Luckily for Cole Hamels, the bats were alive.
He didn’t look awful, but he was far from the 2008 World Series hero that captured the hearts of the city. The left-hander struggled with location last night, throwing 103 pitches before being relieved in the sixth. Hamels allowed two earned runs on five hits before giving way to Chad Durbin.
Ryan Howard’s two-run home run and Chase Utley’s RBI single fueled a three-run fifth that broke a 3-3 tie.
Howard (2-for-5 with three RBIs) also smacked a seventh-inning double to put the Phillies up, 8-4.
But it wasn’t all bad for Hamels. He retired eight of the first 10 batters he faced before Ian Desmond’s solo homer put the Nationals on the board.
