If Saturday marked Cole Hamels’ final start in a Phillies uniform, he will have left his longtime club at his best.
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It marked the first time the Cubs were no hit since Dodgers’ Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax threw a ideal game on September 9, 1965.
Hamels struck out 13 and issued two walks – both to Dexter Fowler – while throwing 129 pitches.
An inning after Herrera made the catch on Ross’ ball, with Hamels one out from the 13th no-hitter in Phillies history and 41,683 fans standing on their feet, the ball found him again. It was the fourth no-hitter for catcher Carlos Ruiz, including the playoffs – tops in NL history and tied with Jason Varitek for the major-league record.
Hamels had been a part of a combined no-hitter last year, but this is his first solo outing.
Chicago scored five runs in the first and Chris Sale pitched seven strong innings as the White Sox beat Cleveland 10-3 on Saturday at Progressive Field, the third consecutive blowout win over the reeling Indians. With Cody Asche on base, Freddy Galvis blooped a hit down the right-field line.
Interim Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said he allowed himself to get caught up in the moment while in the dugout, knowing Hamels’ future with the organization is uncertain. And with his last-place squad likely headed for a scorched-earth rebuild, he’s an attractive target for any contending team seeking pitching for the stretch drive. Hamels called them great plays and, in his mind, they were but they were also plays that should have been routine.
Hamels (6-7) threw his first career no-hitter in what could be his final start for the Phillies.
Friday, unfortunately for the Cubs, provided an opportunity to demonstrate to the younger Cubs how to handle adversity after a tough, 5-3 loss in 10 innings to the Phillies at Wrigley Field.
Hamels pitches for a Philadelphia team that claims the worst record in baseball. “It’s something that I grew up watching on WGN when I was a kid”. “What I want is to be successful at it. I enjoyed the moment and this happened.” Baez, a Top 5 prospect in all of baseball as recently as a year ago, would be a decent piece in a potential Hamels deal, he’s only one player, and it will take more to land Hamels. He has thrown 112 pitches.
That saw them take advantage as the Minnesota Twins lost 8-5 to the New York Yankees, who got three homers from Alex Rodriguez.
The Orioles ended a four-game losing streak behind Gonzalez, who came in with a 0.84 ERA in three starts against the Rays this season.
“That’s kind of tough to really answer because right now I’m wearing the Phillies red and that’s where I’ve planned to play”.
Diamondbacks 2, Brewers 0: Rubby De La Rosa pitched eight effective innings and Brad Ziegler held on for his 14th straight save, lifting Arizona to a victory over Milwaukee.
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Lucas Duda homered twice for the Mets in their highest-scoring game since April 2013, and their biggest run total ever against the Dodgers.
