It was Cole vs Cole for the first time in major league history last night in Chicago. Neither Cole was good. The Phillies' Irvin gave up seven runs and lost to the Cubs, 8-4, suffering his first big league defeat. The Cubs' Hamels, pitching for the first time against his former team, surrendered three runs in four innings. Hamels threw 99 pitches before he was taken out of the game.
Chicago is up 2 games to one in the series. Aaron Nola goes for the split this afternoon against Jon Lester. The Phils lost a game to both Atlanta and the Mets, as the Braves closed to within 1 1/2 games.
Although McCuthen banged out three hits, Harper collected three hits, and Segura had two hits to keep his hitting streak alive, the team continues to struggle getting the big hit when it counts, leaving 13 men on base.
Pat Neshek continues to get heat form the media and the fans for claiming he wasn't able to pitch on Tuesday night when the Phils needed him to close. Even though he had not pitched in two days, and he warmed up Monday night, he was a no-go on Tuesday. Juan Nicosio filled in and promptly blew the save.
The Phillies knew what they were getting in high maintenance diva Neshek when they resigned him during the off-season. Sadly, manager Kapler and the front office coddle to "The Shack" instead of telling him to pitch or else.
Even though it may seem odd to trade Neshek when you need bullpen help, GM Klentek should consider dealing Neshek and bring in guys who want to pitch and get angry when they don't get the ball.
It's going to take a while for Scott Kingery to adjust to life in center field. He misread a fly ball last night which fell in for a hit and the runner later scored. Kapler likes Kingery's versatility in the field since he can play most positions. I wouldn't say he is a permanent fixture in center field, but close.
Pitcher Vince Valasquez is due to be activated from the Injured List, maybe as soon as today. It will be interesting to see if he is headed for the bullpen, as most fans want, or if he returns to his slot in the starting rotation. He would add depth to the bullpen and a power arm and not have to worry about pitch counts or going deep into games.
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