PHILADELPHIA — Now that they've won the World Series, the Philadelphia Phillies get to celebrate with a parade down Broad Street on Halloween.

Their costume problem is solved. They can go dressed as champions.

"It's bigger than I actually felt like it was," manager Charlie Manuel said late Wednesday night.

For the Phillies, and for the city.

Almost 50 hours after Game 5 started but was halted by rain, Brad Lidge and the Phillies finished off the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 in a bizarre three-inning sprint.

"It was a crazy way to win it with a suspended game, but we did and it's over," 45-year-old Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer said. "It has been a long wait, but it's worth it."

Left in limbo by a two-day storm, the losingest team in pro sports seesawed to its first championship since 1980. Once play resumed, Pedro Feliz singled home the go-ahead run in the seventh and Lidge closed out his perfect season to deliver the title Philly craved for so long.

Cheesesteaks, on the house.

"Who's the world champion?" Manuel asked a gleeful crowd during a 90-minute postgame ceremony that lasted longer than Wednesday night's action.

Bundled in parkas and blankets, fans returned in force to Citizens Bank Park and saw the city claim its first major sports championship in 25 years. No more references needed to those sad-sack Phillies teams of the past and their 10,000-plus losses.

"They could taste it just as much as we could," Series MVP Cole Hamels said.

It was among the wackiest endings in baseball history, the best-of-seven series interrupted in the bottom of the sixth inning of Game 5 with the score tied at 2.

How bizarre? Hamels was one of that game's stars — and the ace never stepped on the mound Wednesday night; two Rays relievers warmed up to start, and there was a pinch-hitter before a single pitch; "God Bless America" was sung rather than the national anthem, and was quickly followed by the seventh-inning stretch.

All because the game was suspended Monday night after rain made the field into a quagmire, washing out the foul lines, creating a puddle at home plate and turning every ball into an adventure. Commissioner Bud Selig eventually called it — fans booed loudly when he presented the MVP trophy to Hamels.

Finally, long after Julius Erving led the Sixers to the 1983 NBA title, something to celebrate at Friday's parade.

"It's over," shortstop Jimmy Rollins said. "It's over, man."

Lidge went 48-for-48 on save chances this year, including two this week. He retired two batters with a runner on second, striking out pinch-hitter Eric Hinske to end it.

Lidge jumped in front of the mound, landing on his knees with arms outstretched. Catcher Carlos Ruiz ran out to grab him, and teammates sprinted to the mound to join them as towel-waving fans let loose.

"At first, I couldn't believe it. And then the gravity of what happened hit me," Lidge said.

A generation ago, it was Tug McGraw who went wild when the Phillies won their first title. A few days after country singer Tim McGraw scattered his dad's ashes on the mound, it was Lidge's turn to throw the final pitch.

Popular broadcaster Harry Kalas, in his fourth decade of doing Phillies games, serenaded the festive fans with a chorus of "High Hopes."

Despite low TV ratings and minus the majors' most glamorous teams, fans will always remember how this one wrapped up. And for the first time in a long while, kids saw a World Series champion crowned before bedtime.

"I believe this firmly, our guys are not going to be satisfied without playing in October from now on," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "And that's a good thing. And that's all because of this group of people this year."

Reliever J.C. Romero got the win, his second of the Series.

Hamels went 4-0 in five postseason starts, beating the Rays in Game 1 and pitching six sharp innings in the rain during Game 5. He was set to be the first batter when the game resumed, and was immediately pulled for a pinch-hitter.

While former NL MVPs Ryan Howard and Rollins drive the Phillies, it was their less-heralded teammates who helped win it on this chilly night.

Tied at 3, Pat Burrell led off the seventh with a drive off the center-field wall against J.P. Howell. Chad Bradford relieved and one out later Feliz singled home pinch-runner Eric Bruntlett.

Rocco Baldelli's solo home run off Ryan Madson made it 3-all in the top of the seventh. The Rays almost got more, but All-Star second baseman Chase Utley alertly bluffed a throw to first on a grounder over the bag and instead threw out Jason Bartlett at the plate.

Pinch-hitter Geoff Jenkins, the first batter Wednesday night, doubled and later scored on Jayson Werth's bloop single.

In all, there were six new pitchers, three pinch-hitters and two pinch-runners when play restarted.

Manuel, whose NL East champions clinched a playoff spot in the final week, guided the Phillies' second overall championship in six World Series tries. The Phils helped themselves by going 7-0 at home this postseason, beating Milwaukee and the Dodgers in the NL playoffs and then defeating the Rays.

"I always thought we'd win the World Series. I knew we could beat anyone in the league," Manuel said.