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November 1, 2009

On the Beat

World Series Weekend Update

by John Perrotto

It was only a year ago that Cole Hamels was the breakout player of the postseason. Yet it seems so much longer. The Phillies left-hander tried once again to find the magic of 2008 on Saturday night as he took the mound in Game Three of the World Series. For three innings, the 25-year-old looked like the carefree kid who stymied the Brewers, Dodgers, and Rays last year as he played a major role in delivering the Phillies’ second World Series title in the franchise’s 125-year history.

He held the Yankees hitless and allowed only one baserunner when he hit Alex Rodriguez with a pitch in the second inning. He was carving up a lineup that led the major leagues in runs scored during the regular season in much the same fashion fellow lefty Cliff Lee did in Game One three nights earlier.

Then the fourth and fifth innings came and the magic disappeared. Rodriguez hit a two-run home run in the fourth, and Hamels couldn’t make it through a fifth inning that included the Yankees scoring three runs, turning a 3-0 deficit into a 5-3 lead en route to an 8-5 victory at Citizens Bank Park that gave them a 2-1 advantage in the Series.

"It’s pretty typical of my whole season," Hamels said as he patiently addressed a throng of media in the center of the Phillies’ clubhouse. "It’s been a mentally draining year. It seems like every time I do something good that it’s followed by something bad. It’s a tough game, baseball. Sometimes it just kicks your butt. I’ve had mine kicked a few times this year."

Hamels has had his rear end kicked in each of his four postseason starts. He gave up four runs in five innings in a losing effort to the Rockies in the National League Division Series, was touched for seven runs in a 9 2/3 innings in two starts against the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, and was then was charged with five runs in 4 1/3 innings on Saturday night.