Star pitchers seek past form in key World Series game

Andy Pettitte was pitching in the World Series before Cole Hamels was a teenager but both will be trying to turn back the clock when they pitch Saturday in game three of the World Series.

The southpaw rivals will bring their own drama into a pivotal clash between defending champion Philadelphia and the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball's best-of-seven championship showdown, which is deadlocked at 1-1.

"I feel good with where we're at. They probably feel the same," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "We've played good at home. Now we have the chance to play in front of our fans. Our ballpark creates a lot of energy."

At 37, Pettitte is the all-time career playoff leader with 16 triumphs and will make his 12th World Series start in quest of a fifth championship with the Yankees.

"It's unbelievable to say I'm going to start my eighth World Series. I feel very fortunate," Pettitte said. "You realize the opportunity you have. It's definitely exciting."

Pettitte is 3-4 with a 3.82 earned-run average in 66 World Series innings, splitting two games in his 1996 Series debut and last appearing in 2005 when he threw six innings for the Houston Astros and realized Father Time was his foe.

"As I've gotten older I've realized I can't do quite the workload," Pettitte said. "I have to take my body into consideration, see how I feel and make the adjustments."

Hamels, 25, was last year's World Series Most Valuable Player after leading the Phillies to their second crown and Philadelphia's first pro sports title in any sport in a quarter-century.

"Cole is very capable of throwing a shutout every time I give him the ball," Manuel said. "He has the talent to shut them down and I have a lot of confidence in him."

But this year, Hamels has struggled with the weight of great expectations and a relatively sub-par season, going 10-11 with a 4.32 earned-run average and 1-1 in the playoffs.

"There's the mental burden which can wear you down week after week of not being able to do what you expect yourself to do, and what everybody else expects you to do too," Hamels said.

"You have to keep looking at the positives. You can't get wrapped up in what you're doing wrong. You have to understand it's OK if you give up runs. Sometimes you can get wrapped up with the competition of doing so well and the numbers game of what everybody else expects. That's kind of what happened this year.

"What I've learned this year is how to deal with it. It's something I don't think a lot of guys have had to go through. It's just coming back and delivering. I still have an opportunity to help this team win some big games."

That said, Hamels must shut down the top run-producing and home run-hitting lineup in the major leagues. A key weapon will be how well he controls his curveball in order to deceive Yankee sluggers.

"The curveball is very important to him. It gives him a good weapon," Manuel said. "He has made some mistakes and his command definitely plays big but once he establishes his breaking ball and has more confidence in it, this is what's really going to put him over the hump.

"He has gone through an off season for Cole Hamels but he has still pitched good games and is very capable of beating people."

Hamels admits he uses the pitch more because of his struggles.

"It adds something they have to look for," he said. "When you're pitching well you don't really have to use it. You start to struggle, you have to use it. I've had to attempt it a little more this year."

Yankees manager Joe Girardi expects nothing less that the best from Hamels.

"He has got very good stuff and he knows how to pitch in the post-season. He proved that. He has a good fastball, a great change-up and a very good curveball."