PHILADELPHIA – The stage is set. The hour has arrived. The role of a lifetime awaits Cole Hamels, though his baseball life has barely begun.
He is 24 years old and the World Series is his oyster. Philadelphia's precocious pitcher may be too young to appreciate the full magnitude of this moment, of tonight's chance to clinch a championship for a city starved for success, but he is more than adequately armed and deeply dangerous.
“I call him 'Hollywood' because when the lights are on, that's when he's at his best,” Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins said. “(Tonight), the lights will definitely be on and he will be ready.”
Last night's 10-2 thumping of the Tampa Bay Rays gave the Phillies a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. That places them on the cusp of a trophy presentation that coincides, conveniently, with their ace pitcher's next scheduled start.
Hamels, the left-handed export from Rancho Bernardo High, will attempt to close out the American League champions and complete his own immaculate October in a town that has been waiting for a champion in any of the major sports for longer than he has been alive.
This is heady stuff, even by Hollywood standards.
“I'm going to cherish this moment,” Hamels promised, “but I think I have to kind of push it aside and know that I need to get the job done instead of really getting overly excited about where I am and what I'm doing.”
Hamels has been saying similar stuff throughout the playoffs, and he has pitched as if pressure and anxiety were commodities he could compartmentalize and then choose to ignore. He has the gift of spectacular stuff and the confidence that comes from believing your success is practically preordained.
By Hollywood standards, Hamels conjures Adrian Grenier at a supermodel pool party. If he were any cooler, he'd be icing down the beer.
“I say the same thing over and over about him,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said last night. “Every time you hand him the ball, you expect to win the game. Definitely, he can throw a shutout for you. And I even look up sometimes and think he's going to throw some no-hitters before his career is over. He's that kind of pitcher.”
Hamels need not approach perfection to confound the Rays. Carlos Peña and Evan Longoria, the third-and fourth-place hitters on Joe Maddon's lineup card, share a profound funk and have combined for 15 strikeouts and zero hits in 29 at-bats against the Phillies.
“I just think that both guys are just out of their game a little bit right now, quite frankly, in regards to their strike zone,” Maddon said. “If I preach anything to them, it is to not expand their strike zone because, more often than not, the Phillies are making certain pitches and they've done a pretty good job. But if we stick to our game plan, we'll be able to counter-punch them.”
Maybe Peña and Longoria emerge from their slumps in time to make the Series more compelling. Still, it's hard to see the Rays manufacturing enough runs to compete with the potent Phillies in their claustrophobic confines.
The Phillies hit four home runs last night – two of them by first baseman Ryan Howard, another by outfielder Jayson Werth and one pitcher Joe Blanton claimed to have hit with his eyes closed. This slugging salvo padded the home team's total to seven home runs in two games at Citizens Bank Park and rendered concerns about their hitting with runners in scoring position slightly ridiculous.
Whenever Ryan Howard steps into the batter's box, he's effectively standing in scoring position. The Rays homered twice last night – Carl Crawford in the fourth inning; pinch hitter Eric Hinske in the fifth – but their strength is speed and athleticism and Philadelphia's ballpark shows a bias toward power.
Speed is of limited value, too, when you're not getting enough guys on base. In 29 postseason innings, Hamels has allowed just 18 hits and eight walks against 27 strikeouts. He has won all four of his postseason starts, pitching to an earned-run average of 1.55, and would become the first pitcher to win five postseason starts in the same year if he were to prevail tonight.
“I think his poise and his focus and his determination plays a big part in who he is and how he pitches,” Manuel said. “Cole Hamels goes out there and you can tell he can smell a win and he's going to get you there.”
By Hollywood standards, he's becoming a blockbuster.
Tim Sullivan: (619) 293-1033; tim.sullivan@uniontrib.com
