Brad Lidge and the Philadelphia Phillies finished off the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 in a three-inning sprint on Wednesday to win a suspended fifth game nearly 50 hours after it started and secure the World Series.
Left in limbo by a two-day rainstorm, the Phillies finally secured their first championship since 1980 — finishing off the best-of-seven series 4-1.
Pedro Feliz singled home the go-ahead run in the seventh and Lidge closed out his perfect season to deliver the title.
“It was a crazy way to win it with a suspended game but we did and it’s over and we’re very excited,” 45-year-old Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer said. “It has been a long wait, but it’s worth it.”
Bundled in rain jackets and blankets, fans returned in force to Citizens Bank Park and saw the city claim its first major sports championship in 25 years. No more references needed to those sad-sack Phillies teams in the past and their 10,000-plus losses.
“They could taste it just as much as we could,” said pitcher Cole Hamels, voted Most Valuable Player of the series.
It was among the most unusual endings in baseball history, a best-of-seven series coming down to a best-of-thee showdown when play resumed in the bottom of the sixth inning with the score tied 2-2.
Hamels was a star in Game 5 — but never stepped on the mound on Wednesday night; Two Rays relievers warmed up to start, and there was a pinch-hitter before a single pitch. God Bless America was sung rather than the national anthem and it was quickly followed by the seventh-inning stretch.
The game had been suspended on Monday night after rain made the field into a quagmire, washing out the foul lines, creating a puddle at home plate and turning every ball into an adventure.
Commissioner Bud Selig eventually called it — he got booed when he presented the trophy to Hamels.
For Philadelphia, it was more than a World Series win. It was a bit of redemption for all the losses, the jokes, the slights.
“It’s over,” shortstop Jimmy Rollins said. “It’s over, man.”
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
RSS