AccuScore
| Phillies Strike First |
The Phillies did what they absolutely needed to Wednesday night which was win Game 1 with ace Cole Hamels on the mound. With a victory in hand Philadelphia has now statistically evened this match-up with each team having a 50 percent chance to become the new World Series champion. Hamels pitched yet another gem going seven innings while allowing just five hits and two runs. He struck out five and walked two. He is now a perfect 4-0 in the postseason, and is showing no ill-effects from a career-high 227.1 innings in the regular season. If anything he appears to be getting stronger sporting a 1.55 ERA and a .177 batting average against so far in the playoffs. Hamels is pitching like a true ace, and lay claim to being one of the best pitchers in the game. He has pushed Philadelphia’s edge in his next projected start (Game 5 at home) to 59 percent. The win was key for the Phillies because their starting rotation drops off significantly after Hamels. Brett Myers will oppose James Shields in Game 2 which is a big edge for Tampa Bay. The Rays are projected to win this match-up 64 percent of the time. They didn’t hit very well in Game 1, but that was more due to Hamels pitching than anything they did themselves. The outcome was expected, and was accurately predicted by AccuScore. The Rays must continue to stay the course, and remain patient at the plate. Myers, Moyer, and Blanton have shown that they can be wild at times and also eminently hittable. In fact, the Rays are favored in every remaining game except for Hamels’ Game 5 projected start. Tampa Bay is favored to win 65 percent of simulations in the final two games which are projected to be started by Shields and Matt Garza. Philadelphia needs to find a way to steal two games during this series with Myers, Moyer, or Blanton on the mound. With Hamels getting one start that would likely be enough to finally bring a championship to Philadelphia.
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