It was shaping up to be one of the better pitching duels of the year between the Cardinals' Adam Wainwright and the Phillies' Cole Hamels until the lefty and his bullpen were unable to make it out of the eighth inning before giving up three runs, handing a 4-1 victory to St. Louis.
Adam Wainwright outduels Cole Hamels
Adam Wainwright and Cole Hamels went pitch for pitch before a rough eighth inning for the Phillies blew the game open.
Dilip Vishwanat
Wainwright, who missed his previous start against the Mets on Monday, let up just one run on six scattered hits while striking out seven in eight innings. And he, like Hamels, even added a double for fun, although neither scored or drove in any runs. Hamels, for his part, missed more bats than Wainwright with eight strikeouts and may have slightly outpitched Wainwright up until the wheels came off for his team after he let up a double in the eighth to Matt Holliday that scored Matt Carpenter, whom he had walked two batters earlier.
He was replaced by reliever Jake Diekman, who promptly hit Yadier Molina with a pitch, then saw Molina and Holliday advance a base on a passed ball. After a sacrifice fly and fielder's choice scored Holliday and Molina, the game was put out of reach.
However, while the final score is the only thing that really matters, Hamels performances this season -- he has a 2.76 ERA and the best K/9 (9.2) rate since his rookie season -- continue to be a bright spot in a relatively dark season for the Phillies.
The Astros’ amazing technicolor dream jersey
While these “throwbacks” -- especially the Astros’ great “Tequila Sunrise” style from the 80’s -- are pretty swell, they would probably look even better if they were the right size.
Turn back the clock. pic.twitter.com/sTG6gsle1W
— MLB Fan Cave (@MLBFanCave) June 21, 2014 Good news for people who like good news
After almost randomly breaking his femur while attempting to catch a ceremonial first pitch from Vlad Guerrero on Opening Day, Angels hitting coach Don Baylor is back in the clubhouse.
#Angels hitting coach Don Baylor just walked through clubhouse. Yes, walked. Hardly limped. Expects to be cleared by doc to return Tuesday.
— Mike DiGiovanna (@MikeDiGiovanna) June 21, 2014 Saturday’s Final Scores
Mets 4, Marlins 0
Cardinals 4, Phillies 1
Rays 8, Astros 0
Giants 6, Diamondbacks 4
Angels 3, Rangers 2
Nationals 3, Braves 0
Pirates 5, Cubs 3
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