The Final 9

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

ST. PETERSBURG -- Jason Bartlett could practically hear the rumbling coming down the third-base line as he tried to focus -- a fastball coming at him from the mound, and Cliff Floyd charging toward his left eye.

A thing of beauty, this was not. With Floyd asked to participate in what he said was the first squeeze play of any kind in his long Major League career, there was contact, but Bartlett's first attempt at executing the fourth-inning safety squeeze went foul.

Then, unsatisfied, Rays manager Joe Maddon flashed it down to third-base coach Tom Foley again -- a move that surprised many, but not the Rays. This time, Bartlett found grass between the white lines, and Floyd crossed the plate with Tampa Bay's final run in a 4-2 victory over Philadelphia in Game 2 of the World Series on Thursday night.

"The way Joe teaches it, anybody that's on third base should score, if it's done correctly," Bartlett said. "Cliff's not that slow. He may be big and middle-aged, but he can run pretty good."

Small ball pays dividends for Rays....