The Phillies will be statring 24-year old left-hander Cole Hamels against Rays ace Scott Kazmir tonight at Tropicana Field.  Hamels has been dominant throughout the playoffs and the key to the Phillies winning the NCLS, but it was Kazmir who gave Tampa Bay home-field advantage in this matchup.  Kazmir was the winning pitcher in the All-Star game after working a scoreless 15th inning.  Phillies closer Brad Lidge then gave up the winning run giving the American League home field advantage.  Lidge has converted all 46 of his save opportunities – five in the postseason…the All-Star game was his only blown save this year.

Both teams have stacked line-ups and were among the leaders in “Runs Scored” this year.  In addition, both teams are young, have speed and great starting rotations.

There are two Rays players to watch in this Series…Evan Longoria and BJ Upton.  Longoria had 4 homers and 8 RBIs during the ALCS and Upton has hit 7 homers and driven in 15 runs in 11 playoff games.  Only 4 Rays starters have faced Hamels (3-0, 1.23 ERA in postseason) in their carrer and Longoria and Upton aren’t on that list.

Kazmir (1-0, 4.02 in postseason) hasn’t been as dominant as Hamels in the postseason, but a strong Game 5 performance prompted Skipper Maddon to start him in Game 1 of the World Series instead of Shields.  Left-handed batters are 3-for-19 (.158) against Kazmir in the playoffs, but lefty-hitting stars Ryan Howard and Chase Utley plan to change that percentage.

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Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com