The Curse of Billy Penn

The Philadelphia Phillies take on the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the World Series. The Rays have ended their curse by eliminating the Devil from their nickname, now the Phillies try to eliminate the Curse of Billy Penn.

We will leave the 2,353 other media sources to rehash everything you know about the Rays dramatic series against the Red Sox and how the Phillies got here by beating the LA Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers. Instead, here is the official betting preview.

Sportsbooks have this game close to a pick 'em as Cole Hamels takes on Scott Kazmir. Will rust be a factor for the Phillies bats as they have not played since Oct. 15, while Tampa's AL series clincher was on the 19^th.

The Phillies would qualify as the slightly hotter team having lost just two playoff games, while Tampa has dropped four.

Philadelphia was horrible in Interleague play going 4-11 for -9.2 units with an OBP of .297. They are in fact, just 17-36 to the AL going back a few years, 8-23 in IL games against teams with a winning record. Tampa is 12-6 against the other league with a .290 batting average and .366 OBP.

Cole Hamels has a 1.23 ERA in his last three starts with a .864 WHIP. He's gotten the decision in every start in his recent 5-1 run, never giving up more than two earned runs in that span.

Tampa has split Scott Kazmir's last six starts and he sports a 6.06 ERA in those six games.

Who wins? The home page of OffshoreInsiders.com has all the World Series picks for bettors.