Shane Victorino hit a two run homer in the 8th to break a tie and Cole Hamels looked strong in his return as the Phillies beat the Reds 3-2 at Great American Ballpark. Victorino had gone hitless in his previous 11 at bats, but with Wilson Valdez on base and the score tied 1-1 in the eighth, Shane deposited a pitch in the right field stands to give the Phils the lead for good.
The biggest story of the night though was the return of Cole Hamels, who threw six strong innings in his first start since coming off the DL. Hamels was taken out after throwing just 76 pitches, likely just to take it easy on the lefty in his return. Hamels allowed two hits, struck out seven and allowed one run as he looked to show no ill effects from the shoulder inflammation that put him on the DL. In fact, the only run Hamels did give up, was due to Hunter Pence’s slip on the warning track, which would have likely resulted in a harmless fly ball out. However it ended up as a triple for Brandon Phillips, who would score on a Joey Votto groundout.
The Phillies would also benefit from a bad play in the outfield when Reds’ rookie Dave Sappelt misplayed a Wilson Valdez line drive that resulted in an RBI double.
Ryan Madson would pitch the ninth for his 24th save. Roy Halladay takes the hill tomorrow against Bronson Arroyo.