Minor but a miracle none the less: Cole Hamels actually got some run support today, starting with three in the first inning. By the time he left the game, after seven sterling innings, he had given up three runs on four hits, walked one and struck out eight. He surrendered his first home run of the year, a two-run shot to Chris Young. After seven, the score was 7-3 Phillies; the final was 8-4. Chris Young had another home run in the eighth, off of Antonio Bastardo, the first run to be given up by Bastardo this year. Ryan Howard, however, countered with a blast of his own. Carlos Ruiz left after the first inning with a stiff back. Oi vey.
On Tuesday, Roy Oswalt lasted just three innings, giving up five runs in an eventual 7-5 loss. Oswalt's outing was most uncharacteristic. When I heard that he had left the ball park after being lifted, I immediately thought it had to be a personal matter. The media, however, went off on its own tangent. It was announced this afternoon that Oswalt had left for Mississippi to be with his family in the tornado-ravaged state. As media members and fans might have recalled, it was just a year ago that Oswalt's parents' home was destroyed in a tornado. His mother, who was home at the time, escaped injury by taking refuge in a closet. No wonder Oswalt wanted to go home.
Despite all the angst and ranting about the offense, the Phillies finish the road trip 5-2 and are again back atop the NL East.
