Rays Beat Phillies to Even World Series

Major League Baseball's best-of-seven game World Series is tied at one win each after the host Tampa Bay Rays beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2, Thursday night. VOA Sports Editor Parke Brewer was at Game 2 in St. Petersburg, Florida and has a report.

For the second straight night, two runs came across the plate in the first inning, only this time it was host Tampa Bay, and not Philadelphia, that scored first. The Rays got their runs on a walk, a hit, an error and two ground ball outs.

They added a run in the second on three singles to make it 3-0, and their final run came in the fourth inning on two singles and a bunt up the first base line.

Philadelphia got one run in the eighth inning on a home run into the left field stands by pinch hitter Eric Bruntlett, and the other run in the ninth inning on a double and a Tampa Bay error.

The Phillies outhit the Rays in Game two, nine to seven, but they continued to struggle to get their hits with runners in scoring position, with only one in 15 tries. They left 11 runners on base to only four for the Rays.

Philadelphia manager Charlie Manual says it's a problem.

"I'm concerned about us hitting with guys on base, because I think at times it looks like we might be trying a little bit too hard, but we can fix that," he said. "We got behind early and we had a hard time catching up and we didn't execute."

On the other hand, Tampa Bay made the most of its opportunities, getting three of its four runs driven across the plate on ground ball outs.

Rays starting pitcher James Shields did not allow a run in five and two-thirds innings of work and was credited with the win. He said playing in his first World Series game was a thrill.

"There's no doubt. This is the World Series. This is what we dreamed of doing as kids. And you know our crowd tonight was electric, and I mean it's exciting," he said. "It's an exciting time in our lives and we're trying to enjoy the moment."

The Tampa Bay Rays have some extra time to enjoy the victory, as the series does not resume until Saturday night in Philadelphia, where games three, four and five will be played.