When Cole Hamels regressed in 2009, it was like much of the city forgot about where he had led the team just a year earlier. Due to a combination of bad luck and a limited arsenal of pitches, he wasn’t the same pitcher last year, and much of the city let him hear it.
While Hamels hasn’t been untouchable this year, he’s shown flashes of the ace pitcher that he can be against two quality teams – St. Louis and Atlanta.
Today’s 5-3 win at home, wrapped up another series win for the team, and gave Hamels a tough, but quality start and win to put him at 3-2 for the season.
While his previous outing against the Cardinals will likely be remembered more for the jitbag that ran on the field than anything else, his line speaks for itself. In 8 innings pitched, he gave up no home runs, just one earned run, and only two walks. More importantly, it gave him confidence coming into today.
Like many pitchers, Hamels is a guy that can get rattled easily, so stringing together a few quality starts against formidable opponents are going to do him and the team well.
Today’s game began like many others did in recent memory – by the Phils jumping on the board early. With bases loaded, Werth was plunked by a pitch to force in a run. That was followed by a sacrifice fly by Raul Ibanez who looks like he may be starting to find his groove.
The next two innings saw two more runs put on the board courtesy of solo shots from Placido Polanco and Jayson Werth (the 100th of his career), both of whom have been cornerstones of the team in this very young season. There’s nothing sweeter than seeing a ball launched into a massive sea of red.
Hamels did have a tough inning, which came in the fifth. Giving up 3 runs after allowing five straight batters to reach base, he regrouped to get out of the inning with the lead intact. Being untouchable is one thing, but what’s important is getting the win for your team.
Cole left the gave after 5 innings pitched and 97 pitches. The bullpen was in shutdown mode today as Chad Durbin, Jose Contreras, and Brad Lidge pitched four innings of perfect baseball.
Fans should note the continued dominating performance of Contreras out of the bullpen. With today’s clean slate, he has taken his ERA and WHIP down to 0.84 and 0.56 respectively.
With Ryan Madson nursing his broken toe, Contreras has become the natural set-up man. Barring any sort of poor performance, it should remain his job even when our favorite chair-kicker returns.
Brad Lidge nailed down his first save of the season, throwing just 8 pitches. While the wind did help him out a bit, if Lidge is right physically and right in his head, he can be the guy that the team depended on in ’08.
Like many Mays in recent past, the Phils have hit their stride and are playing good, well-rounded baseball against the cream of the league. They lead the division by two games, ahead of the Mets and the Nationals. Yes, the Nats.
Next up is a six-game road trip that begins tomorrow night in Colorado. Kyle Kendrick will be matching up against the Rockies’ Greg Smith. This is the first meeting between the two teams since last year’s NLDS.
Photo Credit: David Maialetti / Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Photographer
