Saturday, June 25, 2011
Posted: 9:41 p.m.Updated: 10:57 p.m.
By John R. Finger
CSNPhilly.com
BOX SCORE
There was a line waiting to visit with manager Charlie Manuel after Saturday nights 4-1 loss to the Oakland As and for good reason.
The Phillies didnt exactly put on a clinic on Saturday night at the Bank.
As a result, Dom Brown got his first real taste of the Philly fans ire during the seventh inning of the loss when he didnt quite hustle down the first-base line when second baseman Jemile Weeks bobbled a routine grounder. Had Brown been busting it out of the box, he probably would have reached first safely.
Chalk it up as a learning experience for the rookie right fielder.
MLB
On that particular play the hustle wasnt there and the fans got on me for it, Brown said.
Things happen and Im not perfect, but thats never going to happen again.
Brown had the chance to chat with the local sporting press in part because Shane Victorino was already in the managers office chatting with Manuel about a fly ball hit to him in the fourth inning. With one out and runners on first and second, Connor Jackson hit a soft fly to center that Victorino caught, but then hesitated before firing it back to the infield. That hesitation allowed the speedy Coco Crisp to advance to third base and set the table for Scott Sizemores two-out RBI single.
Little did we realize that Sizemores single would have been the last bit of offense the As needed.
I asked about that and he said that he had trouble gripping the ball, Manuel explained. He couldnt find his grip.
Then again, with lefty Cole Hamels on the mound one can pretty much count on very little movement around the bases by the Phillies. Better yet, when Crisp came home to give the As the 2-1 lead in the fourth, it wasnt tough to figure out that it meant trouble. No, Hamels didnt pitch badly nor did he labor from inning to inning. Its just that two runs next Hamels name in the box score usually mean trouble.
The fact is, the Phillies havent won a game in which Hamels allowed more than a run in nearly a month. The good thing is that he has not allowed too many runs in the past month.
Nevertheless, Hamels suffered his second straight defeat in his attempt to be the first pitcher in the National League with 10 wins.
Hamels pitched eight innings, but was clean in just one of those frames. He allowed a solo homer to No. 8 hitter Adam Rosales with one out in the third and a two-out RBI single to Sizemore.
Not vintage Hamels, but not terrible.
Instead save adjectives relating to the word terrible for the Phillies offense when Hamels pitches. After all, in five outings this month Hamels has a 1.45 ERA with 30 strikeouts and six walks in 37 13 innings, yet is just 2-2. In other words, if only the Phillies hitters could hit as well as Hamels has pitched.
Thats the frustrating part, Hamels said. I know I can go out there and put zeroes up, but its just a matter of how many zeroes against a guy who is putting up zeroes himself. Cahill is definitely a good pitcher and he certainly had us tonight.
His teammates have scored just 13 runs in the games the lefty has started this month and nine of them came in one game. In the past two outings for Hamels, he received just one run and seven hits
Combined.
Of course the Phillies poor hitting is relegated to just games started by Hamels. No, these guys have been equal-opportunity slumpers for every pitcher on the staff. In the opening game of the series against the As, the Phillies limped into the ninth with just two hits and no runs before Ben Francisco delivered a two-out single to win it. On Saturday the Phillies got that first run out of the way early, posting one in the second on a two-out single by Carlos Ruiz to salvage back-to-back walks to open the frame.
But after Ruizs single in the second inning, As hurler Trevor Cahill retired the next 12 hitters in a row and 17 of the next 18.
For Cahill (8-5) it was his first win on the road since May 9.
He had a good sinking fastball that really took off on left-hand hitters. He had a good changeup and he used his breaking ball. He kept it down good. He did a real good job, Manuel said. He didnt hit too many balls hard on him, plus we didnt get many good things on him.
Still, the Phillies have scored just four runs in the past three games and have been held to two runs or fewer in three of the last five games. Notably, Raul Ibanez and Brown, the Phillies No. 6 and 7 hitters, are a combined 25 for 144 (.174) since June 1.
Were trying to win, but were also trying to manage and squeak as many runs as we can, Hamels said. The 1-0 and 4-1 losses are tough, but we have to keep going.
In the meantime, Hamels can take solace in the fact that despite little to no support, hes still giving his team a chance to wineven when he doesnt pitch as well as he usually does.
I wasnt locating it well. Thats something where if he pitch eight innings most of the time youre pitching pretty well and tonight I felt like I kind of got lucky, Hamels said.
Not lucky enough.
The Phillies and As play the rubber match of the three-game series on Sunday afternoon when Roy Halladay (9-3, 2.51) attempts to become the first 10-game winner in the National League against former Phils farmhand, Josh Outman (3-1, 2.86). The Phillies sent Outman to Oakland in the Joe Blanton trade.
E-mail John R. Finger at jfinger@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow him on Twitter @JRFingerCSN.