Philadelphia Phillies end season with a wasted Cole Hamels’ gem

Sep 28, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cole Hamels (35) after allowing a home run by Atlanta Braves second baseman Emilio Bonifacio (1) (not pictured) in the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Cole Hamels had a great 2014, but as Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves would suggest, the Philadelphia Phillies were not in sync with their ace.

A 9-9 record does not do justice to the great year Hamels had. His 2.46 ERA was the fifth best in the National League.  The lefty used 99 pitches over eight innings in Sunday’s finale and although he let up just two runs on three hits the Phillies did not provide run support yet again.

The first inning proved troublesome for Hamels. Emilio Benifacio led off with a solo home run which was quickly followed up with an RBI single off the bat of Freddie Freeman to make it a 2-0 game.

From there Hamels was locked in, but the Phillies’ offense was shut down. Philadelphia was held to just six hits on the day as the Braves used five different pitchers.  The only multi-hit game by a member of the Phillies belonged to Hamels who went 2-for-2.

In the eighth inning Ben Revere grounded into a double play that pushed Freddy Galvis across the plate for the lone Philadelphia run.

Revere went 1-for-4 in the game and finished his season with a .306 batting average, fifth best in the NL. The centerfielder also stole his 49th base of the season, putting him at third best in the NL.

Jake Diekman pitched a perfect ninth inning and recorded two of the Phillies’ nine strikeouts in the game. The reliever threw eight of nine pitches for strikes and finished the season with exactly 100 strikeouts.

The Philadelphia Phillies finished in last place in the NL East with an overall record of 73-89. A crowd of 38,802 attended the pleasant 82-degree season finale at Citizens Bank Park.  The Phillies went 37-44 at home in 2014.