Rays hang loose, Phillies can’t get out of tight spots

Ice in his veins. Ask about David Price in the Tampa Bay clubhouse, and that is the apparently mandatory response.

Finally came the thaw, in the ninth inning of the World Series, with the most prolific home run hitter in baseball at bat.

“I don’t usually sweat out there,” Price said, “and my hat looks like I went swimming with it.”

That the phenom sweated is not altogether surprising, not in his World Series debut, not one year out of college. That the rest of the novice Rays did not sweat is quite the surprise, and now the World Series is all even, after a 4-2 victory in Game 2.

Team Tense, it turns out, is the Philadelphia Phillies.

Two errors Thursday, three in the series. One hit in 17 at-bats with runners in scoring position Thursday, one for 30 in the Series.

Jimmy Rollins, the 2007 National League MVP, has yet to reach base in the Series. Ryan Howard, the 2006 MVP, has yet to hit a home run in the playoffs.

There are other ways to win, if you play with smarts and without fear, if you’re not worried that you could make a mistake that could lead to a two-games-to-none deficit.

“Thank Joe for that,” Tampa Bay’s Cliff Floyd said, referring to Manager Joe Maddon.

“I encourage mistakes,” Maddon said. “I don’t want them worried about making mistakes, ever.”

B.J. Upton dared to try for the extra base, to challenge right fielder Jayson Werth to throw him out at second after bobbling a single. Upton was safe, setting up one run in the first inning.

“That’s the way you’re supposed to play baseball,” Upton said. He learned, after Maddon benched him three times during the season for not hustling.

Rocco Baldelli let fly on a throw from right field to first base, without setting his feet, and who knew where the ball might land? But Baldelli doubled up Werth as he scrambled back toward first base, terminating the fifth inning, with Howard on deck.

“I just took a chance,” Baldelli said.

James Shields, the kid from Santa Clarita, admitted to a mild case of the jitters, at least until he arrived in the clubhouse.

“Everyone was laughing and having fun,” Shields said. “It made me feel a little better.”

He pitched six shutout innings, and that made the Rays feel a lot better. So did the squeeze bunt -- the second one, at least.

Maybe this is the Rays’ season after all. The Angels win the most games of any team in the major leagues, Erick Aybar misses a squeeze in the playoffs, and Mike Scioscia gets roasted.

If Maddon encourages his players to take chances, he can’t very well manage by the book, and in the fourth inning he did not. With the lumbering Floyd at third base, Maddon puts on the suicide squeeze.

Jason Bartlett fouls off the bunt. Maddon glances at the Phillies, and he senses they figure the squeeze is a one-shot deal. So Maddon puts on the squeeze again -- this time the safety squeeze, where Floyd is not supposed to run until Bartlett bunts safely.

“If they pitch out, I’m out by a ton,” Floyd said. “Even though it’s a safety squeeze, I’ve got to get this body moving at some point.”

Maddon is right. The Phillies aren’t looking bunt. Bartlett gets the bunt down, and Floyd scores.

“I don’t know if we’ve executed that play all year long,” Shields said. “To be able to do that in the second game of the World Series, that’s kind of funny.”

The Rays asked Price to get the final seven outs, aware that today is an off day and Saturday could be a rainout. This Price was not as right as the one that introduced himself to America by striking out J.D. Drew with the bases loaded in Game 7 of the AL Championship Series.

“I was nervous,” Price said. “I guess it was that patch on my arm that says, ‘World Series.’ ”

He got the job done. So did the Rays, in their own high-risk, high-reward way.

“We have athletes,” Floyd said. “We don’t have the 45-homer, 150-RBI guy that we can count on.”

The Phillies have that guy, in Howard. He batted with two out in the ninth inning, when a home run would have tied the game.

Price got him. The Rays are off to Philadelphia, without a care in the World -- Series, that is.

--

bill.shaikin@latimes.com

--

BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX

How they scored

Rays first: Iwamura walked. Upton singled to right, Iwamura to second. On Werth’s error, Iwamura to third, Upton to second. Pena grounded out to shortstop. Iwamura scoring. Longoria grounded out to shortstop, Upton scoring. Crawford grounded out to first.

2 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 0 left on. Rays 2, Phillies 0.

Rays second: Floyd grounded out to shortstop. Navarro singled to center. Baldelli walked. Bartlett hit an infield single to third, loading the bases. Iwamura popped out to shortstop. Upton singled to right, Navarro scored, Baldelli out at the plate on a throw by Werth.

1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Rays 3, Phillies 0.

Rays fourth: Floyd singled to left. Navarro singled to center. Baldelli grounded to third, forcing Navarro at second. Bartlett sacrificed, Floyd scoring. Iwamura grounded out to second.

1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Rays 4, Phillies 0.

Phillies eighth: Burrell fouled out to third. Victorino grounded out to third. Bruntlett, pinch-hitting for Dobbs, homered to left on the first pitch. Feliz grounded out to shortstop.

1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Rays 4, Phillies 1.

Phillies ninth: Ruiz doubled to left. Rollins popped out to shortstop. Werth safe on Longoria’s error, Ruiz scoring. Utley struck out. Howard grounded out to second.

1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 left on. Rays 4, Phillies 2.