The difference was Hamels, the youngest man on the Phillies roster. The 24-year-old lefthander, who took the loss in that Game 1 last year, smothered the Brewers' offense with eight innings of scoreless, nearly flawless work.
Hamels' fastball was accurate and his curveball was beguiling. But it was his changeup, that combination of pitch and optical illusion, that had the Brewers walking back to the dugout shaking their heads in bewilderment.
"He was tremendous," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.
He had to be.
It was Willie Stargell who famously described Steve Carlton's best pitch, his slider, as "trying to eat soup with a fork." Hamels' changeup made the Brewers look as if they were using chopsticks.
"That's vintage Cole," said veteran lefthanded pitcher Jamie Moyer. "The way he threw, the way he acted, the way he carried himself on the mound - you just see him maturing before you and becoming more of a pitcher. He's creating his own path."
If Moyers sounds a big like a spirit guide there, it is not by coincidence. The oldest of the Phillies has played a big part in Hamels' maturation process. The two are often seen huddling in the dugout during Hamels' starts, discussing the vagaries of the changeup or the specifics of the upcoming hitters.
It's hard not to think of Obi-Wan and Luke, discussing the ways of the Force.
Moyer, 45, is still pitching effectively at this level because he works harder and smarter than almost anyone else. Combine that influence with Hamels' incredible skill set and, well, you get what a sellout crowd saw at Citizens Bank Park.
