Phillies-Mets: Lost in The Drama of a Comeback, Cole Hamels Off His Game

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Just 24 hours after a thrilling series-opener, the Phillies and Mets gave us yet another sparkling performance. 

In the end, two Chase Utley home runs, a few defensive gems by Jayson Werth, and a late-game appearance by Chan Ho Park were enough to spoil the Game Two party at Citi Field.

Down 4-1 going into the seventh inning, the Phillies flair for the dramatic took over, and in the end, they were victorious, 5-4, in extra innings.

Utley slammed his 14th and 15th homers, the latter of the game-winning variety in the 11th inning as the Phils absolutely stole this one. 

With two down in the bottom of the 10th inning, Jayson Werth made that home run possibly by laying out for a would-be gap double, possibly saving the game for the Phillies.  The sure-handed right fielder has just one error this season in 427 innings on the field, with just 12 total for his entire career. 

You just knew he had that ball once he made the break.

The catch, along with the Utley bombs, also saved Cole Hamels from having to answer questions about his less-than-sparkling performance on Wednesday night. 

Coming off of his best night of the year on June 4 against Los Angeles, "Hollywood" was struggling for most of his five innings of work. 

In front of a stadium that was just 92 percent full during a huge rivalry game, he allowed four earned runs on 11 hits, while walking two Mets and striking out just one. 

That K total is his lowest this year, and the fewest he’s had in a game since May 25 of last year when he struck out nary a Brewer.  Just when you thought Hamels was about to start rolling, he takes a step backwards in an important setting.

With his wife Heidi looking on from the stands, Hamels disappointed largely due to the fact that his control was lacking.  In five innings, Hamels threw 100 pitches, 66 of them for strikes; not a bad ball/strike ratio by any means. 

However, the Mets took full advantage of him missing his spots.  

If not for the Mets inability to capitalize with runners in scoring position, this could have been a different outcome.  New York left 16 runners stranded, including 10 men stuck to second and third. 

The positive in allowing that many base runners was the damage control done by the bullpen.  Phillies relievers allowed eight runners to reach base over the final six innings, but none touched home plate.

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