PHILADELPHIA  Who's pitching is more important than where as the World Series resumes Saturday night in Philadelphia.

With the focus squarely on the Phillies' inability to hit with runners in scoring position, nearly lost in the discussion is that the series is 1-1.

Manager Charlie Manuel called Game 2 his Phillies' sloppiest game of the year. His hitters have disappeared with runners in scoring position. But, as center fielder Shane Victorino was quick to remind, "We won Game 1 and we were within one swing of winning Game 2."

So, now it's in the hands — unless the rain forecast for most of the day Saturday intervenes — of Tampa Bay's hottest starting pitchers and Philadelphia's coldest in the Matt Garza- Jamie Moyer matchup.

What happened in the first two games in St. Petersburg isn't so much about home advantage. It's more about holding serve. Despite all the talk about the perceived quirks of the Tropicana Dome or the home run tendencies of Citizens Bank Park, home field has mattered little this month.

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The Rays just got through a seven-game series with the Red Sox and the home team won three times. The composite record for home teams in the six series leading up to the World Series was 14-13.

So, in assessing advantages at this point, it's more about matchups. The Phillies needed Game 1 more than the Rays did. After all, the Rays seem to thrive on losing openers of big series. They lost the first game of both September showdown series with Boston, then won the next two games in each case. They lost Game 1 of the ALCS, then won the next three.

More importantly, the Phillies needed Game 1 because Cole Hamels was their starter. Hamels is the clear ace for the Phillies and significantly better than the other pitchers in the Philadelphia rotation. None of the four Rays starters sticks out as the clear ace but their performances tends to be more balanced. During the regular season, the ERAs of Scott Kazmir, James Shields and Garza ranged from 3.49 to 3.70, with Andy Sonnanstine at 4.38. The Phillies range from Hamels' 3.09 to Moyer's 3.71 to Joe Blanton's 4.20 and Brett Myers' 4.55. That's further clouded by Moyer's 13.51 ERA in this postseason.

Once Hamels got his victory, it was up the Rays to get even in Game 2, which they did. Thus, the Phillies must find a way in Game 3 to reverse the recent trends — not just Moyer's but what Garza did in seven one-run, two-hit innings in Game 7 against Boston.

A couple of other developing story lines, and whether they continue, could be crucial to the outcome.

For the Rays, we should be beyond wondering about how manager Joe Maddon is going to handle his bullpen. We're likely to see them all, in whatever order he deems necessary on any given night. We're certainly going to see more of David Price.

Price has been so poised and so effective — oh, and he's so left-handed, an extremely important point against the the Phillies' biggest offensive threats. The focus on the rookie when he entered the playoffs was making certain he was handled carefully. He hadn't relieved before this September. He hadn't learned how to warm up quickly, as late-inning relievers must. And, as the most prized prospect in the organization, doing anything the least bit untoward with this valuable arm could have created an investment gone bad to match anything any mortgage lenders have done lately.

Now, listen to Maddon — after Price finished off Game 2 with 2 1/3 innings.

"He's been a starter," Maddon said. "He's been stretched out. That's the difference with him than other relief pitchers. … You feel comfortable with him going 40 pitches and not even blinking an eye."

Understand that, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Just like in Game 2, the Phillies' lefty sluggers could find themselves facing Price a second time through the batting order.

Of course, the problem could be solved from the Phillies standpoint by making their closer, Brad Lidge, and his set-up men the focus. In other words, get the lead, as they did in Game 1.

That leads to the factor that has steered this series more than any other so far. The Phillies are 1-for-28 with runners in scoring position. The only hit was an infield single in Game 2 that didn't score a run, though the Phillies have driven in a run with a runner in scoring position — on Carlos Ruiz's fourth-inning groundout in Game 1.

The Phillies can't be that bad with runners on second and/or third. The law of averages would insist the stat begins swinging the other way. Or is there a trend at work here?

It might be less Phillies hitters and more Rays pitchers. Tampa Bay is making an art form of stopping the opposition with runners in scoring position. In the seven-game American League Championship Series, the Rays held Boston to .200 (12-for-60) in the same situations and the Red Sox left 63 runners on base.

So, in the past nine post-season games, the opposition is batting .153 (13-for-85) against the Rays with runners in scoring position. As a point of reference, Rays pitchers allowed a .243 batting average during the season with runners in scoring position.

For the Phillies, the biggest offensive concern is Howard. Maybe they'll eventually hit with runners in scoring position. But Howard is struggling mightily against a steady diet of breaking pitches, mostly sliders.

"I'm concerned about us hitting with guys on base," Manuel said. "It looks like at times we might be trying a little too hard. But we can fix that."

Manuel said he noticed Howard "not staying on the ball, and he was trying too hard."

The manager had a similar assessment of leadoff man Jimmy Rollins.

"Jimmy's swinging hard," Manuel said. "And that comes from trying too hard. But, he's capable of coming out and hitting the ball hard four times the next time he plays. That's kind of the way the game goes at times."