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 "I've always liked pitching in this ballpark, although it feels
like they're making it smaller," the left-hander said Wednesday
night after holding the Padres to seven hits and just one run over
seven innings to lead Philadelphia to a 5-2 victory over the team he
pulled for while growing up.
A native of San Diego and a graduate of Rancho Bernardo High in the
northern suburbs, Hamels posted his sixth straight win against the
Padres and ran his career record at Petco Park to 5-1 with a 1.78
ERA in eight starts.
Hamels issued one walk Wednesday while striking out eight to improve
to 9-7 on the season while lowering the National League's
second-best ERA to 2.47.
"Cole has been solid all year even when he's not been at his best,"
said Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg. "He was behind in the count a
lot of the game. But he threw a good change tonight when behind in
the count. He finds a way. And tonight a couple double-plays came in
handy."
"I just tried to keep my head down and make pitches," said Hamels.
"It felt good to get those runs."
The Padres took a 1-0 lead into the fifth and Padres left-hander
Eric Stults retired 12 straight Phillies following a game-opening
single by Phillies center fielder Ben Revere.
But Stults (7-17) gave up five hits in a six-batter span in the
fifth to give up four runs and take the loss. Stults and Phillies
right-hander A.J. Burnett, who lost to the Padres on Tuesday night,
are tied for the National League in losses.
The only out Stults registered was a sacrifice bunt by Hamels.
The Phillies opened the inning with four straight singles. The first
three -- by first baseman Darin Ruf, left fielder Dominic Brown and
catcher Carlos Ruiz -- loaded the basses.
"I was trying to get a ground ball and a double-play with Ruiz,"
said Stults. "I threw a changeup on the corner, but it was up."
The fourth single by shortstop Freddy Galvis was a two-run liner to
center that put the Phillies ahead 2-1. After Hamels' bunt put
runners at second and third, Revere doubled inside the third-base
bag for a two-run double.
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"We put some hits together against a crafty pitcher," said Sandberg.
"It happened pretty quickly," said Stults. "It was just one of those
innings where some balls found holes. I didn't execute pitches quite
as well. There was probably some good hitting on their part, too.
"It just didn't go my way.
After batting around in the fifth, Ruf (double) and Brown had
back-to-back hits to open the sixth against right-handed reliever
Joe Wieland with Ruiz making it 5-1 with a sacrifice fly to deep
center.
The Padres had taken a 1-0 lead in the fourth. First baseman Tommy
Medica opened the inning with his second single of the game, stole
second and scored on center fielder Cameron Maybin's second single.
The Padres got their second run in the ninth when shortstop Alexi
Amarista singled home Maybin.
NOTES: Not only is San Diego RHP Tyson Ross not making his scheduled
start Thursday against the Phillies, he will not work any of the
three games against the Giants. ... Manager Bud Black was asked
Wednesday to offer his opinion about the Padres possibly moving back
to their original brown-and-gold colors. "To me, it is more about
who is in the uniform," he said. ... Going into Wednesday night, the
Phillies were hitting .140 (6-for-43) with runners in scoring
position over their five previous games.
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