Phillies suffer reign delay as Game 5 is suspended

THEY LEFT in a huff, and given the circumstances, an understandable one. Jimmy Rollins. Pat Burrell. Jayson Werth.

All declined to talk, obviously frustrated with the way what was supposed to be the crowning moment of their careers came to a soggy end.

"It is what it is," Burrell said as he slipped on his boots and slipped out the clubhouse door. "I'll talk to you after the game."

Problem is, nobody seems to know when the end of the game will come, or if the bizarre circumstances that led to the suspendsion of last night's game will come back to haunt the Phillies in their quest for their first World Series title since 1980.

Here is what we know:

* The Phillies ended up making history last night, but not the kind they had hoped for. What was shaping up to be another brilliant performance by Cole Hamels came to an abrupt end amidst howling wind and steady rain as Major League Baseball decided to postpone a potential World Series-clinching Game 5 in the middle of the sixth inning.

* The game, tied at 2-2 with the Phillies due up to bat, will resume whenever the weather lets up. If not tonight, then tomorrow.

* Commissioner Bud Selig said he would give the Phillies, the Rays and both teams' fans plenty of notice if the game will not be played tonight, but he would not say exactly how much notice.

* After hitting in the bottom of the sixth, the Phillies will use a reliever in the top of the seventh. Pitching coach Rich Dubee said he would not use a starter, even if the Rays opt to throw one of theirs on the mound.

* Rollins, Burrell, Werth and several other players declined to talk to the media. Rollins, the team's union representative, left without saying a word.

Manager Charlie Manuel was also unavailable to meet with the media.

Four hours before the game, he met with a small gathering of local writers in his office and spoke about his emotions regarding the game. He talked about former Phillies third-base coach John Vukovic, who succumbed to brain cancer in the spring of 2007. He talked of his mother, June, who died of a heart attack during the National League Championship Series.

The Phillies seemed poise to bring a storybook ending to it all.

They entered last night leading the best-of-seven series, three games to one. On the mound was ace lefthander Cole Hamels, who was 4-0 in four postseason starts. A win at home, and the Phillies would clinch their first title since 1980 and avoid playing Game 6 or Game 7 in St. Petersburg.

They could not have planned the start of the game any better. Hamels breezed through the first inning on just six pitches. In the bottom of the frame, Shane Victorino gave them a 2-0 lead with a bases-loaded base hit.

But in the top of the fourth inning, the rain that had been forecasted all day began to fall. The Rays scored their first run in that frame, getting an RBI single from Evan Longoria before Dioner Navarro grounded into a doubleplay to end the inning.

The Phillies had the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth, but Chase Utley grounded out to end the threat.

As the fifth inning progressed, the rain grew stronger. The Phillies had runners on first and second with no out in the bottom of the fifth, but Victorino, Pedro Feliz and Carlos Ruiz all popped out to leave them stranded.

By that point, Rays starter Scott Kazmir was out of the game, having thrown 103 pitches in just four-plus innings. Hamels, meanwhile, was cruising at 75 pitches.

But as the field became harder and harder to maintain - several times over the fifth and sixth innings the game was delayed as the ground crew worked furioursly to put new dirt on the infield - the odds of completing the game decreased.

"They groomed the field probably after the third inning or after the fourth inning, every half inning, and they were keeping up with it,'' umpire crew chief Tim Welke said. "Then the velocity of the rain made it such when we were playing at the top of the sixth, it became harder and harder.''

Hamels recorded two quick outs in the top of the sixth, but gave up an infield single to B.J. Upton that Rollins couldn't track down. He stole second, sliding into the base through the mud. Then Carlos Pena hit a single into leftfield that tied the game, 2-2.

At the end of the half inning, the tarp was rolled onto the infield. A short time later, MLB officials announced they were suspending play.

"I mean, you can't control the weather,'' first baseman Ryan Howard said. "That's what it is. I don't know. They felt it was the right thing to do, to suspend the game and what-not. I guess we'll find out what is going on.''

Selig said that even if the Phillies were leading after 5 1/2 innings, he would have suspended the game. In normal circumstances, the team leading would have been awarded the victory if the game were official.

But, Selig said, "I wasn't going to let that happen.''

Ruiz said he thought the rain affected Hamels in the sixth inning, but Hamels took it in stride afterward.

"You kind of have to take it how it goes,'' said Hamels, who has almost certainly made his last start of the season. "For me, I was just going to go the rest of the innings I had in me. I thought we were just going to keep going. I only had 70- some pitches. You just have to make the best of it. Fortunately, nothing worse came out of it.''

Dubee said he did not know which reliever would start the top of the seventh, although the entire bullpen should be available.

"I don't think the weather was ideal, I don't think any of it is ideal,'' Dubee said. "But we are in a good situation. We're coming up in the bottom of the sixth in a 2-2 game. We like our bullpen.''

The Phillies will lead off the sixth with a pinch-hitter (Hamels' turn in the order is up), followed by Rollins and Werth.

While several players were visibly unhappy with the circumstances, they remain three innings away from clinching the city's first major sports championship in 25 years.

If it does happen, it won't be how they envisioned it transpiring. *

For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese.