MLB / Nick Shiambouros / 25 October 2008 / Leave a comment

The Rays are right back in it and raring to go as the action moves to a very cold Philadelphia, says Nick Shiambouros.

The Tampa Rays beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 to on Thursday night to get right back in to the World Series with a solid effort at Tropicana Field. As expected the wayward Brett Myers got in to trouble very early in this game and gave up two runs in the opening inning to ignite the home crowd. The hitting for the Rays did improve with hits from Upton, Pena and Longoria but it was not an overwhelming performance by any means .

The star of the game was James Shields who pitched very well for the home team and left the field in the middle of the fifth inning without conceding a run. He has a reputation for winning big games and did not disappoint.

Young David Price was sent out in the seventh and manager Joe Maddon left him in to close and once again he pitched like a veteran protecting the lead. It is hard to imagine that Price has only played in five regular season games but this young man could end up with the final pitch to win the World Series.

Tonight the action moves to a very cold Philadelphia. Matt Garza starts for the Rays with a season record of 11-9 and Jamie Moyer with a record of 16-7 for the Phillies.

I really think that the pressure is back on Philadelphia now as they are a high scoring team but have not delivered when it counts and the Rays could make them pay on Saturday night. Currently the weather forecast is pretty gloomy in Philadelphia with temperatures forecast in the 50s with a strong wind.

Garza has a very good fast ball and is an accurate pitcher which could prove vital on a windy night. Moyer has a decent cutter and a good breaking ball but the Tampa hitters match up well against him.

With another close game in prospect with Philadelphia trading at [2.06] and the Rays at [1.93], this game really could go either way. I like the total run score at [9.5] or over at [2.14] as there could be plenty of chances with the wind blowing in this intriguing game.