Yesterday, the Phillies (36-48) lost in the eleventh inning to the Marlins (41-43) after tying the in the eighth inning on back to back home runs by Marlon Byrd and Cody Asche. Tonight, the Phillies looked to tie the series at a game a piece by sending ace Cole Hamels (2-5 2.98 ERA) to the hill. Hamels lost his last start against St. Louis. He was opposed by Tom Koehler (6-6 3.48 ERA). Koehler is having a decent year and faced the Phillies in his last start taking the no decision going six innings giving up two runs to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
The Game:
Cole Hamels struggled through the first three innings with command issues. In the fourth the Marlins finally capitalize on Hamels off night. Casey McGehee led off with a single followed by Jarrod Saltalamacchia getting hit by a pitch and Jeff Baker walkig to load the bases. Donovan Solano then single to give the Marlins a lead they would never give up. 1-0 Marlins
In the fifth, the Marlins added on, Christian Yelich led off with a walk and Ed Lucas followed with an RBI double. Then after getting Stanton on strikes, Casey McGehee doubled off Hamels to plate another run. After the inning, Hamels night would be over after five innings. 3-0 Marlins
Mario Hollands came in for the eighth for the Phillies, but failed to get an out. Marcell Ozuna led off with a single. Saltalamacchia then took Hollands deep to put the nail in the Phillies coffin. 5-0 Marlins
Significant Offensive Stats:
Ben Revere 2-4
Jimmy Rollins 2-4
Impact: The Phillies offensive struggles continue as they are shut out again. As many feel, this writer believes it is time to blow it up and bring up some young kids. The run is over and has been over for over a year now. At this point, I’d trade what you can and shoot for the highest draft pick you can get. The only bright spot in tonight’s game is Ken Giles dominance has continued lowering his ERA to 1.00. Since he got the call he has give up two hits, one being a homer to the first batter he faced, and has struck out 14 in his first nine innings.
Up Next: Tomorrow the Phillies look to avoid the sweep as they send Kyle Kendrick (3-8 4.22 ERA) to the rubber. Kendrick lost his last two starts to the Cardinals and the Braves. The Marlins will counter with minor league arm, Brad Hand (0-1 6.38). Hand will be making his third start in the majors this season.
Andrew Shipotofsky is a writer for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter @AShipotofsky
