The Phillies find themselves in a tremendously good spot this evening in Game 5. Up 3-1 in the series, they send their playoff ace Cole Hamels to the mound at home to wrap up the World Series. For the Phillies, and Philadelphia, this championship is a long time coming. The last major Philly franchise in the city to bring a championship home was the 1983 76ers. That's a pretty huge drought for a city with teams in the 4 major sports (yes, I'm counting hockey). But all that said, it'll be interesting to see how the Phillies respond to having this incredible expectation finally fully thrust upon them. Some teams respond well. Others don't.
There's also the added problem that the Rays have nothing to lose at this point, so they can try pretty much anything. And you know they'll do exactly that to get this series back to St. Petersburg. And make no mistake about it, if the Rays win this game, they likely won't have to face Hamels again except in a relief appearance. So this game might be more than just a simple lost opportunity for the Phils if they lose tonight.
Again, as was said before, Cole Hamels is starting for the Phils tonight. He'll be countered by Scott Kazmir who's pitching for the Rays. Kazmir had some control problems in Game 1, but still only gave up 3 earned runs in 6 innings. Aside from James Shields, he's definitely the best pitcher the Rays have to offer against Hamels.
As for this evening, FanIQ has finally switched sides with 56% of people saying Philly will win andclose the Series out. Which of course means the Rays will win.
Feel free to chat it up here or on the game page.
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