Utley, Hamels power Phils to Game 1 victory by Mike Ghika
Rays look to bounce back tonight in Game 2

A two-run first inning homer by second baseman Chase Utley and another spectacular postseason start from ace Cole Hamels were the keys to a 3-2 victory for Philadelphia over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the 2008 World Series last night at the Trop.

Utley followed up a Jason Werth walk in the first with a blast off Rays starter Scott Kazmir into the right-field seats to put the Phils on top early. Back-to-back singles from Shane Victorino and Pedro Feliz to start off the fourth put the Phils in position to expand their lead, and after a Chris Coste grounder advanced both runners up a base, a Carlos Ruiz RBI ground-out scored Victorino to make it a 3-0 game.

However, a Carl Crawford solo shot with 2 outs in the bottom half of the fourth cut into the Phils' lead, and the Rays would quickly make it a 3-2 game in the fifth when Akinori Iwamura doubled home Jason Bartlett after Bartlett walked and stole second.

Nonetheless, Hamels was once again the story for Philadelphia. His lineup left 11 runners on base and was 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position, and yet Hamels did not allow the Rays to take a lead despite his offense's inability to put the game away. The NLCS MVP threw 102 pitches (66 strikes) over 7 innings, allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits. He struck out 5, walked 2, and really made just one mistake when he hung the breaking ball that Crawford deposited into the seats in the fourth.

A key play came in the bottom half of the sixth with the Rays sending their 3-4-5 hitters to the plate. First baseman Carlos Pena reached on a Ryan Howard (0-for-4, 3 SO) error to lead off the inning. For some reason, even with the lefty Hamels on the mound, Pena, not considered a base-stealing threat, took off with nobody out and Evan Longoria at the plate before Hamels even made a move to the plate. Hamels threw over to first, and Howard delivered a strike to shortstop Jimmy Rollins who tagged out Pena at second for the first out of the inning. Longoria would then go on to strike out looking, and Hamels got Crawford to ground out to escape the frame.

Phils' set-up man Ryan Madson pitched a perfect eighth and closer Brad Lidge had 1-2-3 ninth with two strikeouts for his sixth save of the postseason. With the win, Hamels is now 4-0 in four starts this postseasons with a 1.55 ERA in 29 innings pitched.

Published on October 23, 2008

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