Cole Hamels made what is thought to be his last rehab start against the Lakeland Flying Tigers last night.  It is believed that he will be joining the Phillies on their upcoming 10 game western swing.  Hamels threw well for 7 innings.  He faced 23 batters and threw 81 pitches, 57 for strikes.

He was victimized by a fielding error in the first inning but erased that mistake 2 pitches later with an inning ending double play.  He retired the Tigers in order in the second, fourth, and seventh innings.  He allowed a leadoff single in the third but induced another double play before ending the inning with his first strike out.  In the fifth inning, Hamels gave up a well hit home run to left field.  The Tigers threatened to add another run in the sixth inning when Hamels issued a one out walk, wild pitch, and single.  With runners on first and third, Aaron Altherr ended the threat when he teamed up with Logan Moore to cut down a Tigers runner trying to score on a fly ball to shallow center field.  In the seventh, another double play erased a runner who reached on a fielding error before Hamels retired his last batter with his second strike out.

Hamels retreated to the bullpen to throw for several minutes before calling it a night.  Later, he snubbed the media when he declined to meet with the writer and photographer who were sent to cover his rehab assignment.

Hamels final line was –

7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 WP

Honestly, the first hit he allowed should have been scored an error.  It went through the fielder. I don’t know how he didn’t get glove or body on the ball.  To his credit, Hamels didn’t let this play and the two errors effect his pitching.

There was a very strong 17 MPH wind blowing in from right field.  Any balls hit in the air were being beat back toward the left field foul line.  The home run Hamels gave up sounded solid off the bat and cleared the wall into the visitors’ bullpen.  It was probably the only mistake he made and a kid hitting .100 coming into the game made him pay for it.

The Threshers fared just as poorly against the Tigers starter.  After two fly balls to center and 4 consecutive ground balls to the second baseman, Logan Moore got their first hit when he doubled to center.  The fielder tried for a shoe string catch and was lucky when the ball died shortly after it bounced under his glove.  One out later, Angelo Mora got the first of his two singles when he lined a ball off the shortstops glove.  Moore was unable to advance on the play and the third inning ended two batters later.  In the fourth inning, KC Serna reached on a single and Art Charles doubled to put runners on second and third. Serna scored on a wild pitch.  Willie Carmona led off the fifth inning with his second hit of the season.  He would be their last base runner until Mora’s lead off single in the eighth inning.  Mora would be erased by a double play and the Threshers would go 1-2-3 in the ninth during an increasing downpour.

After Hamels departed, the bullpen imploded. Lino Martinez and Chris Burgess faced 11 batters and walked 6 of them.  Martinez walked two in the eighth and escaped on an inning ending double play.  He walked the two batters he faced in the ninth before being yanked.  Mora made a great play in the hole on a ball that looked like it was past him when he snagged it and threw back for a force at second.  The relay almost doubled the batter. Burgess walked the next batter to load the bases then uncorked a wild pitch allowing the remaining inherited runner to score an unearned run.  Then he re-walked the bases loaded making sure that Martinez not only got the loss but that the run was now earned.

The bullpen line was –

2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 6 BB, 2 K, 1 WP

The final was 2-1.

Brian Pointer hit a ball to right that would have been out on any other day, but the wind knocked it down and it was caught on the warning track.

Altherr’s strong throw to home was slightly up the third base line.  Moore made a great play to get the throw and apply the tag on the runner who was sliding away from himon the fair side of the base line.

Double header tomorrow, XST in the afternoon and Jimmy Rollins bobble head night at the Threshers in the evening.