Cole Hamels Throws His Way to Cy Young Contention, Leads Phillies to Victory
By: Mike Reisman
When you think of Cy Young contenders in the National League, you usually think of people that have already won, or are the aces in their respective rotations. Guys like Roy Halladay, or Tim Lincecum. Maybe you would think of young guys with tons of potential like Josh Johnson. However, normally you wouldn't think of a guy who is 4th in his rotation, and just came off of a year with only one more win then he had losses. But after winning today and dominating the Dodgers in the process, Cole Hamels has proven that he is a legitimate Cy Young contender.
Though the Phillies could only manage two runs today, one from a Ryan Howard home run in the 6th, and the other from Domonic Brown on a fielder's choice in the 7th, it was all Hamels needed to get his 8th win, improving his record to 8-2. The win ties him for most in the MLB.
Tonight, Hamels pitched incredibly, going eight very strong innings allowing just six hits, and striking out nine batters. He didn't allow a single walk, and was able to get out of the game with just 113 pitches, not bad for eight innings of work. With this win, Hamels' ERA is just 2.58, only two points above Roy Halladay's mark of 2.56. However, even more impressive is his WHIP of 0.95, a number that leads the National League.
In addition to all these great stats, Hamels is now more than halfway to tying his career high for wins in a season, which is currently 15 from his 2007 season. These wins could not come at a better time for a staff that has had to deal with inconsistency from Cliff Lee, and injuries to both Joe Blanton and Roy Oswalt.
Hamels has been shutting down lineups all year, and the best part is that he has been very consistent. If you don't include his first, abysmal start, his ERA is a stunning 2.04, and he has only had one game where he has allowed more than 3 runs. Since then his K/BB ratio is also 5.5, another astounding number for someone who doesn't even have a top three spot in his rotation.
With Hamels' start to this year, I think it is safe to say that he is living up to the expectations set for him when the Phillies used their first draft pick on him in 2002. In fact, I would go even farther, and say that if Hamels can continue this success for the rest of the year, he has my undisputed vote for the Cy Young award.