Phillies' Hamels iffy after taking line shot off glove hand

COLE HAMELS caught the first bullet, but couldn't dodge the next one.

It was a loss, and it might be a lot more painful.

The Phillies cost themselves a sweep yesterday when they dropped the third and final game of their interleague series against the visiting Boston Red Sox, 5-2. They might have lost another pitcher.

In the third inning, Red Sox shortstop Marco Scutaro led off and ripped a line drive up the middle that Hamels stabbed at and gloved with his right hand. Hamels stared at the ball in his glove, relieved; no real harm.

In the fourth, Adrian Gonzalez ripped a line drive up the middle that bored its laces into the exposed heel of Hamels' hand and ripped Hamels' glove off. The ball fell at his feet. With both hands bare, Hamels winced, bent over and threw to first for the second out of that inning.

He finished the inning, but a lot of harm might have been done.

X-rays were negative. He suffered a bad bruise at the meaty base of his right thumb, where the ball's stitch marks remained. Hamels' next start is in jeopardy, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said.

"Hopefully, in 5 days, he'll be ready to pitch," Amaro said. "We're not 100 percent sure he'll make his next start."

Hamels is scheduled to start Tuesday at Florida.

Amaro's explanation differed from the in-game announcement that Hamels was expected to take his regular turn.

After the play, manager Charlie Manuel, pitching coach Rich Dubee and a medical staffer converged on Hamels as he held his glove in his left hand. He seemed to favor his right thumb, flexing it repeatedly. He put his glove back on, threw a few practice pitches and stayed in the game. He retired Dustin Pedroia on a groundout to third to end the inning.

At Dubee's insistence, Hamels did not come out for the fifth inning.

"He wanted to stay out there," Amaro said.

Hamels is expected to make his next start and stay off the disabled list, where five of the team's pitchers now reside.

A club official said Hamels declined to speak to the press after the game because he thought a TV cameraman inappropriately filmed him in the clubhouse.

Amaro Jr. acted as his spokesman.

"He's sore," he said.

Amaro said Hamels wore a soft cast and would be regularly icing the bruise.

Donning his glove and squeezing the bat will be difficult for Hamels, Amaro said. This injury could prove a significant bump on what has been the best road of Hamels' career.

He is 9-4 with a 2.41 earned run average, the best start of his six seasons. With better run support, Hamels easily could have three or four more wins. Still, Hamels is ranked among the National League leaders in wins, ERA and strikeouts.

There is a chance Hamels could join a high-profile DL list: No. 3 starter Roy Oswalt (back), No. 5 starter Joe Blanton (elbow), closer Brad Lidge (shoulder), closer Jose Contreras (elbow) and closer Ryan Madson (hand).

After Hamels' exit, the young bullpen struggled against the best offense in baseball. David Herndon (0-2) entered and allowed two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth, the latter Jason Varitek's fourth home run of the season and the first of two in the game. Herndon had not allowed an earned run in his previous 10 outings, a span of 14 mostly significant innings.

Pedroia and Varitek hit back-to-back solo shots off Andrew Carpenter in the eighth to make it 5-0.

Hamels' exit ended what had been a thrilling matchup of two of baseball's better young lefthanders. Jon Lester moved to 10-4 with seven shutout innings, allowing two hits. He allowed only two baserunners through six innings, a Ryan Howard walk in the second inning and a Chase Utley single in the fourth. Another single and walk in the seventh made things dicey, but Lester struck out Raul Ibanez to end that threat, and his day.

"He was tough," said Howard, who added a two-run homer, his 17th, in the ninth inning off Bobby Jenks to make it 5-2 after Daniel Bard's perfect eighth. Jenks' subsequent walk to Shane Victorino brought in closer Jonathan Papelbon, who got a groundout and struck out Ibanez, looking, to end it and notch his 15th save.

It was just the Red Sox' second win in their last six games. They remain 2 1/2 games behind the Yankees in the American League East.

Sox fans appeared to account for a solid 10 percent of the 45,810 who filled the park, the 169th consecutive regular-season sellout.

More accurate estimates were impossible, since the fans of both teams wore red and shared a similar demeanor.

They cringed in unison when Hamels got smoked. *