Hamels dominates L.A.
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Hamels dominates L.A.
Andy Martino
Here's a game story with quotes; the game ended too late to get this final version into the paper.
By Robyn Norwood
LOS ANGELES— Cole Hamels started the last game the Phillies played at Dodger Stadium.
They left Chavez Ravine that October night headed for the World Series after clinching the National League Championship Series.
This time, Hamels got to finish the game on the mound, too.
The celebration was more muted after the Phillies’ 3-0 victory Thursday, their seventh win in a row. But it was a sparkling performance by Hamels, whose five-hitter was the fifth complete game and third shutout of his career.
After faltering in his previous start, Hamels (4-2) could hardly have been sharper, striking out five as he thwarted the Dodgers by retiring 18 of the last 20 batters he faced. He needed only 97 pitches to complete a nine-inning shutout.
Hamels kind of likes this place, actually.
“I do,” he said with a little smile. “It’s a good mound, actually. The ballpark is nice and big, and the weather is always cool.”
Manager Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee talked about how Hamels was able to keep the ball down, and because the Dodgers put the ball in play instead of fouling off a lot of pitches, his pitch count stayed low. And on a cool Los Angeles evening, Hamels didn’t tire.
“Complete games nowadays are a big deal, especially when you shut somebody out,” Manuel said.
After last season, Hamels probably didn’t expect to fight some of the battles he has this season. But he had pitched well recently until his unsettling most recent start, an eight-hit, six-run outing against Washington on Saturday in a game the Phillies won nonetheless.
He was back on his game Thursday.
“This is the best he’s pitched this year,” Manuel said. “This was a good game for him, the way the season has been, a big game for him.”
The question was how long the Phillies would have to wait to get on the scoreboard themselves.
The Phillies didn’t get a hit off Dodger starter Clayton Kershaw (3-4) until the fourth inning, when Chase Utley led off with a double. He gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead after he moved to third on a groundout and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Howard.
The Phillies tried to add to their slender lead in the fifth, but Kershaw got Jimmy Rollins to fly out to right with two outs and runners on second and third to end the inning.
Kershaw was fading, though, and the Phillies chased him the next inning after Jayson Werth singled with one out, moved to second on a walk to Ryan Howard and scored on a double to the left-center field gap by Raul Ibanez for a 2-0 lead.
Some apparent base-running confusion led to Howard being tagged out between third and home squandering a chance to score.
But the Phillies added another run in the seventh when Werth’s single up the middle drove in Carlos Ruiz, who singled and managed to steal second.
There is some good karma here for the Phillies. Some of the players gave a nod to it Thursday, and others packed it away like old news clippings.
“No question, when you get back here, you remember what happened last year, having a nice celebration afterward,” said closer Brad Lidge, who was on the mound for the final out in October.
“There’s a little bit of that when you get here. You kind of think about what we did,” Lidge said before the game.
“Then you realize, hey, it’s a new season. This season’s got new battles to fight.”
Comments (10)
If I'm not mistaken, last night was the first time this season that the Philies won when scoring less than 4 runs (which, after wining 31 games, is truly amazing). The key to that, of course, is pitching. Great to see our rotation starting to come around, led by the ace.— bobby
Yup - the pitching is coming around. The team looks pretty solid. The stuff that I saw as issues are all looking OK. Catching, especially - Ruiz may not have a nice average but he seems to come through in the clutch. I am confident that Rollins will be fine. They have tons of depth in the outfield with those prospects lined up in AA and AAA. There is reason to be optimistic.— Steve2181- Yup - the pitching is coming around. The team looks pretty solid. The stuff that I saw as issues are all looking OK. Catching, especially - Ruiz may not have a nice average but he seems to come through in the clutch. I am confident that Rollins will be fine. They have tons of depth in the outfield with those prospects lined up in AA and AAA. There is reason to be optimistic.— Steve2181
- Yup - the pitching is coming around. The team looks pretty solid. The stuff that I saw as issues are all looking OK. Catching, especially - Ruiz may not have a nice average but he seems to come through in the clutch. I am confident that Rollins will be fine. They have tons of depth in the outfield with those prospects lined up in AA and AAA. There is reason to be optimistic.— Steve2181
- Yeah, things like that will happen when you get your team's first complete game of the year, Bobby. This last turn through the rotation was very nice. Hopefully it will continue and we'll take off.— bski
- Steve2118 -- So do you think the pitching is coming around?— ematusko
- Reason to be optimistic feels strange doesn't it, Steve? It’s odd to feel this good about the Phils (at least for me). I feel good that we won last year(obviously), that we’ve kept a good group together and are winning this year, and that our farm system looks like they’ve got a good shot at keeping us winning in the near future. With all the young, promising pitching we have, now is definitely the time to take a patient approach and let everything develop and progress. By all appearances, if we do that it seems pretty likely that we could be sitting pretty for years to come. If these homegrown guys can continue to fill our rotation (and/or bullpen), they could provide us with a good measure of stability at the most important position in the game(both on the field and financially). This, in turn, can free up resources (read: money) for us to address needs at other positions and keep this run going through our 3-year “window” and quite possibly beyond. Factor into this the outfield prospects that you mentioned and yeah, I'd say there is a lot to be optimistic about.— bski
- Raul for MVP!!!!
- bski, speaking of the last turn through the rotation, here's an interesting tidbit I picked up off Yahoo's Phillies site: "The Phillies have won seven consecutive games since Myers was lost May 27, and all seven wins have been credited to the starting pitcher." Funny how things work. Until last year, the Phils' biggest problem was the bullpen. Then out of seemingly nowhere, they turn into one of the best in baseball. Early this season, it was starting pitching. Now all of a sudden, they rock. Too soon to get comfy, but sure is nice to see. Now if Jamie can just keep it going tonight...— bobby
- Yeah, Bobby. I was at the game last Sunday when Moyer got #250. He looked like a different pitcher, much sharper. I'm glad I got to see what has been his best start to this point in the season. Maybe he really has turned a corner. Let's hope, huh, especially since he's signed for next year(ugh).— bski
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