Game three of the 2008 Fall Classic is the first game to end with an infield walk-off. It was the Philadelphia Phillies way of welcoming the Tampa Bay Devil rays to the World Series. Or saying goodbye to them. Probably both!
The Phillies charged out in front of this Fall Classic, but it was anything but easy. Game one, in Tampa, saw the Rays put up a spirited fight in a pitcher's duel. Neither starter finished the game, but all the scoring was done in the first five innings. Both bullpens came through. The 3-2, Philly win really did little to make a case for the Phillies from being better. That what is fun about one-run games, especially in October's Classic. How many times, for that matter, has a team gone from being up one to down one? It's like a pendulum that can just swing either way! But you never know what way.
The Rays needed to square this thing before heading to Philly, and charged out in front 4-0 in game two. Philly, however, didn't go away quietly. Held scoreless through seven, they tallied a run in the top of the eighth and another in the top of the ninth. The got the tying run to the dish with only one out, but got no closer. Still, you can't help but think the Rays' were not intimidated in the least of Philly.
But Philadelphia went home and showed 'em the way. They build up a three-run lead by the end of the sixth, only to see it come undone. Down 4-1, the Rays scored twice in the top of the seventh (Jays fans take note, it was Dioner Navarro who scored the run to make it a 4-3 game) and one more in the top of the eighth. That tied it at four. The Series was actually dead even at this point. Each team had a win. Through 8 1/2 of game three, each team had four runs.
J.P. Howell was on the hill for Tampa to pitch the bottom of the ninth. He did the one thing you don't do to in this situation. He let the first hitter, Eric Bruntlett get to first. He hit him. That was all for J.P.
In came Grant Balfour came in, and was probably told not to go, "Ball Four" on any hitters, unless they needed a force. It was actually a double-switch that brough Balfour in, but that substitution would not matter
Shane Victorino came to the plate. In the second pitch of the at-bat, Balfour threw a wild pitch. Navarro, then made a poor throw to second that went to the right of the bag, and into the outfield. Bruntlett motored to third. The winning run was ninety feet away and there was nobody out. Victorino, as expected, was walked intentionally. But all the Phillies had to do now was get the ball to the outfield.
Greg Dobbs was sent to the dish to pinch hit, but he was also walked intentionally. So the bases were loaded, there were still no outs, and it was time for some dramatics. Carlos Ruiz, Navarro's counterpart behind the plate, was the batter.
Balfour got ahead in the count, 1-2. Ruiz stayed alive by fouling off the next pitch. Balfour then missed high and wide, so the count was even, 2-2.
The next pitch was also up, and Ruiz swung. He hit a Baltimore Chop that wasn't going much further then 20 feet to third. Evan Longoria (For the millionth time, not related to Eva Longoria) charged in and had to be quick, as Bruntlett motored home and the throw was wide of the plate to the first base side. Philly had pulled it off! 2-1 up in the October Classic!
Ironically, Philly was playing in their first Fall Classic since 1993, which ended on a long walk-off. That being the Joe Carter home run. Philly hadn't quite put the sting of that out of their minds, but this game sure helped the 2008 cause, for sure.
The Phillies won game four, 10-2, and were now up three games to one. They clinched it at home (Just like they had in 1980), but it was back to a close call, 4-3.
Even five game Fall Classics can be close. 1974 comes to mind, as does 1933. 1961 may have looked like a rout for the Yankees over the Reds, but two of the game's were nail-biters and Cincinnati got in a one-sided win for their only triumph. Here, in 2008, it was close in four of the five games. And Ruiz's walk-off may have been a little cheap. The Phillies may have lost a World Series on a walk-off, but they are in the record books as the first team to win one on a infield hit for a walk-off. Even trade-off? You'll have to ask a Phillies fan!
References
Baseball Almanac, Inc. Baseball Almanac: Baseball History, Baseball Records and Baseball Research. Baseball Almanac, Inc. Web. 07 Apr. 2015, <http://www.baseball-almanac.com>.
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
“The Official Site Of Major League Baseball.” MLB.com, Major League Baseball. Web. 07 Apr. 2015. www.mlb.com/.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 07 Apr. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org>.
Youtube. Youtube. Web. 07 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/>.
The Phillies charged out in front of this Fall Classic, but it was anything but easy. Game one, in Tampa, saw the Rays put up a spirited fight in a pitcher's duel. Neither starter finished the game, but all the scoring was done in the first five innings. Both bullpens came through. The 3-2, Philly win really did little to make a case for the Phillies from being better. That what is fun about one-run games, especially in October's Classic. How many times, for that matter, has a team gone from being up one to down one? It's like a pendulum that can just swing either way! But you never know what way.
The Rays needed to square this thing before heading to Philly, and charged out in front 4-0 in game two. Philly, however, didn't go away quietly. Held scoreless through seven, they tallied a run in the top of the eighth and another in the top of the ninth. The got the tying run to the dish with only one out, but got no closer. Still, you can't help but think the Rays' were not intimidated in the least of Philly.
But Philadelphia went home and showed 'em the way. They build up a three-run lead by the end of the sixth, only to see it come undone. Down 4-1, the Rays scored twice in the top of the seventh (Jays fans take note, it was Dioner Navarro who scored the run to make it a 4-3 game) and one more in the top of the eighth. That tied it at four. The Series was actually dead even at this point. Each team had a win. Through 8 1/2 of game three, each team had four runs.
J.P. Howell was on the hill for Tampa to pitch the bottom of the ninth. He did the one thing you don't do to in this situation. He let the first hitter, Eric Bruntlett get to first. He hit him. That was all for J.P.
In came Grant Balfour came in, and was probably told not to go, "Ball Four" on any hitters, unless they needed a force. It was actually a double-switch that brough Balfour in, but that substitution would not matter
Shane Victorino came to the plate. In the second pitch of the at-bat, Balfour threw a wild pitch. Navarro, then made a poor throw to second that went to the right of the bag, and into the outfield. Bruntlett motored to third. The winning run was ninety feet away and there was nobody out. Victorino, as expected, was walked intentionally. But all the Phillies had to do now was get the ball to the outfield.
Greg Dobbs was sent to the dish to pinch hit, but he was also walked intentionally. So the bases were loaded, there were still no outs, and it was time for some dramatics. Carlos Ruiz, Navarro's counterpart behind the plate, was the batter.
Balfour got ahead in the count, 1-2. Ruiz stayed alive by fouling off the next pitch. Balfour then missed high and wide, so the count was even, 2-2.
The next pitch was also up, and Ruiz swung. He hit a Baltimore Chop that wasn't going much further then 20 feet to third. Evan Longoria (For the millionth time, not related to Eva Longoria) charged in and had to be quick, as Bruntlett motored home and the throw was wide of the plate to the first base side. Philly had pulled it off! 2-1 up in the October Classic!
Ironically, Philly was playing in their first Fall Classic since 1993, which ended on a long walk-off. That being the Joe Carter home run. Philly hadn't quite put the sting of that out of their minds, but this game sure helped the 2008 cause, for sure.
The Phillies won game four, 10-2, and were now up three games to one. They clinched it at home (Just like they had in 1980), but it was back to a close call, 4-3.
Even five game Fall Classics can be close. 1974 comes to mind, as does 1933. 1961 may have looked like a rout for the Yankees over the Reds, but two of the game's were nail-biters and Cincinnati got in a one-sided win for their only triumph. Here, in 2008, it was close in four of the five games. And Ruiz's walk-off may have been a little cheap. The Phillies may have lost a World Series on a walk-off, but they are in the record books as the first team to win one on a infield hit for a walk-off. Even trade-off? You'll have to ask a Phillies fan!
References
Baseball Almanac, Inc. Baseball Almanac: Baseball History, Baseball Records and Baseball Research. Baseball Almanac, Inc. Web. 07 Apr. 2015, <http://www.baseball-almanac.com>.
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 07 Apr. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org>.
Youtube. Youtube. Web. 07 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/>.
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