Lefties Cole Hamels and Jorge de la Rosa matched each other for most of the night, but Hamels got the best of the Rockies despite another poor offensive performance by his teammates, as the Phillies topped the Rockies by a score of 2-1 tonight in Philadelphia.
As usual, the Phillies couldn't score a run without help from their opponents. In the fifth, the Phillies scored their first run thanks to a Chris Iannetta passed ball, which allowed Raul Ibanez to score on an RBI single by Wilson Valdez with two outs. The second run, scored in the eighth, resulted from a Jorge de la Rosa wild pitch that sent Wilson Valdez to third base with one out. Jimmy Rollins brought Valdez home on a sacrifice fly.
Hamels and de la Rosa were both terrific, but Hamels was better. Eight innings pitched, eight strikeouts, one walk, and one run allowed on a pair of doubles by Carlos Gonzalez and Todd Helton, aka "I am become Death; Destroyer of Phillies," in the seventh inning. Hamels only threw 107 pitches.
Ryan Madson, he of the utter lack of Steely Closer Resolve, allowed a leadoff double to pinch hitter Seth Smith, but then proceeded to strike out the side swinging. Oh, and it was three guys named Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki, and Jason Giambi. No biggie.
