Twenty-eight years of waiting for the Philadelphia Phillies to win their second World Series title could wind up being extended by 28 hours. Or perhaps longer as they attempt to resume Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Rays at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig called for the game to be suspended in the middle of the sixth inning with the score tied at 2 as the field became a puddle-filled mess. The Rays had tied the game in the top of the sixth as the light showers that were falling at the outset of the game became a steady downpour that refused to relent."It was terrible. The field wasn't bad, but it was the worst conditions I've ever played in," Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria said.
There has been no set time for the game to resume. MLB is hoping to pick it up in the bottom of the sixth on Tuesday, but the weather forecast does not look promising - rain throughout the afternoon before turning windy in the evening with a game-time temperature expected to be in the 40s. Selig, with the backing of both teams' managers and executives, was adamant the World Series would not be final unless a full nine innings were played.
"It's not a way to end a World Series," Selig said about the possibility of calling the game had the Rays not scored in the top of the sixth. "I would not have allowed a World Series to end this way.
"I have to use my judgment. The game would have been in a rain delay until weather conditions allowed us to continue. And that might have been 24 hours or 48 hours or who knows?"
The umpiring crew agreed with Selig, especially with the drying agent causing problems to the infield dirt in addition to the puddles that were forming on the grass by the middle innings.
"The more Diamond Dust you put on, the quicker it becomes wet again, and the field started to become very slick," umpire Tim Welke said. "At that point we couldn't go any farther because of the infield."
The suspension also caused some logistical issues for the Rays, who had checked out of their hotel in Philadelphia as part of preparations for returning to St. Petersburg. They will be staying at a hotel in Wilmington, Del., approximately 25 miles from Philadelphia.
With the suspension, the bullpens of both teams will take on extra importance. Rays manager Joe Maddon had already turned to Grant Balfour, who entered the game in the fifth after Scott Kazmir threw 103 pitches and labored through four-plus innings, walking six. Maddon may be inclined to stick with Balfour, who needed just nine pitches to escape a two-on, none-out jam.
"We have a pretty rested bullpen," Maddon said. "Grant is in the game as of right now."
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel isn't expected to let starting pitcher Cole Hamels - due to bat leading off the bottom of the sixth - return after the staff ace logged 75 pitches in six innings, instead saving Hamels in case the series returns to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.
"Naturally we're not happy Hamels is out of the game, but one of our strengths is our bullpen and that's where we'll pick it up when we play," Phillies general manager Pat Gillick said.
While the Phillies are on the verge of their first title since winning the 1980 World Series at Veterans Field, the Rays have reason to be optimistic they can return the series to Tropicana Field for Game 6. Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria ended their hitless struggles in the World Series in the fourth inning, combining to produce the Rays' first run, and Pena knotted the game at 2 with a two-out single that plated B.J. Upton, who had singled and stole second.
Maddon had dropped Upton, Pena and Longoria down to the 3-4-5 spots in the lineup for Game 5, moving Carl Crawford up into the No. 2 spot.
Philadelphia grabbed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a two-run, two-out base hit by Shane Victorino.
