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Cole Hamels pitches shutout in Phillies' 4-0 win over Miami Marlins

Down another outfielder, Charlie Manuel briefly contemplated life Monday with no certainties. Solutions are in short supply for the season's final seven weeks, a time when the standings are irrelevant and the future is paramount. Manuel has but one option.

Cole Hamels delivered a complete game shutout in the Phillies' win over the Marlins. (Wilfredo Lee/AP)
Cole Hamels delivered a complete game shutout in the Phillies' win over the Marlins. (Wilfredo Lee/AP)Read more

MIAMI - Down another outfielder, Charlie Manuel briefly contemplated life Monday with no certainties. Solutions are in short supply for the season's final seven weeks, a time when the standings are irrelevant and the future is paramount. Manuel has but one option.

"Play them all," the Phillies manager said.

On the nights Cole Hamels pitches, Manuel could put just about anyone out there.

As the quest to avoid last place commenced with a 4-0 victory over the Miami Marlins, Manuel used an outfield that could become the regular combination with 47 games to play: Juan Pierre in left, John Mayberry Jr. in center, Domonic Brown in right.

Those three delivered while Hamels notched his second consecutive shutout with a dazzling 113-pitch performance against Miami. He has a 22-inning scoreless streak.

Hamels became the third Phillies pitcher in the last two decades to toss consecutive shutouts. Only two Marlins runners reached third base. He has a 2.91 ERA this season.

"I play to win," Hamels said. "I'm not going to go out there and give up in a season that has supposedly been given up on already. I want to win every game I possibly can and start streaks right now that can transfer to next year.

"Anything I try to do is to try to make myself better. If it doesn't work this year, hopefully it makes me better for next year."

The Phillies anticipate such performances from their $144 million pitcher.

He was supported Monday night by an outfield with decidedly fewer expectations. Pierre, Mayberry, and Brown hit a combined 7 for 14 with two runs scored and two extra-base hits. Expect those three to play almost every day now that one body was eliminated for at least three weeks when Nate Schierholtz broke his right big toe when fouling a pitch off his foot Sunday.

Schierholtz was placed on the 15-day disabled list, and though surgery is unlikely, the Phillies are unsure exactly when he will return.

It was a blow to Schierholtz, who was acquired in the Hunter Pence trade and craved an escape from San Francisco, where he believed he was forever cast as a part-time player.

Regular playing time - at least for the remainder of 2012 - was a reality with the Phillies in their attempt to ascertain his value with their own eyes.

"I wanted to see him play," Manuel said, "and I wanted to see him play over a period of time, like 60 games. If we could have played him for 60 games, we could have gotten to see him every day and gotten a read on him.

"At the same time, there are a lot of things I like about him. He's a strong rightfielder. He's got a strong arm. It looks like he's going to handle righthanded pitching good."

Had Schierholtz, 28, stayed healthy, he would have seen more lefthanded pitching. His career numbers against lefties do not differ much from those against righties, but in a significantly smaller sample size.

"It might have come because he didn't play against them very much," Manuel said. "It would have been good if we could have played him straight out."

Assistant general manager Scott Proefrock said it's possible that Schierholtz will return before the end of the season. In 37 plate appearances with the Phillies, he hit .219 with a .622 OPS.

Schierholtz is being paid $1.3 million in his first year of arbitration. It will climb in 2013. The Phillies will pursue at least one and probably two outfielders via free agency this winter. It would have helped to know whether Schierholtz is anything more than a platoon player.

His career numbers indicate nothing but normal. His career .726 OPS matches the major-league average in 2012. He has never started more than 77 games in a single season.

Manuel had even tried him recently in center, a position he had never played until Friday. In his absence, the manager said, Laynce Nix and Michael Martinez are Mayberry's backups in center. Nix has started 182 career games in center, but only four since 2007. Martinez is a utility infielder.

Proefrock said there was no regret about the team's lack of current outfield depth.

"Again, Domonic needs to play," Proefrock said. "John needs to play. And Juan wasn't playing."

They all played Monday, and it was a winning formula, with Hamels throwing the strikes.