SCORES TWICE AFTER A PUCK TO THE FACE
Jimmy Rollins sat in the Phillies dugout before the National League Division Series earlier this month against the Milwaukee Brewers and recalled the Kirk Gibson home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.
As a young Oakland A's fan, it crushed Rollins.
"I think I almost cried," he said. "I was sad for a long time. I really was. I'm still upset about it."
The Phillies possibly created a moment like that for young Rays fans last night, when Carlos Ruiz hit a chopper up the third-base line to score the winning run in the ninth inning in a dramatic 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 3 of the World Series at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies lead the series, 2-1, and can take a commanding lead with a victory tonight in Game 4.
“I was excited,” Ruiz said. “No matter if it’s an infield hit or whatever, I’ll take it. I’ll take the win.”
“It was good fortune on their part,” Rays third baseman Evan Longoria said. “He couldn’t have picked up the ball and rolled it to a better spot. If he hits it a little harder it’s a double play. He hit it to the right spot.”
“I saw the ball go into the ground,” said Eric Bruntlett, who scored the winning run. “I knew it wasn’t hit very hard, so I know I just have to high-tail it and go as hard as I can. … It’s one of those deals where it can of feels like everything is slow motion. I feel like I should be moving faster and I can’t because you want to get there so quickly. It feels like a long 90 feet at that point.”
*
More tomorrow. It's almost 4 a.m. and I need a little shut eye.
Bob Brookover and Matt Gelb team up for their third straight season covering the Phillies for the Inquirer and philly.com.
This is Brookover’s second stint writing about the Phillies, having joined the coverage team after seven years as an Eagles beat writer. Brookover was hired by The Inquirer in 2000 as the Phillies beat writer after spending 13 years writing about the team for two suburban newspapers. While on the Eagles beat, Brookover, who had covered just two winning Phillies teams in 15 seasons, saw the Phillies move into a cash-cow new ballpark and begin playing a brand of the game he found unrecognizable. Follow him on Twitter here.
Gelb is in his third season covering the Phillies. He was hired by The Inquirer in August 2009 after graduating from Syracuse University. He has also covered baseball at The Star-Ledger and Cape Cod Times. Born and raised in Bucks County, he attended Central Bucks High School West. Follow him on Twitter here.
To submit a question for Matt Gelb's Phillies mailbag, click here.
 | Join on Facebook |  | Follow on Twitter |
