Hamels tosses a gem as Phillies blank Padres
SAN DIEGO - He did not strike out 13, or pitch a complete game, or rebound from back spasms to allow one hit in six innings. But if there was any doubt about Cole Hamels' rightful place among the Four Aces, he eliminated it on an unseasonably cool evening in his hometown.
SAN DIEGO - He did not strike out 13, or pitch a complete game, or rebound from back spasms to allow one hit in six innings. But if there was any doubt about Cole Hamels' rightful place among the Four Aces, he eliminated it on an unseasonably cool evening in his hometown.
There will be bigger games, and there will be more important situations, but against the Padres at Petco Park, the slender lefthander was as clutch as a pitcher can be this early in the season.
In front of an overworked bullpen and an offense that continues to struggle to score, Hamels threw a 126-pitch masterpiece, allowing only seven baserunners in eight scoreless innings before handing a 2-0 victory over to Ryan Madson in the ninth.
"Anytime you start a game, you want to finish it," Hamels said. "Unfortunately, pitch count comes into play. I know I had a lot of pitches, but I felt good."
"When a guy pitches that good, you don't want him to lose the game," manager Charlie Manuel said, explaining his decision to bring in Madson.
Pitching in his native city, in a ballpark where he had allowed only two runs in his previous 23 innings, Hamels dominated the Padres, allowing four hits and three walks with eight strikeouts to help the Phillies improve to 13-6.
His only trouble came in the second inning, when he walked Ryan Ludwick and allowed a double to Cameron Maybin to put runners at second and third with one out. Hamels escaped the jam by striking out Will Venable, then intentionally walking Alberto Gonzalez to get to opposing starter Clayton Richard, who lined out to Jimmy Rollins to end the threat.
After Ryan Howard put the Phillies up 2-0 with a two-run triple in the third, Hamels cruised through a Padres lineup that has now been shut out five times this season. Dating back to their last meeting of last season, when Hamels pitched eight scoreless innings in a 5-0 win, the Phillies have held the Padres scoreless in 31 consecutive innings.
The last starter to allow a run to San Diego was Joe Blanton, who starts today against Tim Stauffer.
After Hamels allowed a single to Orlando Hudson with one out in the third, he retired 16 of the final 19 batters he faced.
The performance was as important as it was impressive. The Phillies entered the night with several of their top relievers running on empty. Closer Jose Contreras had pitched on 4 of the previous 5 days. Lefty Antonio Bastardo was coming off a 23-pitch outing. Madson, meanwhile, had been given Thursday night off after pitching on 4 of the previous 6 days. After that game, a 3-0 Phillies win that featured six scoreless innings from Roy Oswalt, manager Charlie Manuel had said his setup man was "a little sore."
Pitching coach Rich Dubee said yesterday the soreness was nothing unusual, and Madson proved it in the ninth, retiring all three batters for his first save of the season.
"Before the game, he said he felt good, he said he felt fine," Manuel said.
"We were definitely staying away from Contreras."
But the story of the night was Hamels, who improved to 2-1 and lowered his ERA to 2.92. The lefty's only hiccup came on the basepaths, where he was picked off first base after singling to leftfield in the third inning. It was the first time a Phillies pitcher had been caught stealing since April 28, 1990, when the Braves caught Terry Mulholland. Hamels is in good company, though. Hall of Famers Steve Carlton and Robin Roberts both were caught stealing once in their Phillies careers.
For at least 1 night, Hamels belonged in that company. *
For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at www.philly.com/HighCheese.
