After a quiet first two games in the World Series, the Phillies’ bats have come alive to give the National League champions a commanding three-games-to-one edge going into Monday’s Game 5.

In the two opening games in St. Petersburg, Philadelphia batted .239 with two home runs, four RBIs and an .036 average (1-for-28) with runners in scoring position. Even with little offensive production, the Phillies managed a split on the road, thanks to ace Cole Hamels’ performance in Game 1.

In two home games, the Phillies have hit .288, stroked five home runs, knocked in 15 runs and batted .263 (5-for-19) with runners in scoring position. Ryan Howard, who didn’t have a home run in the first 11 games of the postseason, powered one in Saturday’s Game 3 and drilled two more in Philadelphia’s 10-2 victory Sunday.

Now the Tampa Bay Rays face an elimination game with Hamels back on the mound. The MVP of the NLCS could claim World Series honors if he shuts down the Rays for his fifth win in five playoff starts.

It will be a Game 5 matchup of two southpaws, as Scott Kazmir, the Game 1 loser of a 3-2 decision, will face the Phillies a second time. Kazmir held Howard and Jimmy Rollins hitless in Game 1, but Howard and his teammates are on a roll now. And Phillies hitters have fared well in hitting the longball off left-handed pitching all season.

Most HR off LHP – 2008 Regular Season

Jayson Werth, Phi. . . 16
Ryan Ludwick, StL. . . .15
Ryan Howard, Phi. . . .14
Chase Utley, Phi. . . . .13
Marcus Thames, Det. . 13

On top of that, Shane Victorino has been hard on lefties in the second half. Beginning July 12, when he hit a pair of home runs off Randy Johnson, Victorino, in 90 at-bats against southpaws, is batting .344 with six doubles, eight homers and a .722 slugging percentage going into Game 5.

Kazmir, who has given up two first-inning runs in three of his four postseason starts, can’t afford to cough up an early bomb to the likes of Utley, Howard, Werth or Victorino. The Rays starter has settled down nicely after the first inning, and it’s critical to not give the Phillies the early lead in a must-win game.

The odds for the Rays aren’t good as it is. Seventeen teams have played Game 5 of the World Series at home while up 3-1 in a best-of-seven World Series. Fifteen of them have taken the series, and eight of them have closed it out at home.