Hamels hopes to stay sharp against Giants

May 6, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cole Hamels (35) during fifth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park. The Blue Jays defeated the Phillies, 6-5. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

A 6-6 record doesn’t do justice to the type of run Phillies ace Cole Hamels has been on.  Records aside Hamels is looking to keep up the pitching brilliance in game one of a series at San Francisco.

Hamels, the 2008 World Series Most Valuable Player, has impressed many times during his eight years in the majors.  This season plenty of people are saying he’s never been this good.  He’s not only been good with command of his pitches, but he’s been a bullpen saver.  Hamels only has only gone less than seven innings in five of his 21 starts this season, three of those were his first three starts.

If the southpaw were to finish the season with his current ERA of 2.37, it would be the lowest of his career.  He’s only finished a season with an ERA below 3.oo once, that came in 2011 when he was an All-Star for the second of three times.  Giants catcher Buster Posey is 8-for-14 against Hamels with five RBIs.

The Phillies lost the last two games started by Hamels, but purely out of a lack of run support.  Hamels allowed just two runs in 14 innings, only one of them earned.

Should Hamels continue to pitch the way he has and the offense can muster run support the Phillies should have a good chance to win the series opener.  The Giants are just 30-31 at home and they send Madison Bumgarner to the mound with a 4-6 record and 5.60 ERA at AT&T Park.

Phillies outfielder Ben Revere is 4-for-5 with two RBIs lifetime against Bumgarner.  Revere has six multi-hit games in his last ten.  His .309 batting average is fifth highest in the National League.

The Giants are 3-1 against the Phillies so far this season, but both teams are 4-6 in their last ten games.