It Shall Rain for 40 Hours and 40 Minutes

And then the voice said, "Take 2 each: outfielders, pitchers, catchers, and infielders, unto the ark."

Okay, really the umpires just said to put the tarp on the field last night, suspending game 5 of the World Series. The series isn't still on because the Rays forced a game 6, but instead because a deluge of precipitation fell on Citizen's Bank Park causing so much water pooling that Greg Louganis could have landed in one puddle off the high dive.

Play stopped in the middle of the sixth inning after the Rays had tied the game 2-2 on Carlos Pena's RBI single. It was clear that MLB was praying for the Rays to either tie the game or go ahead so that a possibly decisive game wouldn't be decided in part due to the weather. But it was clear, despite the protestations of MLB COO Bob Dupuy to Fox's Chris Myers, that the game would have continued had the Rays not tied the score.

The game likely won't be completed until Wednesday night, because tonight's forecast in Philly is calling for even worse weather than last night. The game could have been called prior to the fifth inning, but MLB was going to do everything they could to get the game in and they didn't want to get negative feedback from Phillies fans for calling the game with the Phils leading. Obviously no consideration was given to the health and well being of highly paid athletes who aren't used to playing baseball in a mud pit filled with water hazards. On top of everything else we had to listen to Joe Buck and Tim McCarver use the word "hydroplane" countless times.

The stoppage has to favor the Rays since it means there's no way that Cole Hamels will continue in the contest. Though he wasn't as dominant as he had been in his prior post-season starts, he had still limited the Rays to just 5 hits over 6 innings and those 2 runs. On the other hand, Rays starter Scott Kazmir was awful, the weather notwithstanding. He lasted only four innings, walking 6 hitters and only gave up 2 runs due to the Phillies' continuing inefficiency with runners in scoring position.

There was good news in the game for the Rays as Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria finally broke out of their O-fers. Pena had a pair of hits, scored the Rays' first run and drove in the second. Longoria's fourth inning single broke his shneid and brought home Pena.

The Phillies took advantage of Kazmir's control problems to take a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning. Kazmir put two men on with one out by walking Jayson Werth and plunking Chase Utley. But after blowing a 94-mph strike three fastball past Ryan Howard, Kazmir walked Pat Burrell to load the bases, and then gave up a 2-run single to Shane Victorino. Pedro Feliz' single loaded the bases again, but Kazmir escaped further trouble by retiring Carlos Ruiz on an inning ending fly out.

Pena's one-out-double in the fourth brought some life to the Rays bench and Longoria capitalized with with his first hit and RBI of the series with a single to left. Hamels came right back though, getting Dioner Navarro to bounce into a double play.

Kazmir was in trouble again in the home half of the fourth, issuing back-to-back 2-out walks to Jimmy Rollins and Werth to load the bases. But Utley grounded out to second baseman Aki Iwamura to strand all three runners.

Rollin's error on a wind-blown pop-up in the fifth gave the Rays a lead off man on base, but Hamels, with a big assist from Utley, got Jason Bartlett to hit into a double play. Utley tagged runner Rocco Baldelli as he went by and then spun around to throw out Bartlett at first.

Joe Maddon finally went to his pen in the fifth when Kazmir walked Howard and Pat Burrell to start the inning. Grant Balfour did the job, retiring all three men he faced to strand the runners. Then it was the Rays' turn to come back and in the process halt play. B.J. Upton reached on a 2-out infield single, and despite the sloppy turf, stole second base. It paid off when Pena singled to left and Upton just beat the throw home from Burrell to tie the score. Pena moved to second base on a passed ball, but Longoria flied to deep center to end the inning and the night's play.

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Dodgers Get their Fight on

Payback's a Bitch

The Dodgers didn't show a whole lot of life in the first two games of the NLCS, but last night they showed plenty of fire in a 7-1 win over the Phillies in Los Angeles. It was anticipated there would be retaliation last night after Brett Myers threw a pitch behind Manny Ramirez in game 2. Myers said the pitch slipped, but none of the Dodgers were buying it. When catcher Russell Martin was hit on the hand by a Jamie Moyer pitch last night and later was buzzed by a Clay Condrey fastball, there was no doubt what was going to happen. With a big lead and two out in the seventh, Hiroki Kuroda got retribution by going head hunting for Shane Victorino.

The benches emptied, and although there was plenty of yelling, finger pointing, and shoving, no fights came from it. The benches emptied again when the inning ended and Victorino had some choice words for Kuroda. This was a statement game for the Dodgers and in more ways than one.

LA took care of business early, making 45-yr old Jamie Moyer look twice his age. Already leading 2-0 in the first, Blake DeWitt delivered a bases loaded double to break the game open. Moyer was gone after retiring just one batter in the second inning. Charlie Manuel has to seriously reconsider his decision to have Moyer slated for a possible game 7 should the series go that long.

Once LA took care of their game, they went on the offense to let the Phillies know they will not be pushovers in the series. LA is back in this thing.

Box Score

Manny Being Manny

Evan Roberts of WFAN had some more amusing lines from Manny this morning. According to Manny, he's not likely to sign with the Mets in the off-season, because Shea is not a good hitter's park. Only thing is, Manny forgot the Mets will no longer be playing at Shea.

Manny also said he's looking for a six year deal. One would think that means he wants guaranteed money for those six years and not a shorter deal with options. One would think Manny is nuts and they would be right.

Games 3 and 4

Joe Blanton goes against Derek Lowe tonight as the Dodgers try to even the series. Meanwhile in Boston, the Rays and Red Sox resume their series with game 3. The 4:37 EDT start has Matt Garza going up against Jon Lester.

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The Pennant Race - 10/4

2-0 is the running theme in this year's playoffs. All four series are 2-0 thus far, with an even split between the home and road teams.

ALDS

The Angels clearly must have thought they would be playing the Yankees again this year. Apparently they freaked out when they heard they were playing the Red Sox, because they have their backs to the wall after losing two straight at home. Last night was a perfect example of why Francisco Rodriguez, aka K-Rod, is no Mariano Rivera. Though Mo struggled in tie games this year, K-Rod failed on a much bigger stage last night. Trailing 4-0 after one inning, the Angels rallied to tie the game at 5-5 in the eighth before J.D. Drew took K-Rod deep in the ninth with a man aboard.

The series continues Monday night in Boston with John Lackey facing Josh Beckett.

The Rays are on the brink of winning their first playoff series after Friday's 6-2 win over the White Sox. Scott Kazmir struggled with his control in the first inning and was unfortunate to escape down just 2-0. Aki Iwamura's 2-run home run off of Mark Buerhle in the fifth inning gave the Rays a 3-2 lead and the Rays added three more in the eighth to put the game away.

The Rays can close the series out in Chicago on Sunday afternoon with Matt Garza against John Danks.


NLDS

Jinx or no jinx, the Cubs woes continue. The Cubs committed three errors that led to five unearned runs as the Dodgers pounded Chicago 10-3. Manny Ramirez homered for the second straight game and Chad Billingsley allowed one run while striking out seven in six innings of work. The Wrigley faithful were fired up with Carlos Zambrano on the mound, but were all doom and gloom when it was over.

CC Sabathia can only work his magic so many times. Coming back on three days rest again, the Phillies jumped on the Brewers ace for five runs in the second inning. Shane Victorino delivered the big blow with a grand slam. Phillies starter Brett Myers allowed just two hits over seven innings for the win. Victorino added a pair of singles, a walk, and a two stolen bases.

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Around the Horn - 7/28

At first glance, you had to wonder what Jerry Manuel was doing. He took Johan Santana out of his last start in the 8th inning of a tight ball game with the Phillies. Yesterday Manuel let Santana throw a complete game in a 9-1 blow out of the Cardinals. But the Mets played 14 innings on Saturday and the bullpen needed a rest. In case you haven't seen it already, be sure to catch Carlos Beltran's home run robbing grab on Sunday.

The Tigers salvaged the final game, of their three game series with the White Sox, on Sunday with Miguel Cabrera driving in 2 runs. He's now knocked in 17 in the last 8 games.

Jarrod Washburn helped his trade rumors out Sunday with 8 innings of 4 hit ball against the weak hitting Blue Jays. Washburn is 3-2, 2.44 over his last 9 starts, averaging better than 6 innings per start.

The Royals topped the Rays on Sunday 6-1, but the big story may be lefty reliever Ron Mahay. KC signed Mahay to a free agent contract over the winter and now they have a decision to make. Keep him and keep the bullpen strong or trade him for some valuable chips. Mahay has allowed just 4 earned runs over his last 30 innings (1.20 ERA) pitched. He's been scored up on in just 4 of those 21 appearances.

The Cubs won a big one on Sunday, 9-6, after being down 5-0 to the Marlins. The victory earned them a split of the 4-game series and put them 1 game ahead of the Brewers going into tonight's Chicago-Milwaukee series. Ted Lilly faces CC Sabathia in the opener.

The Brewers had a chance to remain even, but after taking a 4-1 lead, they gave up 7 runs to the Astros in the 5th inning. Geoff Blum hit a pair of home runs off of Jeff Suppan, who may want to pitch around Blum from now on, since Blum is 13-24 (.542) off of him.

The Phillies remained a game back of the Mets after a wild one in the city of brotherly love. The Phillies came back from a 5-0 deficit and then nearly blew a 12-5 lead. They hung on for a 12-10 verdict with six home runs. The worst blow of the day though came on a home plate collision when Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino slammed his head right into the head of Braves catcher Brian McCann. McCann left with a mild concussion. We still don't know why catchers are fair game.

Here they come again. The Rockies' 2nd half surge last season got them into the playoffs, and ultimately, into the World Series. They're just 6 games back now in the NL West after an 11-0 drubbing of the Reds on Sunday. They don't know now whether to be buyers or sellers at Thursday's trade deadline.

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Victorino gets Jeterian

Saw this on The Big Lead...The Phillies' Shane Victorino sacrificed the body in a play that will be on highlights reels for years to come.

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