Game One is in the books and now the Phillies and their phans can breathe a little easier, knowing that there is some room for error now.
But that doesn't mean Brett Myers can let off the gas tonight, not that he knows how. What is important is that Myers gets off to a good start, avoiding giving up runs in the first or second inning. If he can do that and the Phillies don't have to come from behind, they'll be in position to steal another game from the Rays in their Dharma station stadium.
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Too much is being made of how many base runners the Phillies left on base last night. Yes, it was too many, however, the way we could be looking at it is that they just need to keep it up and the floodgates will eventually open.
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James Shields, a right-hander, will toe the rubber for the Rays tonight. He's a fastball, changeup, curve kind of guy, with the fast ball averaging around 91-92 mph with a fair amount of tail. The change is his out pitch, and it differentiates from the fastball by about 10 mph. He's stingy with walks and strikes out 6.7 per 9 innings pitched, adding up to a 4.00 K/BB ratio.
With an ERA+ of 125, it might be another low-scoring night tonight.
