11:33 p.m. ET
Why did Terry Francona allow Dice-K to start the eighth inning after the righty had thrown 107 pitches through seven? The first two hitters in the inning reached base (Akinori Iwamura and B.J. Upton both singled) before Francona finally lifted Dice-K in favor of Hideki Okajima.
--Matt Szefc, ESPN.com baseball editor
Keeping an eye on Dice-K's pitch count (10:42 p.m. ET)
For those wondering how long he can last, Dice-K's high pitch count for the season is 118. He has thrown more than 110 pitches six times. His pitch count after six innings is 89.
--Jim Caple
No fooling: Dice-K tossing a gem (10:25 p.m. ET)
Don't mean to jinx anything with Daisuke Matsuzaka twirling a 79-pitch no-hitter through five innings. But Don Larsen's perfect game against the Dodgers in the 1956 World Series remains the only no-hitter of any kind in postseason play.
--Jerry Crasnick
A no-no in the making? (10:15 p.m. ET)
Is it too early to start talking about a potential no-hitter? Perhaps it is, but Daisuke Matsuzaka hasn't given up a hit through five innings. The Rays haven't gotten a lot of good swings off of him, that's for sure.
In case you're wondering, Dice-K is up to 79 pitches at this point.
--Matt Szefc, ESPN.com baseball editor
Dice-K piling up the pitches (9:50 p.m. ET)
Daisuke Matsuzaka is, not surprisingly, already up to 59 pitches -- 32 strikes -- through three innings. He hasn't allowed a hit yet, but he has issued four walks. The Rays have also stranded four baserunners, including loading the bases in the bottom of the first.
--Matt Szefc, ESPN.com baseball editor
Shields succeeds with subpar stuff (9:05 p.m. ET)
Tampa Bay starter James Shields generally threw his fastball at 90-91 mph and his changeup in the 82-84 range in the first inning. That's not the classic "separation" some pitchers look for. But it was effective, nevertheless. Shields struck out Jacoby Ellsbury to start the first inning, and he got J.D. Drew swinging at a changeup with runners on second and third to end a Boston threat.
--Jerry Crasnick
Beckett back in his comfort zone (8:12 p.m. ET)
Boston manager Terry Francona said Game 2 starter Josh Beckett feels good and also is back in his routine after missing a couple of weeks. "The farther he's removed from his problems of last week, the more he can concentrate on his routine and concentrate on pitching instead of trying to get better," Francona said. "He went through a week where we had targeted that Sunday against the Angels, but getting to Sunday wasn't the easiest thing in the world."
Francona said he expects to bring in lefty reliever Manny Delcarmen in the middle of an inning several times this series because of the high number of left-handed hitters in the Tampa Bay lineup. The Rays started Game 1 with five lefties plus switch-hitter Dioner Navarro.
With Mike Lowell out, Kevin Youkilis started Game 1 at third base, but Francona said it's possible the Red Sox could move Jed Lowrie to third and start Alex Cora at short.
--Jim Caple
Rays feeling right at home (7:54 p.m. ET)
The Rays have grown accustomed to large pro-Red Sox contingents at home games through the years, but they have reason to believe that Boston fans won't be quite as prevalent here in the American League Championship Series.
Club president Matt Silverman said Rays fans were able to get a jump on ALCS tickets because seats went on sale before Boston's division series with the Angels was complete.
"I think that kept [tickets] in the hands of our fans," Silverman said, "but once they're in the fans' hands, it's up to them to decide whether they want to come to the game or keep their tickets. We're expecting most of our fans to hold on to them and come to the game."
Yes, there were some Red Sox fans perched behind the third-base dugout at batting practice, but the Rays hope to feed off the energy at Tropicana Field in Games 1 and 2. It'll be a lot easier without the noise of 10,000 Red Sox fans screaming "Let's go Boston."
"I have some friends who are Red Sox fans who were looking for tickets, but I just can't bring them into this place wearing red gear," said Stuart Sternberg, the Rays' principal owner. "We put them in touch [with our ticket office], but they promised to keep it low-key."
--Jerry Crasnick
By the numbers: Brett Myers, Part II (6:49 p.m. ET)
And the
Brett Myers reign-of-offensive-terror notes just keep on coming. That infield hit was (gulp) his third hit of the game. So that makes him the eighth pitcher in history to get three hits in a postseason game -- but only the third since 1924. The others, according to baseball-reference.com's Play Index:
Dontrelle Willis in Game 4 of the 2003 NLDS and Orel Hershiser in Game 2 of the 1988 World Series.
--Jayson Stark
Leaving Manny alone … for now (6:28 p.m. ET)
Seems to have gotten awfully quiet out here in left field. The fans had been all over Manny Ramirez for three innings. Now, after Ramirez hit a three-run homer in the fourth to cut the Phillies' lead to 8-5, folks have become a bit less vocal. Even though Ramirez taunted the crowd as he rounded first base and again as he entered the dugout after his home run, people didn't really have much to say. Perhaps a fear that six-run lead may not have been big enough?
--Nick Pietruszkiewicz, ESPN.com baseball editor
By the numbers: Brett Myers (6:20 p.m. ET)
OK, more
Brett Myers minutiae coming at you:
He's the 15th pitcher in history to drive in three runs in a postseason game, but only the sixth in the DH era. The others, courtesy of ESPN research guru Mark Simon:
Tom Glavine in the 1996 NLCS,
Mike Jackson in the 1995 NLDS, Steve Carlton in the 1978 NLCS and Don Gullett twice -- in both the 1975 and '76 NLCS.
--Jayson Stark
This makes sense, huh? NLCS Game 2 Edition (5:32 p.m. ET)
How does stuff like this happen? Two outs, nobody on in the bottom of the second inning. Chad Billingsley had just struck out Pat Burrell and Jayson Werth in succession. Then the Phillies manufacture a four-run inning with the Nos. 7, 8 and 9 hitters coming up?
And maybe the biggest hit of all was Brett Myers' two-out RBI single. Anybody see Myers' Mr. October offensive act coming?
He went 4-for-58 at the plate during the regular season, with one RBI. Now he's 2-for-3 in October (plus a nine-pitch walk against
CC Sabathia). Which means, somehow, he has as many hits in this postseason as
Ryan Howard.
Ah, the mysteries of baseball never end. Do they?
--Jayson Stark
The place is rocking … literally (5:15 p.m. ET)
They say one of the great things about RFK Stadium, where the Washington Redskins used to play football, was the place literally shook during big moments. Well, it happened last night in Philadelphia when Chase Utley and Pat Burrell went deep. It's happening again during Game 2. After Phillies pitcher Brett Myers singled home a run, the left-field seats -- where the auxiliary press box is located -- shook enough to have computers dancing on the tables.
--Nick Pietruszkiewicz, ESPN.com baseball editor
Warm weather, cold hitters (4:45 p.m. ET)
I really can't complain when the game-time temperature announced in the press box is 74 degrees. It's amazing, and wouldn't it be great if this weather were the norm here in the Northeast?
Well, I was just going over some pregame notes, and how about this little gem, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Jimmy Rollins,
Shane Victorino and
Ryan Howard each went 0-for-4 on Thursday in Game 1. Amazingly, there was only ONE other time this season that all three went hitless in at least four at-bats: June 21 against the Angels.
--Amy K. Nelson
Manuel's tight bond with his mother (4:05 p.m. ET)
There is nothing in life quite like the relationship of a mother and her son. And Charlie Manuel and his mom, June, were as close as any mother and son on earth.
After every game Manuel managed in the big leagues, the phone would ring in his office and June Manuel would be on the other end. Then, of course, like any good mom, she'd run through everything in that game she thought he'd screwed up.
No wonder she was his favorite sports-talk host in America, despite the slight technicality that she didn't actually have a radio show to share her loving motherly opinions.
But then, Charlie and June Manuel have long had a unique relationship. Charlie was one of 10 children. And after the death of Charlie's dad, when Charlie Manuel was 19, he helped his mother raise and support the rest of the family.
So maybe that explains one of Manuel's favorite stories about his mom.
In 1999, after the Indians named Manuel as their new manager, a reporter from Cleveland headed for Buena Vista, Va., to interview June Manuel.
"You know," the reporter said to Charlie's mom, "only 30 people in the world get to manage a major-league baseball team. How does it feel to know your son is one of them?"
"Well," June Manuel replied, "that's all well and good. But somebody's still got to take out this trash."
That story tells us a lot about the man Charlie Manuel is -- a man who never loses sight of the fact that, no matter what you achieve in baseball, real life must go on. And for Charlie Manuel, it went on Friday, a day when managing a postseason baseball game seemed a lot less important than real life itself.
--Jayson Stark
Tough day for Phillies' Manuel (2:40 p.m. ET)
When it comes to matters off the field, Dodgers manager Joe Torre has had his share of heartbreak. Always an emotional person, Torre just approached Phillies manager Charlie Manuel,
whose mother passed away Friday morning, behind the batting cage on the field here at Citizens Bank Park.
Torre put his arm on Manuel's back, and looked to be giving his condolences. Manuel canceled his press conference today and it's doubtful he'll speak to the media. Considering the circumstances, it's amazing he's even on the field right now.
--Amy K. Nelson
Lidge fine without seeing Manny (1:10 p.m. ET)
A reporter just asked Phillies closer
Brad Lidge if, as a competitor, he'd like to face
Manny Ramirez in the ninth inning with the game on the line during this NLCS.
"Yeah, there are other guys I'd rather face," Lidge said with a smirk.
No, the challenge of facing Manny, he said, could be saved for another day. The bottom of the order with the bases empty would be just fine with him.
--Nick Pietruszkiewicz, ESPN.com baseball editor
