ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Even as teenagers, Scott Kazmir and Cole Hamels were linked by their left arms.

A pair of high school pitchers brimming with promise, both slotted for the first round of the 2002 amateur draft. When they got picked two spots apart, the comparisons were inevitable.

Six years later, they’re set to square off on baseball’s biggest stage Wednesday night when Kazmir and the worst-to-first Tampa Bay Rays host Philadelphia in Game 1 of a World Series matchup that hardly anyone expected.

Pretty heady stuff for these two budding aces, both still ...

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