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Australian relief pitcher Grant Balfour made an impressive World Series baseball debut today, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Tampa Bay losing 3-2 to the Philadelphia Phillies in game one.
Balfour came into the game in the seventh inning, pitching one and two-third innings without conceding a run before being replaced midway through the ninth.
The 30-year-old right-hander gave up a hit and a walk, while getting two strike-outs.
Balfour joins fellow pitcher Graeme Lloyd, a two-time championship winner with the New York Yankees in the 1990s, as the only Australians ever to play in a World Series.
Chase Utley hit a two-run homer today and Cole Hamels pitched seven innings as the Phillies escaped with the win in St Petersburg, Florida.
Hamels struck out five and walked two with the Phillies’ pitchers showed no signs of rust after a week off between the semi-finals and the World Series.
Phillies closer Brad Lidge came on in the ninth inning and posted a three-out save in front of a sold-out crowd of 41,000 at Tropicana Field, maintaining his perfect save record this year.
Game two is tomorrow at Tropicana Field.
This is the first World Series since 1993 for the Phillies who won it in 1980.
They have now won 21 of their past 26 games and Utley’s blast boosted their home run total to a staggering 215 this season.
The Rays are trying to cap one of the most impressive turnarounds in sports history as they reached their first ever World Series after finishing in last place in 2007.
Tampa’s loss was just their third in the past 24 contests.
Infielder Utley hammered his shot to the right field bleachers off Tampa starting pitcher Scott Kazmir.
Philadelphia had a chance to pad their lead in the second but Rays outfielder BJ Upton threw out Shane Victorino at home plate to get the third out and end the inning with the bases loaded.
The Phillies also left a runner stranded on third at the end of the third inning.
Catcher Carlos Ruiz made it 3-0 for Philadelphia in the top of the fourth with an RBI sacrifice that scored Victorino.
Tampa’s Carl Crawford cut the lead to two runs with his first career playoff home run. His solo shot sailed 382 feet to right field in the fourth.
Japan’s Akinori Iwamura hit a double to centre field that scored Rays’ teammate Jason Bartlett to make it 3-2 for the Phillies.
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