Phillies vs Mariners: Jason Vargas Throws Complete Game Shutout, Phils Fall 2-0

Seattle, WA (Sports Network) – Jason Vargas outdueled Cole Hamels and the Seattle Mariners claimed a 2-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in the rubber match of a three-game interleague set.

Vargas (5-4) recorded the third complete game of his career, limiting the majors’ top club to three hits and a pair of walks while fanning six. He retired 16 of the final 17 batters he faced and needed 119 pitches to finish his second shutout of the month.

"I think your focus has to be there a little bit more, not that it should go away when you’re up five runs, but you’re definitely more dialed in and focused on what you have to do," Vargas said on his mindset while throwing in close games.

Meanwhile, Hamels (9-3) was denied his chance to be the majors’ first 10-game winner, exiting after 6 1/3 innings. The left-hander yielded seven hits and a pair of runs with six strikeouts — including the 1,000th in his career.

Justin Smoak and Adam Kennedy drove in a run each for the Mariners, who took two of three in the series.

Ryan Howard collected two hits for the Phillies, who still hold the best record in baseball at 45-28 but were blanked for the fifth time this season.

Hamels retired 11 in a row until Ichiro Suzuki’s one-out single in the sixth. He advanced on a groundout then scored when Smoak blooped a hit to left.

Dustin Ackley began the seventh with a triple, didn’t move on a Franklin Gutierrez groundout but came in on a bloop hit to left from pinch-hitter Kennedy. That spelled the end for Hamels, and Jose Contreras managed to keep a lid on the situation by getting Chone Figgins to ground into an inning-ending double play.

David Herndon turned in a scoreless eighth, but his offense only managed a two-out single from Howard in the ninth before Ben Francisco flied out to end the game. The hit snapped a streak of 15 in a row retired by Vargas from a walk to Carlos Ruiz in the fourth.

"You have to give him credit, he mixed it up well," Howard said of facing Vargas. "He didn’t necessarily have to throw stuff for strikes. He threw enough for strikes to where it kind of got us to get a little bit out of our element, guys were just a little bit out in front of pitches, he threw well."

The Phils couldn’t push a run across in the first despite two runners in scoring position.

Hamels shook off a Smoak single in Seattle’s turn, then struck out three batters in the second before retiring the side in order in the third.

Philly had two on with one out in the fourth, but Raul Ibanez hit into an inning-ending double play with a liner to third.

Hamels reached his milestone by fanning Miguel Olivo swinging for the second out in the home fourth.

Game Notes

Vargas blanked the Tampa Bay Rays on four hits in a 7-0 victory on June 3…Hamels is the third youngest pitcher to record his 1,000th strikeout, after Seattle’s Felix Hernandez and Tim Lincecum of the Giants…Entering play, the Mariners sported the worst batting average in baseball at a paltry .239…With 1 2/3 innings of scoreless ball, Phillies relievers extended their streak to 17 1/3 frames in the last eight contests.

Philies Vs Mariners: Cole Hamels Looks For MLB Leading 10th Win

(Sports Network) – Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels can become the first 10-game winner in the major leagues when he toes the rubber today against the Seattle Mariners in the finale of a three-game series at Safeco Field.

Hamels is 4-0 with a 1.64 earned run average in his last six starts — with the Phillies going 5-1 in that stretch — and is coming off seven innings of one-run ball in a 9-1 rout of Florida on Tuesday. Hamels, who has allowed a total of two runs over his past three outings, left the game with tightness in his back but should be ready to go for this afternoon.

“It just kind of tightened up on me,” Hamels said. “It got a lot colder and my body temperature kind of dropped. Everything was just kind of tightening up. Obviously, I don’t think it’s that smart to go out and try to compete and not be able to compete at my best. And obviously I don’t want to hurt anything, so it’s just playing smart.”

The 2008 World Series MVP has gone at least seven innings in four straight starts and is 9-2 on the season with a 2.49 ERA through 14 trips to the mound. Hamels has never faced Seattle and is a dominant 4-0 with a 2.09 ERA in six road tilts this season. He is one of four pitchers in the majors, including teammate Roy Halladay, to have nine wins this season. Jon Lester of Boston and the Tigers’ Max Scherzer are the other two.

Philadelphia hopes young hurler Vance Worley can one day get to nine wins by June and got five innings of one-run ball out of the right-hander in Saturday’s 5-1 victory over the Mariners. Worley did not figure into the decision, while reliever Michael Stutes collected the win with 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief.

Shane Victorino had a big night with four RBI, including a two-run homer, and his two-run double in the seventh inning put the NL East-leading Phillies ahead for good. Ryan Howard had two hits and an RBI for Philadelphia, which bounced back from Friday’s 4-2 loss and won for the 11th time in 14 tries.

“I told myself to try and get a pitch, relax and see something you can put in play and let it happen,” Victorino said of his two-base hit in the seventh that broke a 1-1 tie. “Obviously, in that situation I succeeded, a lot of times I don’t, but that one I did.”

Victorino has gone 5-for-8 with two home runs, three runs scored and five RBI in the first two games of this series. The Phils are six games ahead of Atlanta in the division standings and 2-0 on a six-game trek through Seattle and St. Louis. They will start a three-game set with the Cardinals Tuesday.

Philadelphia is 11-6 this month and hasn’t finished above .500 in June since going 15-13 in 2007.

The Mariners had a modest two-game winning streak stopped last night and lost for the seventh time in 12 tries. Staff ace Felix Hernandez was dealt the loss for yielding three runs and eight hits in seven innings with five K’s.

Prized prospect Dustin Ackley recorded the first home run of his career and Greg Halman had a team-best two hits for Seattle, which is 2-3 on a six-game homestand and will hit the road for six games in Washington and Florida following today’s series finale with the Phillies.

“It felt great. He [Worley] gave me a good pitch to hit 3-2, put a good swing on it and ended up tying the game,” Ackley said of his blast in the second inning.

Ichiro Suzuki saw his streak of six consecutive multi-hit games come to an end Saturday, going 1-for-5. The loss dropped the Mariners 1 1/2 games behind Texas for the top spot in the AL West.

Mariners starter Jason Vargas hopes to move over the .500 mark when he takes the hill Sunday afternoon. Vargas is 4-4 with a pedestrian 4.13 ERA in 14 starts this season and has lost two of his previous three decisions.

Vargas was last in action in Monday’s 6-3 defeat at the hands of the LA Angels of Anaheim and allowed five runs in seven innings. Two starts removed from the first shutout of his career versus Tampa Bay on June 3, Vargas is 3-4 in nine starts at Safeco Field.

In three career games, one of which was a start, against Philadelphia, the lefty is 0-0 with a 9.45 ERA across 6 2/3 innings of work.

The Phillies and Mariners are battling for the first time since Seattle won two of three meetings back in 2005 in the Pacific Northwest. Philadelphia is 109-131 all-time in interleague play, while the Mariners own a solid 140-113 mark against the National League.

Phillies 5, Mariners 1: Shane Victorino's 4 RBI Help Phils Defeat Felix

In what looked like the most lopsided pitching matchup of the series against the Phillies, Vance Worley and three relievers combined to limit the Mariners to six hits and a run, while Felix Hernandez gave up 8 hits over seven innings and was charged with three runs. The Mariners bullpen really let it slip away with Jamey Wright serving up a 2-run homer to Shane Victorino in the top of the 9th, sealing the game two win for the Phils.

It was Victorino's two out, two run double in the bottom of the seventh off Hernandez that gave the Phillies the lead for good. It capped off a 3-4 night for Shane, who was just a single shy of the cycle. He had four RBI on the night. Jimmy Rollins was also 3-4 and got himself on base four times. Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez had multi hit games as well.

With the win, the Phillies extend their lead in the NL East to six games. They'll look for the series win tomorrow afternoon at 4 when Cole Hamels takes the hill against Jason Vargas, as the lopsided pitching matchup tilts to the Phillies.