2008 World Series recap

The Phillies won the National League pennant for just the sixth time in 125 years, which awarded them the right to play the Rays, who won the American League pennant for the first time since coming into existence in 1998.

The city of Philadelphia had been in a championship drought since 1983, when the 76ers won the NBA championship. Philadelphians wanted another title badly, so Phillies fans nervously anticipated Game 1, which featured Cole Hamels vs. Scott Kazmir. Those fans exhaled in the top of the first inning when Jayson Werth worked a six-pitch walk and Chase Utley followed with a two-run home run to right field to hand the Phillies a quick 2-0 lead at Tropicana Field. Shane Victorino and Pedro Feliz started the fourth inning with a pair of singles, and Chris Coste's fielder's choice advanced the runners to second and third. Carlos Ruiz plated Victorino with another fielder's choice, handing the Phillies a 3-0 lead.

The Rays scored a run in both the fourth and fifth innings to make it a 3-2 game, but Hamels had been on a roll in the postseason, dominating the Brewers in the NL Division Series and earning NL Championship Series MVP honors with a stellar performance against the Dodgers. Philadelphia's young southpaw settled down after the two runs, limiting Tampa Bay to just the two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out five over seven innings. Ryan Madson came on to pitch a scoreless eighth, and Brad Lidge tossed a scoreless ninth to pick up the save.

In Game 2, the Rays jumped out to an early lead against Phillies right-hander Brett Myers and never looked back, evening the series at a game apiece. James Shields threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings for Tampa Bay, allowing seven hits, two walks and striking out four. Dan Wheeler threw a scoreless inning in relief, while David Price allowed two runs (one earned) over the final 2 1/3 innings to close out the game.

After a lengthy rain delay, Game 3 saw the Phillies build a 4-1 lead through six innings at Citizens Bank Park. But the Rays scored twice in the seventh against Phillies left-hander Jamie Moyer and once in the eighth against Madson to tie things up. Eric Bruntlett, who entered the game earlier as a defensive replacement for Pat Burrell, got hit by a pitch to start the bottom of the ninth inning. He then advanced to second on a wild pitch from Grant Balfour. Rays catcher Dioner Navarro tried to get Bruntlett at second, but his throw skipped into the outfield, allowing Bruntlett to reach third. Rays manager Joe Maddon had Balfour intentionally walk both Victorino and Greg Dobbs to load the bases with no outs. Then, with Carlos Ruiz at the plate, Maddon brought in an outfielder to give him a fifth infielder. The strategy went for naught, as Ruiz hit a dribbler up the third-base line to score Bruntlett, giving Philadelphia the win and a 2-1 series lead at 1:45 in the morning.

The Phillies moved a game away from their first World Series championship since 1980 with a convincing 10-2 victory in Game 4. Ryan Howard homered twice, Werth homered and even pitcher Joe Blanton went deep. Blanton, who the Phillies acquired from the A's in July, allowed two runs in six innings to give the Phils a commanding 3-1 series lead.

Game 5 proved memorable for a couple of reasons. The first being it clinched Philadelphia's first championship in any major sport since '83. The second being it took three days to play. Torrential rain forced the game to be postponed in the middle of the sixth inning with the score tied at 2. When play resumed Oct. 29 in the bottom of the sixth, Phillies pinch-hitter Geoff Jenkins ripped a double to right-center field. He scored two batters later when Werth singled up the middle to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead. But the Rays rallied, with Rocco Baldelli tying the game with a solo homer in the seventh. In the bottom of the inning, Burrell came through with his only hit of the Series: a leadoff double to left-center field. Pinch-runner Bruntlett advanced to third on a groundout and scored on Feliz's single up the middle to give the Phillies a lead they would not relinquish. Lidge came on to finish his perfect season, throwing a scoreless ninth to begin a big celebration in Philadelphia that culminated with a massive parade down Broad Street.

Path to the World Series
ALCS: Tampa Bay over Boston (4 games to 3)
NLCS: Philadelphia over Los Angeles (4 games to 1)
ALDS: Boston over Los Angeles (3 games to 1); Tampa Bay over Chicago (3 games to 1)
NLDS: Los Angeles over Chicago (3 games to 0); Philadelphia over Milwaukee (3 games to 1)

Managers: Charlie Manuel, PHI; Joe Maddon, TB

MVP: Cole Hamels, PHI: 1-0, 2.77 ERA, 14 IP, 8 K