Phillies Beat Cubs on Hamel’s 3 Hitter, Trade for Starter
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Phillies lefthander Cole Hamels won the duel of lefthanders pitching 8 brilliant innings while centerfielder Aaron Rowand clubbed a third inning 2 out, three run homer and newly acquired 2nd baseman Tadahito Iguchi added an insurance run with a lead-off solo homer in the 5th inning as the Phillies won their series opener over the Chicago Cubs by a 4-1 score.
In winning, the Phils gained 1/2 game on both the Mets and the Braves as the rest of the National League had the day off. The Phillies are now merely 3 games behind the Mets in the race for 1st place in the NL East and are 1 1/2 games up on the 3rd place Braves.
8 year veteran lefthander and losing pitcher Ted Lilly pitched 5 innings giving up the 4 runs on the two homers as the Phillies threatened in the 1st and 2nd innings before scoring in the 3rd. Lilly was replaced to begin the 6th inning, having given up 7 hits while walking 3 and striking out 3 in the 97 pitch performance. The Cubs bullpen shut the door on the Phillies over the final 4 innings.
Meanwhile, Hamels was masterful in giving up only 3 hits while walking 2 and striking out 8 to win his 12th game of the season. Only in the 5th inning did the Cubs get two men on base and they were due to walks. Hamels went clean on Chicago in 4 of his 8 innings and in the 6th inning, after shortstop Ryan Theriot led off with a homer, Hamels retired the next 3 hitters.
But the game was not without it’s moments for the Phillies. The AP report for Yahoo sports notes;
Already battling injuries, the Phillies lost right fielder Shane Victorino in the fourth inning. He strained his right calf trying to beat out a double play and will have a precautionary MRI exam on Tuesday.
The Phillies had a scare in the fifth inning. Victorino’s replacement, Michael Bourn, injured himself chasing Alfonso Soriano’s foul ball. Bourn stumbled over the bullpen mound. After laying on the ground for several minutes with the team trainer checking on him, he got up and stayed in the game, but was taken out in the seventh inning with a left ankle sprain. Bourn will undergo an X-ray on Tuesday.
In a separate report, and in light of reliever Ryan Madson’s placement on the 15 day disabled list and his possible loss for the season due to a right shoulder strain or possible tear, the Phillies moved to strengthen their pitching staff by acquiring starter Kyle Lohse from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for a minor league lefthander.
AP Sports writer Rick Gano reports for Yahoo sports;
The Phillies, looking to bolster their starting rotation in the stretch, obtained the right-hander from the Cincinnati Reds on Monday for young and durable minor league lefty Matt Maloney.
The 28-year-old Lohse is 6-12 with a 4.58 ERA in 21 starts this season, going 4-3 with a 2.57 ERA at home but 2-9 with a 6.42 ERA in the road. He is 4-6 in his last 10 decisions.
In eight seasons with the Twins and Reds, Lohse is 60-74 with a 4.83 ERA. Cincinnati acquired him from Minnesota at the July 31 trade deadline last year.
“I’m a little excited, happy to be going to a team in the race. But I’m disappointed we couldn’t get it done here. So it’s a little bit of mixed emotions,” Lohse said.
Asked whether he’d pitched better than his statistics indicate, Lohse said: “I feel that way, but my numbers are what they are. … I had a couple bad games here and there that kind of skewed the numbers.”
Lohse pitched five postseason games while with the Twins from 2002-2004, starting one and going 0-2 with a 3.00 ERA.
“We like the Double-A pitcher, but we had to give up something to get something,” Phillies general manager Pat Gillick said, adding that the Phillies needed a veteran pitcher.
“As I said, he’s got experience and he takes his turn. He’s been in the postseason with Minnesota. We thought with (Ryan) Madson going down we had to add somebody to pick up the slack and give us a little more depth in our pitching staff and I think he can fulfill this role.”
“Kyle Lohse will be one of our starters,” said Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, who didn’t want to identify the demoted starter.
Lohse was the Reds’ player most likely to be dealt since Cincinnati didn’t expect to re-sign him. He is making $4.2 million his year and is eligible for free agency after the World Series.
Although manager Charlie Manuel wouldn’t identify the demoted pitcher, Inquirer staff writer Todd Zolecki indicates on his blog, as does MLB’s Ken Mandel, that J.D. Durbin, who has surprised by going 3-2 since being acquired by the Phils will be dropped from the starting rotation. A glance at the Yahoo Phillies page indicates that Lohse will be the Phillies’ starter in the Milwaukee series opener on Thursday.
Frankly, I would have expected Adam Eaton to take the hit as he has not exactly scintillated recently whereas Durbin has performed beyond expectations.
For the scores, boxscores on this and all of Monday’s games, click here.
Tuesday’s game two pits Adam Eaton who goes for his 10th win against Jason Marquis. Wednesday’s series finale will be another duel of lefthanders as veteran Jamie Moyer goes for win #10 vs 3rd year lefty Rich Hill.
The Phils then move on to play a series with Milwaukee beginning Thursday.
For the scores, boxscores on all of Tuesday’s games, click here.
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