Tampa Bay vs. Philadelphia
Written by: Matt Pelc
Rays -162 vs. Phillies
Click here for MLB Lines.
Bucking the trend of recent LCS victors with long layoffs, the Phillies rode their ace Cole Hamels to draw first blood with the victory in Game 1 of the World Series. The NLCS MVP Hamels continued his October dominance Wednesday night as he shut down the explosive Tampa Bay Rays to win 3-2. This was the lefthander’s fourth victory in the postseason.
On the offensive side, the Phillies were almost equally stymied by Rays starter Scott Kazmir, but were able to push across one more run to win. The bulk of Philadelphia’s offense came in the first inning, one of the few innings that Kazmir seemed to struggle though. Chase Utley made him pay when he parked a changeup deep into the right field stands of Tropicana Field. Utley became a part of an exclusive fraternity of now 34 players who have hit a homerun on their first World Series at bat.
The pressure is clearly on Tampa Bay as they prepare for tonight’s Game 2. A loss tonight would be devastating for the Rays who face the next three games on the road. The Rays are a cool bunch, however, and have weathered any storm that has come their way. Just over a week ago, the Rays lost to the Red Sox in Game 1 of the ALCS at home and still clinched the series in 7, taking 2 out of 3 games in Beantown. And while Citizens’ Bank Park will allow the Philadelphia home town fans to show their love to their National League Champion Phillies as they play at home for the first time since October 10, the Rays may be salivating at the chance to get their offense healthy and tee off in a hitters park, much like they did in Boston.
As much as Philadelphia would love to throw Hamels out on the mound for every game, they will turn to Brett Myers. In turn the Rays will turn to their solid number two starter Steve Shields to be the stopper and gain Tampa Bay a split as they head to Philadelphia for the next three games beginning Saturday night.
Click here for Sports Betting at WagerWeb.com
Comments
Leave a Reply
-
Bet On It
-
Betting Odds
Support
Online Sports Betting Trends
NBA
NCAABK
NHL
NFL
| There are no current trends available. Please choose another sport above. |
NCAAFB
| There are no current trends available. Please choose another sport above. |