(Best E Casino) - Cole Hamels tries to put the finishing touches on a terrific postseason and pitch Philadelphia to its first World Series title in 28 years this evening, as the Phillies play Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Rays at Citizens Bank Park.
A win tonight would not only give the Phillies just their second-ever title and first since 1980, but it would also give the City of Brotherly Love its first championship of any kind since 1983, when the 76ers beat the Los Angeles Lakers for the NBA championship.
Meanwhile, there is nobody else Philadelphia would rather have on the hill tonight than the 24-year-old lefty Hamels, who is a perfect 4-0 in these playoffs with a 1.55 earned run average. With another victory tonight, Hamels would become the first pitcher to win five starts in a single postseason.
Francisco Rodriguez won five games out of the bullpen for the Anaheim Angels in 2002, while Randy Johnson won four of his starts in 2001 for the Arizona Diamondbacks before winning a thrilling Game 7 in relief against the New York Yankees.
Hamels was superb in his Game 1 assignment against the Rays, surrendering a pair of runs and five hits in seven innings.
Philadelphia pushed the Rays to the brink of elimination on Sunday, as Ryan Howard homered twice and drove in five runs, and Joe Blanton hit his first major league homer and had seven strikeouts over six-plus dominating innings, powering the Phillies to a 10-2 victory.
There have been 42 teams that have taken a 3-1 World Series lead, 36 of them have gone on to win a title. However, there have been six teams to rally from that deficit, the last being Kansas City in 1985 when the Royals beat St. Louis.
Blanton belted a solo homer in the fifth inning, Howard added a three-run blast in the fourth and a two-run shot in the eighth, and Jayson Werth clubbed a two-run homer in the eighth.
Jimmy Rollins went 3-for-5 and scored three times for the Phillies, who headed into Sunday 2-for-33 with runners in scoring position. They went 4-for-14 in those situations in Game 4.
The Phillies acquired Blanton (1-0) from Oakland on July 17, and the right- hander has been a pleasant surprise, going 6-0 since then. That includes a pair of playoff victories. He allowed four hits and two runs, on homers to Carl Crawford and Eric Hinske, before departing in the seventh.
Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine (0-1) was lifted after giving up six hits and five runs -- three earned -- through four innings.
Tampa's hopes tonight rest on the left arm of Scott Kazmir, who lost to Hamels in Game 1. Kazmir gave up three runs and six hits with four walks in six innings of that one, as he fell to 1-1 this postseason to go along with a 4.15 ERA.
As bad as Philadelphia has hit in certain situations, a couple of Tampa players have been even worse. Evan Longoria, who had hit six homers in the previous two series, is 0-for-16 in the World Series, while Carlos Pena is hitless in 13 at-bats. They have also struck out a combined 15 times.
The Phillies also have a chance to become the first team since the 1999 Yankees to finish a postseason undefeated at home. Philadelphia is 6-0 as the host in these playoffs.
Tampa and the 1991 Atlanta Braves are the only teams to reach the World Series a year after finishing with the worst record in the majors.
Game 6 of this series, if necessary, will shift back to Tropicana Field on Wednesday.
