ST PETERSBURG, Florida: The opportunistic Tampa Bay Rays beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 on Thursday to level the best-of-seven World Series at 1-1.

The Rays, appearing in their first World Series after 10 barren years propping up the American League, cashed in on their scoring chances while the Phillies failed to hit in the clutch against Tampa Bay's gritty right-hander James Shields.

Tampa Bay scored two runs in the first inning on ground outs, and another in the fourth on a squeeze bunt by Jason Bartlett on the way to building a 4-0 lead off Phillies starter Brett Myers.