He saw 24 pitches in three at-bats against Tampa starter Scott Kazmir Monday night, dropped a two-strike blooper into center in the sixth inning last night to score Geoff Jenkins from third with the first go-ahead run of last night's tense World Series clincher.
"I definitely felt like I was in the middle of everything," he said. "Everything good. Everything bad.
"It seemed like I couldn't get out of the way."
Werth hit better than any regular in this World Series, a .444 average that included two hits and two walks in the Phillies' 4-3 Game 5 victory. With Jimmy Rollins struggling for hits right up to the end, he was the alternate leadoff man, watching pitches, fouling off good ones, pressuring a Rays staff that came into this series thinking this lineup was not as potent as the ones they had already conquered.
Judging from the big boys, there was some truth to that. Chase Utley finished with a .167 average in the World Series. Jimmy Rollins hit .227. Ryan Howard was a healthy .286 with three home runs and six of the Phillies' 23 RBI in this series. But all three struggled mightily at times with runners in scoring position, including last night. The Phillies had 81 total bases in this series, almost doubling the Rays' 49, yet won three one-run games against them.
Werth had eight hits, four for extra bases. He walked six times, had three of the Phillies' seven stolen bases this series. He battled literally every at-bat, including last night against Grant Balfour, with Geoff Jenkins on third and one out in the sixth.
"Two strikes again," he said. "Seems like I'm always hitting with two strikes."
