King Cole, welcome back!
Cole Hamels was perfect through five innings, and lasted six in a 4-2 win Tuesday over the Rays in Clearwater. The day-two starter for the Phils struck out seven, walked none and gave up two hits (one being a home run to elite prospect Evan Longoria). Fabio Castro — falling out quickly from the LOOGY battle — gave up a run and a hit while walking two in an inning. Gary Knotts and Ryan Madson pitched scoreless frames to close it out.
For the offense, Geoff Jenkins knocked his first home run of the spring, raising his spring average to .152. Jimmy Rollins sketched out a hit to raise his mark to .209. Pat Burrell and Chase Utley also got hits in the paltry showing.
This day, however, was about Hamels, and his first real dominant game of the spring. He should get somewhere between 15 and 22 wins this season, and as long as he’s healthy, he’ll be on the high side of that with at least 200 strikeouts. He’s dominant, end of story. It was nice to see him get six and blow away a young — but sneakily good — Tampa lineup.
What we got out of this game:
- Cole Hamels is still capable of good starts. THANK GOD (sarcasm).
- Fabio Castro’s thread is very thin.
- Geoff Jenkins is still capable of hitting home runs. THANK GOD (not sarcasm).
The Phillies will take on the Rays again, this time in St. Petersburg. The game is at 1:05 p.m. and can be seen on MLB.tv. Jamie Moyer will get the ball, with expected relievers to possibly include Travis Blackley and Francisco Rosario.
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