Game Recap:
After eight one hit innings from Cole Hamels, the Phillies managed to score two runs in the 11th inning to get past St. Louis and salvage a win in their four game series.
What went right?
Placido Polanco was 3-5 with a home run.
Ryan Howard went 3-5.
Jayson Werth was 1-5 with his first hit with a runner in scoring position in almost a month.
Brian Schneider went 2-5.
Cole Hamels pitched possibly his best game of the season, striking out five of the first six Cardinals he faced on his way to eight shut out innings. He allowed just one hit and walked one while striking out seven.
The bullpen was solid as well, not allowing a single hit in the three innings they pitched. Brad Lidge walked a batter, but earned his eighth save of the season.
What went wrong?
Wilson Valdez was...Wilson Valdez. He went 0-3 at the plate.
The Phillies left nine men on base.
Game Analysis:
For most of the day, this game looked like it was going to be another hard luck loss for Cole Hamels. After pitching eight innings of one run baseball, the Phillies couldn't manage to get a single run across the plate against Adam Wainwright and the St. Louis bullpen. Finally, in the 11th inning, Placido Polanco hit his first home run since May 9th, and that would be all that the Phils would need today. Brad Lidge shut the door, and the Phillies managed to salvage a single win out of their four game series against St. Louis.
To be fair, Cole Hamels deserved better today, as he has for most of this season. His 7-7 record is no indication of how well he's been pitching, especially considering his 3.40 ERA for the year now. He continues to look more and more like the 2008 version of Cole Hamels every single time he steps onto the mound, and today was no different. Hamels struck out the first five batters he faced, and even though he would only record two more strikeouts in six innings, he only allowed a single hit and just one walk through eight innings of work. Those are ace numbers on the mound. It doesn't matter how you look at it. Hamels is pitching this season like he should have pitched last year, and it's making a lot of fans happy, even if he isn't getting the run support that he deserves.
Once again, the offense let Hamels down today. Against Adam Wainwright, the Phillies figured to have only a few chances, and they let them slip through their fingers. Jayson Werth struck out with two on in the first inning, Wilson Valdez grounded out with a runner on third in the fourth, and hit into a double play in the seventh inning and Placido Polanco was picked off of first base in the sixth inning. All in all, it was another poor day for the Phils on offense, and it showed in the box score. Sure, the Phillies won eventually, but it shouldn't have been this hard today. The Phillies had 12 hits in 11 innings, but could only score two runs. It was another below average day for the Phillies at the plate, which more than likely was the final straw towards Milt Thompson's firing as hitting coach.
I have nothing bad to say about Milt Thompson, and I never will. I loved watching him play during the 1993 season, and he helped mold some of the younger Phillies into what they are now. However, this year just wasn't working for him, and something had to be done. The Phils aren't going to fire Charlie Manuel, at least not yet, so someone had to take the fall for the poor offensive showing that has been happening for the last few months. Considering Milt Thompson is the hitting coach, that's a good place to look for someone to take the blame. Let's be fair, though. The Phillies just haven't been hitting as a team lately. Once again, Ryan Howard is the only one that's hitting with much consistency, and now he's finally over the .300 mark. Aside from him, it's Placido Polanco and his shortened season, and no one else. Jayson Werth went almost a month without a hit with runners in scoring position, and is hitting below .250 since the start of May. It goes without saying that this team needed a change at some point, and hopefully, getting rid of Thompson is it.
Milt Thompson was a decent ballplayer and a good hitting coach, but the Phillies need a change right now. Their offensive struggles have gone on long enough, and something had to be done. Hopefully now, Greg Gross can get the job done with the team. He's done this once before with the Phils, having been the hitting coach from 2002-2004, and he's been down at Lehigh Valley for a bit now as well. The way that this team is playing, something had to be done, and it's more than likely not the last move that the Phillies are going to make. Over the last three seasons, the fans have gotten spoiled, and now, they want results. They don't just want an average team playing average baseball. They want a team that they know can go out and compete with the Yankees, the Red Sox and the Cardinals. They want to know that their team is going to be in the thick of things each September. This year, it's not looking that way, and someone had to take the fall.
I loved you as a Phillie, Milt, but you had to go.
Tomorrow, the Phillies kick off a four game set at home against the Rockies. Roy Halladay (10-8, 2.40 ERA) goes against Aaron Cook (4-5, 4.56 ERA).
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