Thursday, Jul 24, 8:19 AM
 
Web Search powered by YAHOO! SEARCH
TEXT SIZE: A A A A
Email this post | Back to Blog home
Friday, May 16, 2008
Hamels pitches a complete game shut out

I usually try to watch as little of the Best Damn Sports Show as possible. But they've got a great special on right now, the Top 50 Blow-Ups of all-time. Mostly, it's athletes going after various media members, usually TV goobs, after games. But Allen Iverson's famed "Practice?" monologue just played, and now I'm going to have that stuck in my head for the rest of the week.

One guy who didn't need much practice tonight was Cole Hamels (how's that for a segue?).

Four hits, his first complete game shutout, 120 pitches. It really was a masterful performance.

Other positives:

Ryan Howard hit his third home run in five games.

Shane Victorino hit his first home run of the season.

Pedro Feliz hit the ball well, narrowly missing a two home-run night (he'll have to settle for one).

Not many negatives, really.

What was the key to Hamels success? Pitching coach Rich Dubee thinks a lot of it had to do with the fastball. The thing was cracking tonight. When he's got that pitch flying, it makes his trademark change-up that much more deadly.

Read more in tomorrow's paper.

Posted by David Murphy @ 12:01 AM  Permalink | 10 comments
SAVE AND SHARE
Comments
Posted by maximusud 02:01 AM, 05/16/2008
I was at the game tonight and I concur about Hamels' fastball. That said, it set up the changeup so well that it looked like batters were swinging at another pitcher when he threw the change. I've never seen anything quite like the changeup that Hamels was throwing tonight. Say what you want about Howard, Utley, Rollins, etc., Hamels is THE future of this franchise. He could have faced the '27 Yankees tonight and it wouldn't have made much of a difference. As for the offense, did anyone else notice that we got all our runs on homers? Situational hitting was non-existent tonight... Not to be a party pooper, but between all the walks and hits the Phils should have won 10-0. Games like this always worry me because even though the Phillies win, they're only a few swings away from an excruciating loss. In the end, though, I'll take it :-)
Posted by JammRock 06:56 AM, 05/16/2008
Hamels was closer to a nohitter than the Phillies were to losing this game. I'm not sure about the second two hits because I was channel surfing between the Phils, Flyers, and the Rookie...but the first two hits he gave up were pretty weak. btw - You were at the game...you miss Feliz's rbi single? His homer was a solo shot but he knocked in two...
Posted by danielswolf 08:20 AM, 05/16/2008
Yup, Feliz had a two-out RBI single in the 3rd. Plus that one-out HR by Victorino came after a Rollins walk. Would maximusud have preferred that Shane hit a single or double there? How is a one-out, two-run HR any less impressive situational hitting than a regular base hit? Sure the Phils had 9 LOB last night, but when you get 12 hits and 5 walks, the odds are pretty good that your LOB total will be higher than normal. Should they have scored 7 or 8 runs? Maybe, maybe not. But does it really matter? The key is always the pitching with this team. 4 runs or less and they have a chance to win.
Posted by Mark1npt 08:26 AM, 05/16/2008
Their situational hitting still stinks....you can't win on HRs alone, get a clue.
Posted by tommy john 09:39 AM, 05/16/2008
Great performance hamels,20-lob,alot of this lineup should lower their heads when leaving the locker room.
Posted by TomH 10:58 AM, 05/16/2008
I especially liked the Carlton-esque, sub 2:20 to get the nine innings in. It's especially welcome on a weeknight game. Get the ball, throw the ball catch the ball.
Posted by maximusud 01:05 PM, 05/16/2008
My bad on the Feliz single- all that I can think about with that play, though, is how sure the entire ballpark was that it was a HR. The ball definitely went over the fence, but it looks like they have a guardrail now in front of the flowers? The ball shot back onto the field like it hit something very dense, probably a piece of metal. Also, did anyone catch the replay of Coste's slide at home? From my seat, near the front of the upper deck between home plate and the visitors' dugout, it looked like Coste was safe. Was it a blown call?
Posted by TommyK 01:09 PM, 05/16/2008
Dave, Quick question not related to the Phillies: Did Bron Holland's explosion on his junior varsity basketball team make the list of Top 50 Blow-Ups of all-time? I figured it had to, but I just wanted to check.
Posted by dksurf 01:10 PM, 05/16/2008
Maxi-Pad...chill bruddah. Nit-picking at things like scoring runners is critical...but not after a sweet win!
Posted by DonEck 02:34 PM, 05/16/2008
An aside on blow-ups ... Far too recent to make the "TOP 50" show, but "THANK YOU, Billy Wagner!" With Wagner spouting off like that, the METS are in big trouble. Should "Trash Mouth" Wagner be wearing a muzzle for an interview?
10 comments
About David Murphy
David Murphy joined the Daily News as its Phillies beat writer in February of 2008. Born in Upper Merion and raised in the Poconos, he attended college at La Salle University before taking jobs with the Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Sun-News and the St. Petersburg ( Fla. ) Times.
PHILLIES SCOREBOARD