Game 1

Whew. 1 down, 3 to go.

 

Howard looks just totally lost at the plate, especially last night. Hopefully he can hit a homer that gets him back in his groove.

 

Hamels just gets better and better. Madson too. For a guy that was mediocre for the phils for a long time, he’s really found his niche as Lidge’s set up man. Both teams’ relievers throw heat.

 

I really wish Fox would show each players season stats when they’re up at bat and not just the post-season ones so you can see what the guy has done over the course of 162 games and not just 10. That said, the Rays had a huge power surge vs. the red sox but they’re not that much of a power team – as Pk pointed out.

 

Still don’t know how I feel about victorino tagging from third. It definitely shifted the momentum the rays way after that. could werth have knocked him in? it wasn’t that deep a flyball and upton has a good arm. On the other hand, even with a perfect throw and tag Victorino was only out by a 8 inches.

 

Phils got a lot of breaks last night on calls. Especially victorino not getting called out on the pick off at 2^nd  and the Hamels non-balk.

 

In the early innings I thought all the stranded runners meant the phils were putting constant pressure on the Rays – and being aggressive on the bases. In the later innings, I was afraid the phils were going to blow the game and look back at all the missed scoring opportunities.

 

Did you notice Maddon’s lineup was lefty-righty-lefty the entire way through?

 

Play of the game: Feliz’s spear of the liner and double play with the bases loaded.

Honorable mention Utley’s 2 run homer