Cole Hamels On Mound As Phillies Host Rockies
By Matt Leon
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The 31-37 Phillies are back at Citizens Bank Park to open a ten-game homestand tonight with the first of three against the Colorado Rockies.
The Phillies, of course, are coming off a dismal 3-6 road trip which wrapped up with the lost weekend in Toronto.
They will hope that left-hander Cole Hamels can help them get back on track as he makes his 14th start of the season. Hamels is 9-3 with a 3.34 ERA, but he has fallen off as of late. In his last four starts, Hamels is 2-2 with a 6.07 ERA and in the two games he lost, he blew three-run leads. Hamels has also struggled keeping the ball in the park recently - allowing 6 home runs in those four starts (26 2/3 IP).
As bad as things have been for the Phillies this season, they've been much worse in Colorado.
The Rockies are 25-40 on the season mostly because they can't get anyone out. Colorado has a team ERA of 5.35 here in 2012 and that is the worst in all of MLB. Tonight's starter for Colorado will be Josh Outman. The 27-year-old left-hander is 0-2 with 8.44 ERA in 11 games (3 starts) this season.
He is actually a former member of the Phillies organization. Drafted by Philadelphia in 2005, Outman was one of three players the Phils traded to Oakland in 2008 for RHP Joe Blanton.
KYW's Matt Leon spoke with Rockies radio play-by-play man Jerry Schemmel to get a scout on the Rockies and find out what has gone wrong in Denver here in 2012.
You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.
