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Jamie Moyer deserved to win. He stepped to the mound in Philadelphia last night with all the experts doubting how effective he could possibly be. All he did was pitch a game that defined his career. That’s to say he was good enough to win, but hardly dominant.
Actually when he left after 5.1 innings he had a 4-1 lead with a pair of runners on base, and one of them shouldn’t have been there. But an umpire’s judgment on a close play, allowed a runner (Carl Crawford) to reach first on what the replay clearly showed should have been an out, and Moyer in the end got charged with an extra earned run when Crawford crossed the plate later in the inning.
Up until then Moyer had been doing exactly what he needed to do to be successful, keeping the Rays off balance despite not being able to overpower, and taking full advantage of the generous strike zone offered by home plate umpire Fieldin Culbreth. Moyer lived on the corners, placing pitches where he wanted them and leaving the Rays, who were waiting for a big inning against him, shaking their heads as he got call after call and forced them to swing at bad pitches.
Experience (age) and brains beat superior skill last night and for the Phillies it was huge. Playing in front of enthusiastic hometown fans added to the game as did signs that Ryan Howard may be coming out of his slump at just the right time. Three of the four Phillies runs crossed the plate on solo shot home runs and when that happens the Phillies are hard to beat.
Now the Rays will have to step it up in game four and for the first time this post-season, they seem a little bit frustrated and outplayed as their bats have fallen silent. Key men in the heart of their lineup, Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria, have yet to record a hit in World Series play. Without production from those two, the Rays are struggling offensively, but they are contending in each game because of execution, pitching and timing.
That makes it seem like a race; which sleeping giant will truly awaken first - the Phillies Howard or either of the Rays duo of Pena and Longoria. Any of these players could tilt the balance heavily and Howard has already shown signs of life. That could mean big trouble for the Rays, who’ll come into tonight desperate for a win.
And if we, the fans of the game are lucky, we’ll see another game as enjoyable as the first three games have been.
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