Playoff Pulse: Plenty of Work Left for Phils

In the Playoff Pulse series, our MLB editor takes on a hot October topic.

For a one-run game in October, Game 1 of the World Series wasn't exactly a thriller. That's not because it lacked tension or it was a poorly-played affair. It's because Game 1 played exactly to form. As they have three times already this October, the Phillies breezed to victory with Cole Hamels, their best pitcher, on the mound.

A dazzling performance from Hamels is exactly what people expected out of the Phillies, even though they are overwhelmingly considered the underdog in the World Series.

The hard work, and presumably the real drama, lies ahead in this Fall Classic, and Game 2 should be the beginning of it all.

A win from Hamels in the opener is what the Phillies needed to turn the World Series into a competitive one. Everything came easy. Hamels dominated for seven innings, showing once again he's the best starting pitcher in October, and Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge proved unhittable again in relief. The next time Philadelphia will have the starting pitching edge is the next time Hamels steps on the mound.

In order to win it all, the Phillies are going to have to figure out how to get a win without their ace on the mound. And unlike the Rays, Philadelphia is looking at a significant drop in quality from its No. 1 starter to its No. 2.

In the NLDS and NLCS, Brett Myers and Joe Blanton were able to come through, but the pitchers they faced were CC Sabathia on short rest and the inexperienced Chad Billingsley (Myers) and Jeff Suppan and Derek Lowe on short rest (Blanton). Things are about to get a whole tougher.

James Shields awaits Myers Thursday night. Shields is only 1-2 in the postseason, but he was very good in the ALCS and the Phillies will not be able to rely on the fluke hitting heroics of Myers to get another win. Then Jamie Moyer, who has been nothing but awful in October, will have to take on ALCS MVP Matt Garza. Shields and Garza are, quite simply, better pitchers than Myers and Moyer and it's not even particularly close.


The Rays need a win in Game 2 to head to Philadelphia on level footing and avoid a big hole, so in that sense the pressure has shifted to them in the World Series.

But the Phillies are still where they were before Game 1, wondering how to win without Hamels. Beating the 84-win Dodgers from the NL West sans Hamels is one thing, but taking down the 97-win Rays from the AL East without him is entirely another.

Either way -- with a Phillies win in Game 2 or 3 or a Rays win in both -- the intrigue is going to ratchet up. If Philadelphia gets a second win before Hamels returns to the bump, then an upset goes from unlikely to very possible. If Tampa Bay jumps out to a 2-1 lead in the series, manager Charlie Manuel will be tempted to bring his ace back on short rest to keep them above water in the series and set him up for a potential Game 7 start.

The World Series combatants felt each other out in Game 1, but ultimately there were no surprises and no tough choices for the men controlling the gears of each club. Tougher times await Manuel and Joe Maddon, and that can only mean more drama (hopefully much more) for baseball fans to enjoy.

Yesterday's Hero: Hamels, who joined select company with his fourth win of the 2008 postseason. Honorable mention to Chase Utley.

Yesterday's Goat: B.J. Upton, who killed a pair of early rallies by grounding into crippling double plays.