Gamenight: Nationals (4-14) At Phillies (10-8)
John Lannan (0-2, 4.43 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (0-2, 9.69 ERA)
Time: 7:05 p.m. at Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia.
Weather: Mostly sunny, 83
TV: The Comcast Network
Twitter: Phillies Nation
A Prince Fielder line drive struck Cole Hamels Thursday, taking him out of what was becoming a very effective start. Though he had given up a home run to Ryan Braun, Hamels had struck out almost every batter he had faced. The flesh wound seemed like a huge ordeal at first; now it’s child’s play considering what the Phils might go through with Brad Lidge. Needless to say, it’s still a scary world out there.
Hamels, still looking for his first win of the season and an ERA that isn’t showing a run per inning, will face the Nationals, a team he has defeated soundly in his past (5-3, 2.04 ERA). In fact, Hamels has practically mastered everyone in the Nats lineup, save Ryan Zimmerman, who is only hitting .270 against Hamels, but with two home runs. Adam Dunn, by the way, is 1-for-8 against Hollywood.
The Phillies offense, meanwhile, has a checkered past with Washington starter John Lannan. He’s the one who hit Chase Utley in the hand back in 2007. Of course, Utley is hitting .455 against the hand hunter. Jimmy Rollins is at .417. Ryan Howard is at .364. And each member of the Phrontrunner Bros. has a homer against Lannan. To be short, the lefties have and can hit him.
That bodes well coming off one of the most thrilling wins in recent Phillies history. For those who missed last night’s proceedings, Howard tied the game with an sixth-inning grand slam, then Raul Ibanez swatted an eighth-inning grand slam to hand the Phils the eventual 13-11 win. Ibanez’s homer pulled him into third place in the NL home run race. He’s seventh in the league in hits and third in runs, and yes, he leads the league in slugging percentage with a .685 clip, four hundredths above Albert Pujols.
Go Phillies!
