Joey Johnston

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Philadelphia Phillies, accustomed to the Liberty Bell, got their introduction to Tropicana Field’s cowbell-clanging din on Wednesday night.

It was loud.

For a while, anyway.

When the Phillies kicked into gear, it got awfully quiet. And that’s excellent news for a franchise seeking its first world championship since 1980.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel couldn’t have drawn it up any better. The Phillies made the biggest noise by defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 in Game 1 of the World Series, stealing the home-field advantage away from baseball’s ultimate Cinderella story.

Chase Utley’s first-inning two-run homer put a hush over the Rays.

Then Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels put Tampa Bay’s offense into a deep sleep, allowing just five hits in seven solid innings.

“I’m glad Cole pitches for us,’’ Manuel said. “He’s pretty good.’’

Well, there’s your understatement of the season. But all of Philadelphia should have the same warm feeling about Hamels’ presence.

Talk about a Whiz Kid. Hamels is all of 24 years old. But already, he has compiled a legendary postseason, going 4-0 with a 1.55 ERA and 27 strikeouts (in 29 innings) during his four starts.

“He was in control,’’ Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “Hamels has a power changeup, and it’s one of the best changeups in baseball. He was on top of his game. His command was so good.’’

That has been Hamels’ story since the postseason began. Against Milwaukee in the National League Division, Hamels began with eight shutout innings, allowing just two hits. That performance set the tone for Philadelphia.

“Every time Cole walks out on the mound, I expect him to win a game,’’ Manuel said. “He’s definitely capable of shutting a team out. He’s capable of throwing no-hitters. Every time he goes out, I look for this guy to throw a good game and put us in a place to win the game. Usually, he’s been very consistent with that. He’s a terrific player.’’

The same description applies to Utley, who has a chance to showcase his game on the national stage.

In the first inning, Maddon put the shift on — with three-quarters of the Rays’ infield playing in the shallow right-field area and third baseman Evan Longoria moving over beyond shortstop.

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Utley had a brilliant idea.

Bunt.

He pushed it foul, down the third-base line.

“If it stayed fair, he might’ve had a double,’’ Manuel said.

With the count 1-2, Utley fished for a low fastball, then checked his swing. Rays left-hander Scott Kazmir begged for the strikeout call. Nope.

The next pitch?

Gone. Two-run homer.

“I guess it turned out pretty well,’’ Utley said. “Our goal was to try to score some runs early. We were trying to take the crowd out of it because they are intense, they are loud. And I thought we did a good job.’’

After that, it was up to Hamels.

He did an excellent job.

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