Utley’s 2-run homer triggers Phillies win

October 23, 2008 at 12:00a.m.

Cole Hamels earned the pitching victory in Game 1 of the World Series.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Cole Hamels, Chase Utley and the rest of the Philadelphia Phillies shook off a week’s worth of waiting and turned it into a World Series win.

Hamels escaped trouble to win his fourth postseason start, Utley hit a two-run homer in the first inning and the Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 in the opener Wednesday night.

The worst-to-first Rays flopped in their first game in baseball’s ultimate event, managing just five hits.

The Phillies showed little evidence of rust. They’ll try to make it two in a row at Tropicana Field when Brett Myers pitches against James Shields in Game 2 tonight.

The team that won the opener has won the Series 63 of 103 times, including 10 of the last 11. But the team with home-field advantage has won 18 of the last 22 titles.

Hamels, MVP of the NL championship series, improved to 4-0 with a 1.55 ERA this postseason. He had only a pair of 1-2-3 innings, but the composed 24-year-old left-hander allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings.

Ryan Madson pitched a perfect eighth. Brad Lidge worked the ninth for his 47th save in 47 chances this year, silencing the Rays and their cowbell-clanging fans.

Carl Crawford homered for Tampa Bay, but playoff stars B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria went a combined 0-for-8. The Rays didn’t get a hit over the final four innings.

Scott Kazmir, selected two picks ahead of Hamels in the first round of the 2002 amateur draft, struggled with his control and gave up three runs, six hits and four walks in six innings.

The Phillies could have romped but went 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Their other run even scored on an out, an RBI grounder by Carlos Ruiz.

Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia’s leadoff batter, flied to right fielder Ben Zobrist, who has made just two regular season career appearances at the position. He started and played six innings against Texas on May 28 and subbed there for one inning on Sept. 26 against Detroit, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

When Zobrist walked into the clubhouse and saw his name in the lineup, he texted his wife: “Hey, I’m starting.”

But then Jayson Werth walked and Utley homered on a 2-2 pitch, sending the ball into the right-field seats and becoming the 34th player to homer in his first Series at-bat. Only 13 of Utley’s 33 homers during the regular season were against lefties, and Kazmir allowed just one homer to a left-handed batter in 131 at-bats, with Boston’s David Ortiz connecting Sept. 15.