Hamels had a big smile on his face as he hugged Howard and Ruiz after the final out. At one point, Nola retired 11 consecutive hitters, and if not for a two-run homer he gave up in the eighth, he could have had a shot at going for a complete game given his efficiency on the mound. “You just go out there and enjoy the moment”, Hamels told the newspaper said after the game. I only get to see him like that. The Philadelphia Phillies (30) have caught fire since the All-Star break, starting the second half 8-1, including a no-hitter last Saturday against the Chicago Cubs (10) by the soon-to-be tradedCole Hamels. The Reds ace stifled the Colorado Rockies, limiting them to four singles in eight scoreless innings in Cincinnati’s 5-2 win.
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The game ended on a falling catch by Phillies rookie centre fielder Odubel Herrera on the warning track which touched off a celebration by Hamels’ teammates in front of a crowd of 41,000.
“The good ones are able to adapt”, McClure said.
The 31-year-old lefty was the MVP when the Phillies won the 2008 World Series but has been mentioned as a midseason trade target for a number of other teams and the deadline for moves is 31 July. At Murphy’s Bleachers, a Wrigleyville bar just outside Chicago’s iconic ballpark, the letters on a sign outside read, “TRADE FOR HAMELS NOW”.
Even Cubs manager Joe Maddon was impressed by Hamels and called his changeup outstanding. “We didn’t get any hits today”. Franco and Domonic Brown each drove in three runs a day after Cole Hamels threw no-hitter against the Cubs.
After a long stretch of an increasing walk rate, a falling BABIP, and a falling K rate, Addison Russell finally squared up his first home run in over a month.
There’s no question that the Cubs should buy low and focus on what they have instead of going all-in on what appears to be a Wild Card opportunity.
Since 1900, only two pitchers have thrown a no-hitter and then got traded in the same season: Cliff Chambers from Pittsburgh to St. Louis in 1951, and Edwin Jackson from Arizona to the White Sox in 2010. He also struck out 3 in his outing.
Still, with Philadelphia owning an MLB-worst 37-63 record, this could be the year they finally pull the trigger to send Hamels out of town.
Left-hander Madison Bumgarner limited the Oakland Athletics to one run in seven innings and helped his cause with his third home run of the season, delivering the San Francisco Giants a 2-1 victory on Saturday.
Hamels was part of a shared no-hitter last September when he combined with three relief pitchers to deny the Braves a hit in a 7-0 victory in Atlanta. The thought of a ideal game left after the first at-bat, when Hamels walked Cubs outfielder Dexter Fowler to kick off the first inning, but from then on, no batter lasted more than six pitches against the left-hander.
Hamels’ previous longest bid for a no hitter came on September 16, 2006 against the Houston Astros. In the third, he crushed a three-run home run for his 17th homer of the season.
Miguel Gonzalez took a shutout into the eighth inning to win for the third time in his last four starts for Baltimore. The Phillies are unloading, and speculation has been rampant in the final days before Friday’s trade deadline.
While it’s unclear where Hamels might be playing during the end of this season, he has indeed increased his trade value at just the right time.
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Mackanin joked in his postgame news conference that he would be surprised if general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.’s phone “isn’t off the hook right now”. The San Diego native proved to scouts in attendance on Saturday that he can still be one of the best pitchers in baseball, and the number of available top starters continues to decrease.
