The Phillies are holding their breath right now. In the fourth inning, Cole Hamels was hit in the right hand (his glove hand) with a line drive off the bat of Adrian Gonzalez. Trainers, pitching coach Rich Dubee and manager Charlie Manuel went to check on the left-hander.
He stayed in the game and retired Dustin Pedroia for the final out of the inning, but was replaced by reliever David Herndon in the top of the fifth.
Hamels has a bruise on his right hand. X-Rays were negative and it was reported to the press box that he is expected to make his next start.
The Phillies already have two starting pitchers on the disabled list (Joe Blanton and Roy Oswalt). In all this season, the Phils have had 12 players (15 stints) on the DL. Relievers Ryan Madson, Jose Contreras and Brad Lidge are also hurt.
Hamels has the lowest ERA (2.37) among all NL starters since the 2010 all-star break and is holding opposing hitters to a .212 batting average this season (fourth lowest in the league).
CLOSE AND LOVING IT
The Phillies may have the best record in baseball, but they’re playing a lot of close games.
More than a quarter of the Phillies 81 games this season have been one-run games. Of the 81 games (the midway point), 22 have been decided by one run (27.2 percent). In those games, they are 14-8.
While it may be more fun for fans to watch the Phillies blow teams away, it’s 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 games that manager Charlie Manuel said could mean a great deal down the stretch.
“When we play in close games and tight games, we are only going to get better,” Manuel said. “That’s a good sign on how we could play [down the line]. [It could help us] learn how to play at the end of games in big moments. I think that’s good, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Brian Schneider got robbed at least once, if not twice, in his start Wednesday.
In the fifth inning, Schneider hit a grounder to the right side that turned into a 6-3 groundout. Would have probably been a base hit.
Then in the seventh, he lined out to second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who was playing in shallow right field.
I asked Schneider, the team’s backup catcher, before Thursday’s game if he remembered the last time a team put a shift on him and he said, “Never.” Oh, and by the way, the Phillies are 13-3 when he starts.
The Phillies are in the midst of a stretch of four consecutive day games. This season, they are an NL-best 18-6 in day games. Only the Yankees (22-4) are better during the day. … Phillies pitchers have posted an MLB-leading 1.58 ERA (17 ER, 97.0 IP) in Interleague play this season.
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