VICTORY! Hamels & Polanco give Phillies a win finally

Written by Mike Mariano | 23 July 2010

It was bound to happen sooner or later. The Phillies managed not to get swept by the NL Central first-place Cardinals, but it wasn't easy. Cole Hamels was superb and the Phillies needed every ounce of him to survive. King Cole only allowed one hit over his eight innings and the bullpen combined for three scoreless, hitless innings of their own, including Brad Lidge coming on for the save. Sadly for Cole he didn't even get the win in such a dominant performance - Hamels has gone seven innings or more in his last five starts with a 1.72 ERA, only to be 1-1 over that series of outings. Regardless of the W/L record, this is the kind of pitcher that Cole Hamels needs to be and making it happen more regularly like this is a great start.

It took 11 innings to scratch across some runs, but Placido Polanco connected on a two-run shot in the top of the 11th to win the game. Lost in the refreshing feeling of victory is the fact that we could/should be 0-8 after the All-Star break as of now. Things are as bad as they've been in the last three years and something has to change. Whether it be via trade or the farm or the clubhouse, this team starves for a spark to get it going.