ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Cole Hamels, Chase Utley and the rest of the Philadelphia Phillies shook off a week’s worth of waiting and turned it into a World Series win.

Hamels escaped trouble to win his fourth postseason start, Utley hit a two-run homer in the first inning and the Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 in the opener Wednesday night.

The worst-to-first Rays flopped in their first game in baseball’s ultimate event, managing just five hits.

The Phillies showed little evidence of rust. They’ll try to make it two in a row at Tropicana Field when Brett My...

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