Tampa Bay Rays defeat Philadelphia Phillies in extra innings

The Game: It took ten innings, but the Tampa Bay Rays came up on top by defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 in a rematch of the 2008 World Series.

Both pitching staffs dueled in a shut-out until the fifth inning. That’s when the Phillie’s Jimmy Rollins struck for a solo home run to right field off Joaquin Benoit to give the Phillies a 1-0 advantage.

The Rays answered back in the top of the sixth inning. Matt Joyce drew a walk to get things started. Kelly Shoppach followed with a two run homer to take the lead. The Rays picked up another run later in the inning when Reid Brignac hit an RBI double to score Tim Beckham and give the Rays a 3-1 lead.

Philadelphia tied the game in the bottom of the eighth inning. Andy Tracy singled to lead off the inning. John Mayberry followed with a double to left moving Tracy to third and giving the Phillies two runners in scoring position. Dominic Brown drove home the tying runs with a double to left to score Tracy and Mayberry to tie the game 3-3.

Tampa Bay pieced together the winning rally in the tenth inning. Desmond Jennings singled to left to lead off the inning. Justin Ruggiano and Ryan Shealy followed with back to back singles to load the bases. Angel Chavez drove home the first run and Tim Beckham followed to drive home a second run. Heath Rollins kept the Phillies off the board in the bottom of the tenth as the Rays took home the 5-3 win.

James Shield pitched 2 2/3 shut-out innings, allowing 3 hits while striking out 1 and walking 3. Jake McGee followed with 1 1/3 shut-out innings striking out 2 and allowing only 1 hit. Joaquin Benoit allowed a run on 1 hit with a strikeout in an inning pitched. Dan Wheeler pitched an inning and allowed 2 hits. Grant Balfour pitched a no-hit inning with a strikeout. Heath Phillips struggled, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits with 2 walks and a strikeout in 1 2/3 inning. Heath Rollins earned the victory pitching 1 1/3 shut-out innings allowing only 1 hit and a walk.

RP Top Prospects Watch:
Tim Beckham: 1 for 2 with an RBI and a run scored.
Reid Brignac: 2 for 3 with double and an RBI.
Desmond Jennings: 2 for 2 with a double and run scored.
Jake McGee: 1 1/3 shut-out innings allowing a hit and picking up 2 K’s.

A Look Ahead: The Rays (4-1) return home to Charlotte Sports Park to play the Pittsburgh Pirates (2-2-1) on Monday. Matt Garza is scheduled to start with Lance Cormier, Alex Torres, Jeff Bennett and Mike Ekstrom also available.