Perhaps the trade spotlight is off Cole Hamels and on Jeff Francoeur?
Pitching in what could be his last home game at Citizens Bank Park, Hamels was gifted his first five-run inning since May 17, 2014. But neither the ace lefty nor stud reliever Ken Giles could hold onto the leads.
Hamels was gone after three innings and Giles surrendered a one-run lead in the eighth.
That’s where Francoeur came to the rescue with a two-run, walk-off homer with no outs in the ninth to give the Phillies a comeback 8-7 victory to sweep the series from the Marlins.
At 32-62, the Phillies swept a three-game series for the first time in two months.
Starting pitching report
The Phils’ ace gave up five runs on eight hits in just three innings for his shortest outing since Sept. 28, 2011. It also continued a downward trend for the lefty who has struggled in his last two starts.
MLB
Against the Giants before the All-Star break and against the Marlins on Sunday, Hamels has allowed 14 runs on 20 hits and two walks in just 6 1/3 innings.
The Marlins’ Dan Haren gutted out six innings where he allowed five runs on seven hits, a walk and a hit batsman. After giving up a one-out double in the second inning to Ben Revere, Haren retired the next eight and 16 of the last 19 he faced.
Bullpen report
Justin De Fratus pitched two scoreless innings and even got a plate appearance, before turning it over to lefty Elvis Araujo for an inning. Luis Garcia pitched a scoreless seventh inning before Giles took over for the eighth.
Following Giles’ rough eighth, Hector Neris pitched a 1-2-3 ninth.
At the plate
Carlos Ruiz opened the ninth against A.J. Ramos with a five-pitch walk to set the table for Francoeur, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter and defensive replacement in the seventh inning.
Francoeur singled in the seventh and ripped his second homer of the series in the ninth. He went 3 for 3 in two games against the Marlins with five RBIs.
Ryan Howard opened the five-run second inning with an upper deck home run. Freddy Galvis gave the Phillies the lead in the inning with a two-run shot and is hitting 33 for 102 (.324) with four doubles, three homers and 12 RBIs in his last 28 games.
Revere picked up a pair of hits to boost his season average to .299 and Hernandez also had a two-hit game to snap a 1-for-23 streak.
Up next
The Phillies continue the homestand Monday night when the Tampa Bay Rays come to town for three games. The Rays have been to Philadelphia just once (June 2012) since the 2008 World Series.
The pitching matchups for the series:
Monday: David Buchanan (0-5, 7.58) vs. Matt Moore (1-0, 7.07)
Tuesday: Aaron Nola (ML debut) vs. Nathan Karns (4-5, 3.63)
Wednesday: Adam Morgan (1-2, 3.91) vs. Jake Odorizzi (5-5, 2.30)