Thursday Major League Capsule.
TAMPA BAY 4, PHILADELPHIA 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida The power-hitting Tampa Bay Rays showed they can play some small ball as well.
James Shields tossed 5 2/3 strong innings and B.J. Upton had two hits and drove in a run to lead the Rays to a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game Two of the World Series.
Dioner Navarro added two hits and scored a run for Tampa Bay, which pulled even in the series at one game apiece. The Fall Classic shifts to Citizens Bank Park on Saturday for Game Three.
The Rays entered the contest with 23 homers in the playoffs, good for the fourth-most all time in a single postseason. But with Phillies righthander Brett Myers keeping hitters off-balance, Tampa Bay went with a more subtle attack.
The Rays did not have an extra-base hit in the contest but took advantage of their opportunities in the first and second innings.
Akinori Iwamura led off the first with a single before Upton hit a line drive to right field that bounced in front of Jayson Werth, who booted the ball for his first error of the season. The miscue allowed Iwamura to move to third and Upton to second.
Myers (0-1) retired Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria on groundouts, but they both produced runs to give Tampa Bay a 2-0 edge.
The Rays added a run in the next inning as Upton singled to right with the bases loaded and two outs to plate Navarro. Rocco Baldelli tried to score behind him, but Werth made a perfect throw to get him at the plate.
Shields (1-0) bounced back from a pair of losses in the American League Championship Series with a solid effort on Thursday, striking out four while allowing seven hits and a pair of walks.
The righthander made the pitches when he had to, retiring Pedro Feliz on a liner with runners on second and third to end the second, recording two outs with a runner on third and one out in the third and striking out Greg Dobbs and getting Feliz again on a grounder with runners on the corners to end the fourth.
He benefited from an unlikely double play to end the fifth, when Werth was caught off first base after Chase Utley flied out to right.
Tampa Bay stole another run in the fourth, when Jason Bartlett perfectly executed a safety squeeze, dropping a bunt down the first base line while Cliff Floyd came home from third.
Dan Wheeler struck out two in a scoreless inning for the Rays while rookie David Price allowed two runs over the final 2 1/3 frames.
Philadelphia has had trouble with runners in scoring position throughout the first two games of the Series, going 1-for-28 while stranding 22 baserunners.
Pinch hitter Eric Bruntlett hit a solo homer off Price in the eighth and Carlos Ruiz scored as a result of third baseman Longorias error in the ninth.
