World Series moves to Philadelphia tied 1-1

The Tampa Bay Devil*Rays evened the best-of-seven World Series 1-1 with a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. James Shields pitched 5.2 shutout innings to pick up the win. Rookie left-hander David Price finished off the Phillies while allowing two runs.

Because the Hammels-Kazmir matchup was the worst one for the Rays, in my view--because Hammels is that good--I expected the series to return to Philly knotted at one. The next two pitching matchups favor the Rays, though Jamie Moyer can be tough. I expect the Rays to take two of three from the Phillies up there. And if the Rays win the first two they have a shot at a sweep, since I expect the team to hit Hammels better the second time around.

I found this analysis from MLB.com rather intriguing:

A sweep of three games at Citizens Bank Park, starting with Game 3 scheduled for Saturday, would give Philadelphia its second World Series championship, while anything less than a sweep brings the series back to Florida.

Writer Ken Mandel's analysis conflicts with mine. My calculations indicate that the Rays can win the World Series by winning all three games in Philadelphia, and that would mean no more games in Florida.

You might want to have your abacus checked, Ken.