim McCarver who also said n ’93 that the Phillies would never beat the Braves in a seven game series ought to appreciate the Phillies for extending his misreable playing career. Yo Tim, Kruk you and shut your Kruking mouth. And Lastly, Joe Buck… He’s too pretty to announce a baseball game. He should be a staple on the Golf network, but leave Baseball to the pros. THis is the worst possible broadcasting team I have ever seen. I hope they all choke on the free Tace from Taco Bell and just do us all a favor and Shut Up!
Posted: 09:26 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Manny
Today we need offense, Coste was terrible as DH and Howard, Pat, and Rollins were clearly not feeling well. Werth was really good hitting the ball in No.2 spot and Utley was HUGE with that 1st inning homer.
Hamels, Madson, Lidge: brilliant!
For today’s game, I think Pedro should start and Dobbs be the DH. I prefer Stairs in one-AB-situations as a pinch-hitter; either he strikes out or he homers.
Posted: 09:27 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Jason Bintliff
By the Way… GO PHILS!
Posted: 09:28 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Don M
Did anyone else think the umpire was ALL OVER THE PLACE with calls on the inside to Right-Handed batters?? I couldn’t tell what was a strike or not the entire game on those pitches..
Hamels looked good.. but nowhere near as good as he did in the past 3 games.. .I was nervous that he was going to get rocked at any moment.. leaving the ball up and away a lot, thankfully those guys not trying to poke those changeups into RF. Anyone else notice Upton swinging out of his shoes a few times? too late on fastballs..too early on changeups..
I heard that Victorino went home but Steve Smith tried to hold him up when he get thrown out at the plate..
Madson looked awesome, overpowering.. Lidge.. takes it right to the heart of their order, and they couldn’t touch his slider!
I like the lineup suggestion with Dobbs at 3b tonight.. with a RHP- Myers on the mound, I think Charlie will do that.. However, against a tough RHP-Shields, I don’t think you move Werth to #3, cause he struggles against RHP anyway.
Big games last night, under the radar.. Feliz and Werth!
wow… we’re up 1-0 in the World Series!!!!
Posted: 09:31 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Chuck
Wow, Jason……tell us how you REALLY feel, bro. Yeah, these guys are sickening. I wonder how much teeth whitener Buck uses on a daily basis. He is such a loser!! And Tim McC. is just a lousy piece of dried up dog poop. The man needs to fade into the sunset and take his miserable hatred toward the Phillies with him.
Posted: 09:32 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Don M
I said to my dad after the game… when Ken Rosenthal was interviewing Lidge, that Lidge should have just said, “Oh, didn’t you just pick the Rays to beat us in this series? Have a good night!” and walked away…
BUT… it’s a good thing he’s not a douche and doesn’t hold a grudge..
Posted: 09:34 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Gabriel
does anyone know the story if game 3 rains out???? i have game 5 tix, would they play those games as normal and push game 3 to the end like they did with st louis a couple of years ago?
TIM – HELP!!!
Posted: 09:35 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Wilson
I really think Feliz should get the start in every game of this series. His glove is invaluable done on the hot corner. And hey he got a couple of hits last night, granted off a lefty but still, saving runs is just as good as driving them in
Posted: 09:36 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Chuck
Top o’ the mornin’ Don M, Yes, Welke was NOT consistent at the plate at all. Unbelieveable. You echoed what I said earleir…..Feliz and Werth had BIG games in my opinion. Werth’s play to hold that runner at third was absolutely HUGE!!! And the play by Feliz to end it was NOT a can of corn. He misses that and the Rays are still alive…..however, the way Lidge was pitching the inning was probably over anyway.
I like Dobbs at third to at least start the game and what about the DH? Stairs is my pick but I’m afraid Charlie might tap Jenkins.
Yeah, and keeping Upton quiet was very big. Hopefully, Brett can continue that trend tonight.
Posted: 09:38 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Don M
How about Chris Myers throwing in a plug for “FRINGE, the great now show on FOX”….
these guys are clowns… Interviewing the CEO of Taco Bell during the game!???
Anyone else see that the largest crowd in the history of that stadium was 47,000+ people… for a New Kids on the Block concert!!!! That’s cool, right?
Talking all night about how the Phillies need to stop stranding runners on base.. not how Kazmir sucked and was all over the place.. Or then that pickoff move by Hamels when McCarvers starts talking about an imaginary line, a 45-degree angle.. and then they show Hamels replay and he steps no more towards Home Plate than he does towards 1st Base….. and the BEST UMPIRES IN THE WORLD, the ones working the World Series don’t call a BALK.. McCarver throws out these open ended questioning calls… they suck at life..
Posted: 09:39 AM on October 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Don M
I LOVE Feliz for his defense… and have argued that way a ton on here this season.. but with Myers on the mound you won’t get as many ground balls to 3b as you do with Hamels or Moyer. and a RHP on the mound for them.. Dobbs has a better shot to get hits than Feliz..
I read that Charlie only goes with the “Dobbs vs. the RHP” theory, when the Phillies also have a RHP on the mound.. because 3b won’t get as many balls hit to him.
at this point, I’m seriously 100% FINE with whatever decisions these coaches make.. they got us this far!!
I wonder what kind of numbers Stairs/Jenkins have against Shields?? I’ll check Yahoo and see what I can find
Posted: 09:43 AM on October 23, 2008