Phillies ride strong start by Cole Hamels to game 1 victory over the Brewers, and the first for the franchise since the 1993 World Series.
A strong change-up which was clicking on all cylinders fooled the Milwaukee hitters. No matter what the count was, Cole Hamels was able to throw the change-up and fastball with ease, and not get touched.
In the first inning it looked as if the baseball world was in a for a pitchers duel as Milwaukee starter Yovani Gallardo matched the strong first inning thrown by Cole Hamels. Things started to unravel just as Ryan Howard drew a lead off walk to start the second. That was erased quickly due to a double play which came off the bat of Pat Burell.
The third inning was all the Phillies needed as they posted a three spot. Ruiz led things off with a single to centre and a harmless looking Cole Hamels sac bunt quickly turned into a single with a mix of bad Milwaukee defence. With two quick outs recorded, what looked like a promising inning looked to be nothing at all. That certainly looked to be the case with Chase Utley driving a ball deep to centre field, but was dropped by three time gold glove winner Mike Cameron, due to strong winds. With that two runs scored and continued the inning. An intentional walk to Ryan Howard and another walk to Pat Burell loaded the bases, which spelled another run for the Phillies via the walk to up the score to three runs.
More could’ve been done but that was all Philadelphia could produce.
From the fourth inning on Cole Hamels continued his dominance and shut down the Brewers, and to start the game he retired the first twelve batters he faced along with four k’s. There was a bit of a threat by the Brew Crew in the fifth but nothing came of it as Hamels silenced a two on, one out situation. The fourth also saw the end to Yovani Gallardo’s start.
The highlight of Cole Hamels dominance probably came in the seventh when he got three outs on only five pitches. This just showed the Brewers impatience, which we were not accustomed to seeing in the regular season. Meanwhile, Hamels finished up after eight innings, only allowing two hits, while striking out nine.
The game ended in a 3-1 score for a sold out Citizens Bank Park crowd, and don’t expect to see N.L. Comeback Player of the Year closer Brad Lidge in game 2 after a 35 pitch save effort in the bottom ninth. The Brewers did threaten to tie the game with runners at second and third with 2 outs, but a strikeout to Cory Hart ended the game.
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