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World Series Game 4 : Rays At Phillies (2-1)

Game 4 : 2008 World Series
Phillies lead 2-1
Tampa Bay Rays at Philadelphia Phillies
Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia

8:29 p.m. / 54, clear
Andy Sonnanstine (13-9, 4.38 ERA) vs. Joe Blanton (9-12, 4.69 ERA)

19 hours after Carlos Ruiz ended a thriller with a squib infield hit, the Phillies go back to work again. Joe Blanton is on the mound for the Phils, facing Andy Sonnastine of the Rays. A win puts the Phillies on the doorstep of a world championship.

News & Notes

In two postseason starts, Blanton is 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA. The Phils won both of his starts. … Sonnanstine is 2-0 with a 3.46 ERA in his two postseason starts. … The Rays have mixed success against Blanton, with Carl Crawford hitting 7-for-22. BJ Upton has homered off Blanton, and is hitting .273 off the righty. … The only Phillie to have faced Sonnanstine is Matt Stairs, who is 4-for-12 against him with a home run. … Ruiz became the fourth NL hitter to win a World Series game with a walk-off hit. The last? Luis Gonzalez in game seven of the 2001 series. … The Phillies have hit five home runs in the World Series. The Rays have hit one. … Of the nine hits Sonnanstine has surrendered in the postseason, three were homers.

The Lineup

Jimmy Rollins / SS
Jayson Werth / RF
Chase Utley / 2B
Ryan Howard / 1B
Pat Burrell / LF
Shane Victorino / CF
Pedro Feliz / 3B
Carlos Ruiz / C
Joe Blanton / P

Your Gamenight Beer

I’m going heavy tonight with an old favorite, Dogfish Head’s 90 Minute IPA. That’s right, it’s the Delaware beer with a Pennsylvania pop. Strong like bull, it’ll put you down for the night and tuck you in. But not before taking in game four. Hey, let’s get this one. Then we can walk around with stars in our eyes for a day. Seriously, I have a good feeling today. Go tailgate; get ready, get set, and go Phils!

Go Phillies!

Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.