Phillies' Hamels once again prone to long ball in loss to Nationals
Cole Hamels' trade value is diminishing rapidly after another lackluster start Thursday versus the Washington Nationals, who snapped his streak of 21 straight road starts without allowing more than three earned runs.
The Philadelphia Phillies southpaw was rocked for five runs over six innings and yielded two home runs to increase his league-leading total to seven in the 5-2 loss. Hamels surrendered 14 long balls all of last season over nearly 205 innings pitched. He's needed only 18 frames to get to the halfway mark this campaign as he struggles with his command.
"They're (home runs) definitely adding up," Hamels said after the contest. "What happened was getting behind in the count and leaving pitches up in a very hittable location. Just have to get the ball down, I guess."
The 2008 World Series MVP has been the subject of trade rumors all season, but Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. continues to gamble on his ace's trade value increasing as the trade deadline approaches, or until injuries plague the pitching staffs of contending teams.
Hamels is now 0-2 with a 5.00 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in three outings.