“No”, Hamels said. “I think my track record speaks for itself”. The righthander got Adeiny Hechavarria to chase a high, 100-m.p.h. fastball to end the inning, stranding the tying run at second base. He didn’t get a decision in his last start when allowing one run on eight hits in five innings of Philadelphia’s 8-5 loss at San Francisco July 11. He struck out two, walked one and benefited from some solid defense behind him.
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The Marlins ace is only is his third start back from Tommy John surgery, but he’s already 2-0 with 15 strikeouts in 13 innings and a sparkling 2.08 ERA and 1.00 WHIP.
Many teams were in attendance today to watch Hamels pitch it what could be his final home start. And Pete Mackanin wanted to keep it that way, removing the 31-year-old left-hander after 76 pitches, 50 for strikes, on a 93-degree day. “I’m not going to make excuses for him, because two starts ago he went seven scoreless”.
But it’s important to look at more than just a pitcher’s ERA and two bad starts. A career year from Brett Anderson on a one-year deal and a smart pick up of right-hander Mike Bolsinger were some of the most cost effective and successful moves made by Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi this season, but the Brandon McCarthy signing ended up being a big expensive dud. It’s frustrating. I like him. That salary could be what has slowed down the Cole Hamels trade rumors, but the front office might soon be desperate to part with the highly-paid veteran if he continues to struggle. “He had a couple bad starts”. Then with two outs, Domonic Brown slapped a clutch single for a 2-0 lead against Marlins starter Tom Koehler (7-6).
“Just something didn’t look right…Stiffness, soreness … he complained about it. We felt it was in the best interest of him, especially after what he’s gone through, to take it easy. So it was a fun weekend for sure and a good sweep”.
In came Ramos, and like so many times this season with our bullpen in general, BLOWS THE SAVE; allowing a walkoff 2 run HR to Jeff Francoeur. The Phillies fought back in the bottom of the second inning, hanging five runs on the Fish including homers by Ryan Howard and Freddy Galvis.
They were in that position thanks to banging out 14 hits, including three by Ichiro Suzuki for the first time since he joined the Marlins. Saturday, Chad Billingsley left after pitching five shutout innings and reporting elbow pain.
The Phillies had broken a 5-5 tie in the seventh. Left fielder Christian Yelich then singled, scoring Prado. He scored when Cesar Hernandez sliced a double down the leftfield line. Ruiz walked, and after a Hamels single, scored on Revere’s double. Gillespie opened up the inning with a double, advancing to third on a single by pinch-hitter Derek Dietrich.
Neither the Marlins’ Dan Haren nor the Phillies’ Cole Hamels turned in a performance that would figure to hasten pursuit by playoff contenders.
Going into that outing against the Giants, Hamels’ ERA was a sterling 3.02, with a fielding independent pitching (FIP) of 3.31. 395 since becoming a starter on July 1.
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Jeff Francoeur hit a pinch-hit three-run home run in Philadelphia’s four-run eighth inning, leading the Phillies to a 6-3 victory Friday night in a matchup of two of the worst teams in baseball.
