World Series Game 2 Wrap

Brett Myers didn't pitch badly Thursday night, recovering after a shaky start to make it through 7 innings. Still, yielding 3 earned runs in the first 4 innings does not qualify as coming up big, so I feel like my vote of no confidence in him was not totally unwarranted. James Shields only lasted 5 2/3 innings, scattering 7 hits and allowing 2 walks, but no earned runs, and that's the bottom line. However, this is the second game in a row that the Phillies' starter went further than the Rays', contrary to my prediction. Actually, I wasn't referring to Cole Hamels vs. Scott Kazmir when I said this, but I certainly expected Shields to last longer than Myers.

Once again, we saw last night why the back-to-back of Chase Utley and Ryan Howard will continue to be a problem for the Phillies. The Rays only used one of their three left-handers out of the bullpen, but it's no coincidence that David Price's 2 1/3 innings of relief began and ended with Utley and Howard. After starting off by walking Utley in the 7th, Price then struck out Howard. In the 9th, Price made Utley look bad in striking him out and induced a groundball from Howard to end the game. Howard is now 0-for-6 with 4 strikeouts and a walk vs. lefties in the series, and 2-for-3 vs. Shields, the only right-hander he's faced.

My Game 2 self-evaluation: B