A super ball couldn’t bounce back better than Cole Hamels did today.
The left-hander, who was rocked for six runs his first start, dominated the Braves in Atlanta, leading the Phils to a 3-0 win in the rubber match.
Hamels pitched seven scoreless innings, scattering four hits and a walk while striking out eight. His location was pin-point and his curve was looking very good, something he’s worked on the past year.
In Hamels’ last inning, he allowed back-to-back two-out singles to Jason Heyward and Alex Gonzalez. But Rich Dubee came out to the mound and talked to Hamels, who followed the meeting up with a first-pitch ground ball out to rookie Freddie Freeman, taking advantage of an over-eager rookie.
Shane Victorino continued his hot streak, going 3-for-4 with a solo homer and two runs scored. He has a hit in nine of his last 11 at-bats.
The Phils got a run in the fourth inning. With Victorino on third and Placido Polanco on first and no outs, Jimmy Rollins hit into a double play that got Victorino home safely. The centerfielder then homered in the sixth to make it 2-0.
Rollins led off the top of the ninth with a double and got to third on the the misplay by Heyward in right field and scored on a Ryan Howard ground out to make it 3-0.
2B: Rollins (3). HR: Victorino (1).
WP: Hamels (1-1). LP: Lowe (1-1). S: Contreras (2).
TTB 