Cole Hamels showed no ill effects from the pitch he took on the hand in his last start as the All Star tossed eight innings of two run ball and struck out five for his 10th win of the year. His counterpart, Marlins’ starter Chris Volstad, was pounded for seven runs on nine hits and lasted only four innings.
The 14 runs and 18 hits collected by the Phils tonight were both season highs. The offensive explosion was keyed by the four and five hitters, Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez who notched four RBI apiece. Each hit two run homers and Howard had four hits. Jimmy Rollins also had a big night going 4-5 with a walk.
We also give some credit to Michael Martinez, who was a surprise to be hitting in the #2 hole given how much he’s struggled at the plate this season. He was only 1 for 6 but the one hit was a bases clearing triple that drove in three runs. He also robbed Bryan Peterson of a hit in the bottom of the second with a fantastic diving grab. Nevermind that he needed to make the dive because he initially read the ball wrong, then after he caught it, dropped the ball when flipping it to his throwing hand. The umpires didn’t seem to care…
It was an all around dominating performance from the Phils who go for the sweep tomorrow evening with Kyle Kendrick on the mound.