Phillies hope to cash in at Citizens Bank

ESPN.com

Updated: October 23, 2008

Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Phillies were 48-33 and hit an NL-high 109 HRs at their home park during the regular season.

WILL HOMECOMING BE A HIT?

By Mark Simon, ESPN Research

WORLD SERIES GAME 3
Rays at Phillies
8 p.m. ET, ESPN Radio
World Series page
The Phillies return home for Game 3 of the World Series, and we'll see what kind of effect that has on their bats. Citizens Bank Park has a reputation for being hitter-friendly, and those who bat left-handed tend to thrive.

Philadelphia's lineup will be loaded with left-handed bats against Rays starters Matt Garza and Andy Sonnanstine the next two games as the Phillies try to get the advantage necessary to close this series out at home.

Bank On It
Notable Phillies at Home in 2008
  Regular season Postseason
Shane Victorino .316 BA, 22 SB .333 BA, 9 RBI
Jimmy Rollins .314 BA, 30 SB .235 BA, 1 SB
Chase Utley .292 BA, 20 HR .231 BA, 4 RBI
Ryan Howard .261 BA, 26 HR .000 BA, 12 AB, 5 BB

Past Baseball Tonight Clubhouses: Oct. 23 | Oct. 22 | Oct. 21 | Oct. 19 | Oct. 18 | Oct. 17

PHILLIES UPSET OVER WORLD SERIES INTRODUCTIONS

By Amy K. Nelson, ESPN.com

It was just a few minutes before the Phillies were set to take the field for Game 1 of the World Series. Jimmy Rollins was sitting next to 40-year-old Matt Stairs, who was playing in the Fall Classic for the first time in his 16-year major league career and was looking forward to living out his dream when his name would be announced in front of the crowd.

It was then when a Phillies PR representative came into the clubhouse and informed the team that only the starting players would be announced on the field and on national television. That meant no clubhouse staff, no coaches and no Matt Stairs. He, along with 45-year-old Jamie Moyer, had waited their entire lives for this moment, and then it was gone. All non-starters were allowed to walk out onto the field, but they were never publicly acknowledged -- not to the TV audience, not even to the crowd. MORE


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BBTN MINUTE: GARZA VS. MOYER

STAT OF THE DAY

Inside Edge World Series winners are often decided by who performs better late in the game and in tight spots.

Here is how the Rays and Phillies compare so far in the postseason after the fifth inning with less than a three-run difference in score:

Team offense after 5th inning in close games
(postseason)
Team BAVG SLG OPS
Phillies .245 .510 .825
Rays .156 .211 .425

THIS DATE IN POSTSEASON HISTORY: OCT. 25

1986: One strike from defeat, the Mets tie the game on a wild pitch and then win Game 6, 6-5, on Bill Buckner's error on Mookie Wilson's grounder to force a seventh game against the Red Sox.

1987: World Series MVP Frank Viola pitches eight strong innings, striking out seven, as the Twins win their first-ever world championship with a 4-2 victory over the Cardinals in Game 7.

2005: Geoff Blum's 14th-inning solo home run leads the White Sox to a 7-5 victory over the Astros in the longest World Series game ever played (5 hours, 41 minutes) and the first Fall Classic game ever played in Texas. The White Sox take a commanding 3-0 series lead.