The Phillies clobbered the Rays in Game 4 and are now just 1 game away from winning the World Series.
Philadelphia Phillies 10 Tampa Bay Rays 2: Baseball is a funny game. Coming into the World Series, the Tampa Bay Rays were pitching and hitting better than any other team in the playoffs. They crushed a major league record 16 home runs in their playoff series against the Red Sox. Their pitching both starting and relieving was solid and their defensive play was stellar. Now they look like they don't even belong in the World Series. I think this years playoffs prove that it is now true that the baseball playoffs are a crapshoot. Each series is different and what happens in the regular season means nothing. The Rays bats got hot at a good time against the Red Sox, but baseball is a game of streaks, and now they've hit a cold streak at the absolute wrong time. Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena are both hitless in the World Series and the lineup in general is just not hitting. Maybe they aren't being patient enough at the plate or are pressing too much, because it's the World Series, but this hasn't been the same offense we saw against the Red Sox, that is for sure. Last night they just got flat out beat, but had they scored a few more run in Game 1 or Game 3, they might not be in the situation they are in right now. Maybe they just had a let down after beating the Red Sox in the ALCS, or maybe they just aren't ready for such a big moment like the World Series, or maybe the Phillies are just better, but it's strange to see the Rays in this position right now after having played so great against the Red Sox. It also hasn't helped that seemingly every border line call has gone against the Rays, but hey, at least Eric Hinske got to hit a bomb in the World Series.
The Phillies are running on all cylinders right now with the bats and with their pitching. I mean seriously when your pitcher Joe Blanton hits a home run, you know your team has something up their behinds so deep that it doesn't matter what the other team does. I mean how many teams are looking at the Phillies rotation and thinking how the hell are the Phillies about to win the World Series with Brett Myers, Jamie Moyer, and Joe Blanton in their rotation? Teams spend all season making moves, developing pitchers, and building their rotation for postseason success and let me tell you most of them probably would pass on all three of those guys. If a team had a chance to choose between those three pitchers as their 2-3-4 or what the Cubs had with Rich Harden, Ryan Dempster, and Ted Lilly; I'm pretty sure they would pick the Cubs starters every time. That's why baseball is a funny game, because anybody can get hot at any given time and that seems to be the case now more than ever.
In Game 5, the Phillies will have a chance to win the World Series at home with Cole Hamels on the mound. It's going to be a tough task for Tampa Bay to get this series back home and an even tougher one to try to win three games in a row. The Rays look like a team that has had all the life sucked out of them at this point, while the Phillies look like a team that has nothing to lose and has been confident throughout this whole postseason. My money would be on the Phillies to take Game 5, but like I said before baseball is a funny game, so maybe Game 5 is the night where the Rays bats come back to life. I certainly would like to see some drama in this World Series, so I will be rooting for this thing to get to Game 7.Put On Notice: The whole Tampa Bay Rays team
Game 1: Philadelphia Phillies 3 Tampa Bay Rays 2
Game 2: Tampa Bay Rays 4 Philadelphia Phillies 2
Game 3: Philadelphia Phillies 5 Tampa Bay Rays 4
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