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By MARC TOPKIN
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 12, 2001
7:15 tonight, 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, 12:15 p.m. Thursday
SCOUTING REPORT: The Phillies' turnaround has been one of the biggest surprises this season, and they have done it with a combination of forces. The offense has been steady, though not overpowering, with decent output from Pat Burrell, Bobby Abreu, Doug Glanville, Scott Rolen, Travis Lee and others, making up for the loss of starting catcher Mike Lieberthal. The starting pitching has been better than expected. The revamped bullpen has been one of the league's best. The defense, led by rookie shortstop Jimmy Rollins, has been tight. The team leads the NL in stolen bases. And enough can't be said about the influence of new manager Larry Bowa, who has his team on the go at all times.
THE PAST WEEK: The Rays could be catching the Phillies at an interesting time. Philadelphia has lost six of eight in a rare extended slump, and its once-healthy eight-game lead in the NL East has shrunk to 3 1/2.
RAYS-PHILLIES CONNECTIONS: Abreu was a Ray for only a few hours, traded to the Phillies in an expansion draft-day deal for Kevin Stocker. But because Stocker was so bad and Abreu has been so good, the trade gets brought up frequently. ... Rays bullpen coach Darren Daulton was a longtime Phillies star. ... Rays manager Hal McRae spent the past four years in Philadelphia as hitting coach.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Rays hold a 5-4 advantage, making the Phillies one of two teams they have an edge over. (The other is Detroit, 18-17). The Phillies won two of three at the Trop in 1999.
WHO'S HOT: Burrell, a University of Miami teammate of Tampa Bay's Aubrey Huff, is hitting .368 over 21 games.
WHO'S NOT: Travis Lee is hitting .216 on the road and was 1-for-11 in Boston.