Game Recap:
Cole Hamels pitched eight scoreless innings, and the Phillies took advantage of four San Diego errors to pick up the sweep over the Padres.
What went right?
Jimmy Rollins was 1-4 with an RBI.
Jayson Werth went 1-3 with two runs scored, a walk and a home run.
Mike Sweeney hit his first home run as a Phillie and drove in two.
Carlos Ruiz went 2-3 and scored twice.
Cole Hamels continued his great pitching, going eight innings and allowing no runs on four hits. He didn't walk a batter and struck out six.
Ryan Madson worked a scoreless ninth inning to keep the shutout intact.
What went wrong?
Shane Victorino was 0-4.
Placido Polanco went 0-4.
Chase Utley was...guess what? 0-4.
Raul Ibanez also went 0-4.
Game Analysis:
What a difference a road trip seems to make. After dropping four straight to the Houston Astros, the Phillies made their way out to San Diego for three games with the best team in the National League. Three days later, the Padres scored a grand total of three runs against the Phils, and the Phillies have put themselves back in first place in the National League Wild Card race.
What else can be said about Cole Hamels this season? Today, he was excellent again, but this time the offense picked up their game as well, and he got his first win since the All Star break. As he's been for most of the last two months, Hamels was terrific today. He kept the Padres guessing with his pitches and just looked great out on the mound. Even though he threw over 50 pitches in the first two innings, Hamels settled down after that and still wanted to come out for the ninth. That's how far he's come this year.
There's no real other way to say it. Ever since the the first month of the season, when Hamels had an ERA over 5.00, Cole's been right on par with Roy Halladay and now Roy Oswalt in the Philadelphia rotation. In August, even though he lost three games, Hamels has been nothing short of an ace. He's gone seven or more innings in all but one start, struck out 48 batters and walked just four. That's not a fluke. That's the sign of a pitcher getting his form back. At this point last season, we were hoping that Cole Hamels was going to be able to pitch like he did in the playoffs in 2008. Now, we're just hoping this doesn't end. It's looking more and more like last season was the fluke, and Hamels is back to the form that put him at the top of the rotation. Now, he has Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt around him, and the Phillies have one of the best 1-2-3 punches in the National League.
While the offense didn't put up many runs in this series, they didn't have to. Today, the Phils took advantage of the mistakes that the Padres made, and as was the case against the Giants earlier this month, it seemed like this entire series was a case of a team that's been at the top against a team that's trying to get there. The Phillies were able to score four of their five runs today thanks to mistakes by the San Diego defense. In the third inning, Carlos Ruiz reached on an infield single, got to second on a throwing error and eventually scored on a Jimmy Rollins single. Mike Sweeney's first home run as a Phillie might not have happened had Jayson Werth not worked a walk right before his at-bat. That home run put the Phils up 3-0. In the eighth, it was more of the same. Ruiz once again was involved, getting to second on what could have been a double play ball hit by Cole Hamels. Instead, it was charged as an error to pitcher Clayton Richard, his second of the day. Jimmy Rollins ended up flying out, but Ryan Ludwick airmailed the throw, and Ruiz scored for the fourth run of the day.
That's what this team needs to do down the stretch. They have to take advantage of mistakes, and they did that today. Against Houston, they couldn't score with men on base, but in this series, when they had a chance to have a man cross the plate, they often did. Today, the Phillies left just two men on base, meaning that when someone did get on for the Phils, they were more than likely going to end up coming home. The entire series wasn't that pretty, but when you get two teams together that have great pitching, that's what's going to happen. After playing down to the Astros, the Phillies played like the two time National League champions against the Padres. In doing so, they've hopefully sent a message to the rest of the National League that down the stretch, the Phillies are going to be a team to beat.
They're going to need to. In September, things don't get any easier, as the Phils play every National League East team at least twice, including a season ending series in Atlanta that could be very, very huge. It's going to be a fun run to the finish.
Tomorrow, Roy Halladay (16-9, 2.22 ERA) tries for his 17th win as the Phils head to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers. Hiroki Kuroda (9-11, 3.56 ERA) pitches for Los Angeles.
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