Cole Hamels isn't flawless, despite what we read at colehamelsfacts.com. He pitched well through the first five innings in the Phillies' series finale this afternoon against Washington at Citizens Bank Park, but ran into trouble in the sixth.
So what happened in the 4-2 loss?
He lost his composure. Yes, it can happen to Hamels, who I think is one of the more unflappable pitchers I've met. After he allowed singles to Ronnie Belliard and Ryan Zimmerman to lead off the sixth, he uncorked a wild pitch to advance the runners to second and third with no outs. Hamels then intentionally walked Austin Kearns with one out to load the bases, but Ryan Church fisted a single into left field to make it 3-0. Hamels then walked Michael Restovich to load the bases and walked Brian Schneider to force in a run to make it 4-0.
"I tried to push a little bit more. I rushed," Hamels said. "I got into a few counts that I didn't have the first five innings. So when guys got on, I got a little antsy and tried to pump it up and blow pitches by guys. And to do that, I was rushing on my mechanics, and that messed me up."
Hamels pitches next Tuesday in Atlanta.
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Meanwhile, Phillies hitters Aaron Rowand, Rod Barajas and Wes Helms compared Shawn Hill's sinker to Arizona's Brandon Webb, who has one of the best in baseball. Hill dominated the Phillies.
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Entering today, the Phillies had a 25.86 percent chance to make the postseason. How do we know this? From our friends at Baseball Prospectus.
Of course, its postseason odds reports has the Cubs with a 30.87 percent chance at the postseason.
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The Phillies bullpen has been verbally abused for months, but it has pitched well lately. It has a 1.63 ERA (five earned runs in 27 2/3 innings) in its last eight games. Righthander Ryan Madson has a 0.93 ERa in his last seven appearances. Righthander Geoff Geary has allowed just one of 18 inherited runners to score, which is phenomenal. Righthander Antonio Alfonseca has a 0.77 ERA in 10 appearances.
So is this the real Phillies bullpen, or is the real one the one that struggled early? I have a feeling we will have a better understanding after their upcoming road trip through Atlanta, San Francisco and Arizona.
