Game Recap:
Despite a solid outing from Cole Hamels and eight hits at the plate, the Phillies dropped the first of a four game set with Pittsburgh.
What went right?
Wilson freaking Valdez was 1-3 with a home run.
Cole Hamels lost another game he should have won, allowing three runs on five hits in seven innings of work. He walked two and struck out eight.
What went wrong?
Jayson Werth went 0-3 with two strikeouts.
Brian Schneider left the game in the fourth inning with a hyperextended thumb. This means that Dane Sardinha will likely be starting at catcher for the next few games, at least.
The Phillies left eight men on base and were 1-8 with runners in scoring position.
Game Analysis:
In baseball, there are losses that you can be proud of, say if your team comes back from a six run hole, only to lose in the bottom of the ninth. There are also losses that you wouldn't want to show your face after, like a 20-0 beatdown. Then, there are losses that are just plain bad. Tonight's loss for the Phillies falls into that category. Facing the 50 loss before the All Star break Pittsburgh Pirates and a pitcher with an ERA around his shoe size, the Phillies could only score two runs on eight hits, and handed Cole Hamels another bad loss for his record.
There's nothing that can really be said about how the Phillies played tonight, other than it didn't look good. The offense couldn't put hits together when they needed to, leaving eight men on base and picking up just one hit with runners in scoring position, and that was an infield single. Their best chance to retake the lead came in the eighth inning, when Jimmy Rollins doubled, setting up Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez to drive him in and tie the game. Instead, Howard struck out on a pitch that would have been called a ball, Werth walked and Ibanez flew out to left field. That's not what you want the heart of your lineup to be doing in a key situation. They needed to get that big hit in that moment, and they couldn't get it done. It's almost the story of this season so far. When someone needs to come up with that big hit or a clutch play, it hasn't happened that often this year. It's not just that Chase Utley is out for eight weeks, or Greg Dobbs and Wilson Valdez are now part of the every day lineup. It can't be. The Phillies won a World Series in 2008 with Pat Burrell and Pedro Feliz starting every day, and Eric Bruntlett was the first man off the bench. There's just something off about this year that isn't letting this team come together in the clutch like they have done in the past.
Tonight, Cole Hamels felt the brunt of that lack of clutch. Despite striking out eight and allowing only three runs on five hits, he took the loss, his seventh of the season and probably the third or fourth one that he didn't deserve. Quite frankly, the Phillies just have been giving Hamels little support at the plate when he's been pitching, and tonight was no exception. Hamels has shown flashes of the pitcher that he was back in 2008, and the Phillies need to back him up when he's playing that well. If they don't, he's going to keep taking hard luck loss after hard luck loss, and with his mindset, that's not going to sit all that well. He has to know that he's pitching well out there, but if he can't get the run support that he needs, then he's going to lose games, and that's going to affect his mindset on the mound. If he thinks that he's going to have to pitch a perfect game to just win, it's going to put too much pressure on him, and things are just going to snowball. You can't pin this loss on Hamels tonight. This one is squarely on the shoulders of the offense. They need to get things done, and get them done quickly.
Right now, the Phillies are four games back in the National League East, with another week and a half before the All Star Game. Hopefully, they can get their act together in the next three games against the Pirates, because right now things aren't looking that great. It's not time to press the panic button yet, but it's getting closer.
Tomorrow, Jamie Moyer (9-6, 4.30 ERA) looks for his tenth win of the season when he faces off against Ross Ohlendorf (0-6, 4.90 ERA).
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