That's the "Liberty Belle" Phanatic in front there, but it's the shadows that caught my eye. In four games vs. the Mets this season Cole Hamels received zero run support. Behind Hamels, the Phillies lost again to the Mets, this time 7-3. Hamels seemed out of sorts and was not helped by a floating strike zone and the confrontational antics of plate ump Mike Winters. (Just can't keep these umpires down.) The Mets extended their lead to 5-0 when Hamels surrendered a homer to Carlos Beltran to lead off the 5th. That was it for Hamels. The Phillies made it 5-3 in the bottom of the 5th on a three-run homer by Chase Utley, but it was the Mets who later tacked on more runs. The Phillies had their chances but the Mets played defense today. The Phillies and Mets split the season series 9-9.
Down in D.C., meanwhile, the Nats defeated the Braves 4-2, which means, don't ask me the details, that the Phillies are the fist NL team to clinch a play-off berth. The magic number for the division, however, is 1.
The Phillies finished the season with a 52-29 home record. The season attendance was a franchise 3,647,249. We want more.
