World Series Game 1: Phillies 3 - Rays 2

Excuse me, I need a minute to recover from the Brady News.
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Brady, I think I might actually cry. Thankfully the "Insider" part of www.tombrady.com tells a much more optimistic story. OK, I think I'm composed enough to write a bit about the first game of the world series.

One of the oddest terms we use to describe pitchers is "stud". Especially when you hear a bunch of ex-ball players continually referring to a guy as a "stud" as if he's slept with all of them (not that there's anything wrong with that). Well, in that same fantastic ritual, Cole Hamels is a stud (and not in bed... er... not that I would know).

In 3 playoff games leading up to The Series, Hamels has pitched at least 7 innings each time out, never surrendering more than two runs. That held up, as Hamels went 7 innings again last night, only allowing only two runs and striking out 5. With Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge cleaning up the 8th and 9th, the Phillies were able to capture game 1 in exciting fashion.

The only man in the Rays lineup that Hamels had no answer for was Akinori Iwamura, who went 3-3 with a double and an RBI off of Hamels, often hitting tough pitches. Cole's only mistake came with nobody on and Carl Crawford up (and by the lead up you can probably guess that Crawford went yard). But the Phillies pitchers were just too much for the Rays hitters in the long run. In fact, aside from Crawford's homerun and Iwamura's three hits, the only hit managed by the Rays was Ben Zorbist's single off of Hamels. The Philly bullpen was perfect in two innings.

The Phillies offense came primarily in the form of Chase Utley's 2-run first inning homerun off of Scott Kazmir. Kazmir had a classic Dice-K start - continually pitching himself into and out of trouble and walking far too many batters (4) while striking out just as many (4). Watching Kazmir actually made me miss Dice-K. The Rays bullpen also pitched well, not allowing any runs, but cutting it close on many occasions.

So we go to game 2, with the Phillies taking a 1-0 lead in the series. Admittedly, this is exactly how I expected it, as well as Dan. Dan expects the Rays to rattle of the next 4, I don't expect Cole Hamels to lose another game this postseason. We'll see.

Win: Cole Hamels (1-0, 2.57)
Loss: Scott Kazmir (0-1, 4.50)
Save: Brad Lidge (1)
Player of the Game: Cole Hamels (surprised? Has he lost any this offseason?)
Stat of the Night: Upton, Pena, and Longoria combined in the ALCS to go 23-for-81 with 11 homeruns, 25 RBI, 24 Runs, 5 doubles, and blah blah blah, was held 0-for-12 with only Pena reaching base on a Ryan Howard error but he was then picked off of first by Hamels. As a group they struck out 5 times, grounded into 2 double-plays, and had an error in the field. Wow.

What's on Tap?
The Phillies send out Brett Myers without his hot playoff bat against the Rays' James Shields at 8 PM tonight at Tropicana field. I'm sure all 12 Rays fans will be there again with those obnoxious cowbells. (Yes, I'm still bitter, wanna fight about it!?)


Written By Master of Mojo: Kyle Baxter