Phillies Win It in Five

World Series Game 5: Phillies 4 Rays 3 After a two-day wait, Brad Lidge struck out Eric Hinske on a low slider away at 9:58 pm ET and the Philadelphia Phillies became baseball's 2008 World Champions, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays, four games to one. The game, which was suspended Monday night in the middle of the 6th inning with the score tied 2-2, resumed at about 8:40 pm. Pinch hitter Geoff Jenkins started the night right with a double to lead off the Phillies' 6th and scored the 3rd Philly run after Jimmy Rollins sacrificed him to third and Jayson Werth drove him in with a short pop fly mishandled by Rays' second baseman Akinori Iwamura. Rocco Baldelli re-tied the game in the top of the 7th with a solo homer, but the Phillies would not be denied. In the bottom of the 7th, Pedro Feliz knocked home Eric Bruntlett, running for Pat Burrell, who ended an 0-for-13 World Series with a double to lead off the inning. JC Romero worked the 8th inning, before manager Charlie Manuel called on Lidge to finish the job. Cole Hamels (R), who won Game 1 and kept the Phillies in Game 5 until the rain delay in the 6th inning, was named World Series MVP. Notes: All regulars ended with at least one hit, as Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria had ended 0-for streaks on Monday, in the regularly-scheduled part of the game. Lidge picked up his 42nd save, including regular and post-season, remaining perfect in save opportunities for all of 2008.

Update: Game 5 to conclude Wednesday night

Due to severe weather conditions on Tuesday, Game 5 of the 2008 World Series - which began on Monday night - will be concluded on Wednesday, with the score tied 2-2 and the Phillies batting in the bottom of the 6th inning. Cole Hamels, the Phillies' starting pitcher, is the scheduled batter, though he will no doubt be lifted for a pinch hitter. The game is scheduled to resume play at 8:37 pm ET.

World Series Game 5 Suspended; Baseball Brass Under Fire

With Tampa Bay on the brink of elimination and rain pouring from the sky on the Phillies and Rays, the umpiring crew finally suspended Game 5 when the Rays obligingly scored a run in the top of the 6th to tied the game at 2-2 Monday night. Shane Victorino drove in a pair of runs in the first inning, but Phillies' starter could not hold onto the lead, surrendering a run in the 4th before Carlos Pena knocked in B.J. Upton with the tying run. At the conclusion of the top of the 6th, however, commissioner Bud Selig called both teams off the field and suspended play. It was the first time in World Series and playoff history that a game had been suspended, but playing conditions were unfit and deteriorating further. Ostensibly, the plan is to have the game resume in the bottom of the 6th on Wednesday night. Weather forecasts are for more rain and temperatures approaching the 30s. Some say it may even be snowing by game time, whenever that is, supposedly around 8:00 pm ET. The game could be moved back to Wednesday night, when weather conditions are predicted to be more suitable to playing baseball. There is no option to cancel out the truncated game five stats and start fresh. The Phillies will come to bat in the bottom of the 6th when play resumes. Hamels is the scheduled hitter, but he's almost certainly to be lifted for a pinch hitter, probably Eric Bruntlett or maybe even slugger Matt Stairs. Grant Balfour was on the mound at the end of the bottom of the 5th, and he'll probably be ready enough to start the 6th. Fans, coaches, players, sports writers and even the broadcasters have been openly critical of this World Series. Most complaints involve the late starting times, the horrible umpiring, the idea that the series didn't even begin until October 22, and, of course, the weather - which has already caused one game to begin after 10:00 pm and end just before 2:00 am, and now has sent the entire series into a dark, gray area.

Howard's Homers, 5 RBI Put Phillies Within One Win

Players of the Day from Sunday, October 26, 2008 World Series Game 4: Philadelphia 10 Tampa Bay 2 Ryan Howard led a 12-hit attack with a pair of homers - a three-run, opposite field shot to left in the 4th inning and a two-run line shot in the 8th that left the field like it was fired from a cannon - as the Phillies put themselves a game away from a championship with a 10-2 win over Tampa Bay. Howard, who also homered in Game 3, totaled five RBI on the night and seems to have surely figured out Tampa pitching and is in a groove. So too, Jimmy Rollins who had three hits (two doubles),.was on base four times and scored three of Philadelphia's runs. Rollins set the stage early with a leadoff double against Rays' starter Andy Sonnanstine. He scored the game's first run on a bases-loaded walk to Pat Burrell later in the inning. While Sonnanstine struggled, consistently falling behind hitters through his four-inning stint, Philly starter Joe Blanton was money in the bank, working into the 7th inning by allowing just 4 hits and 2 runs while fanning 7. Sonnanstine had thrown 83 pitches before surrendering Howard's homer in the 4th, which gave the Phillies a 5-1 advantage. By contrast, Blanton's pitch count was at 69 through 5 full innings. He finished at 99 after walking Ben Zobrist to start the 7th. Blanton hit a solo home run in the 5th inning. Jayson Werth blasted a two-run shot in the 8th as the Phillies began to put the screws to the tiring Rays' relief staff. Notes: The Phillies can wrap up their second World Series title with a win at home Monday night. They send their ace, Cole Hamels, to the mound in repeat of the Game 1 matchup with the Rays' Scott Kazmir. Hamels won Game 1 and has 4 post-season wins thus far. First pitch is scheduled for 8:29 pm ET. The o-fers didn't change a thing in Game 4. Phillies' hitless Pat Burrell went 0-for-3 for the 4th straight game before being lifted for Eric Bruntlett late. He is 0-for-12 for the series. Tampa Bay's #3 and #4 hitters continue to cost the Rays dearly. Carlos Pena is 0-for-13 with 6 strikeouts, while rookie phenom Evan Longoria is now 0-for-16 after his 4th straight 0-for-4 game. Longoria has fanned 9 times.