Larry Ness' 100% 10* Pitch-Perfect Play (14-3 run MLB 10*s)
My 10* Pitch-Perfect Play is on the Phi Phillies at 7:05 ET.
As with all my Pitch-Perfect Plays, it starts with a "significant" 100% PERFECT situation but also features MUCH MORE! Let's get the 100% PERFECT situation out of the way. Cole Hamels has, "to say the least," terrific career numbers against the Reds, going 7-0 with a 1.70 ERA in 10 regular-season starts (all Philadelphia wins), not to mention a five-hit shutout in the clinching Game 3 of the 2010 NLDS. That makes him 11-0 in 11 careers starts vs the Reds all-time and one can't get too much "more perfect" that that.
Yes, Hamels got a late start to the 2014 season due to an injury and enters this game 0-2 with a 5.32 ERA after four starts (Phillies are 0-4). However, in his last outing (this past Sunday at the Mets), he struck out 10 over seven innings of one-run ball while throwing a career-high 133 pitches, the most by anyone this season. Clearly, Hamels arm is sound. He'll face a Cincy team which after losing Jay Bruce to injury earlier this month, will now have to go on without Joey Votto, too. An MRI revealed no structural damage in his sore left knee but he didn't make the trip to Philadelphia and could hit the disabled list if things don't improve.
More bad news comes Cincy's way with Homer Bailey taking the mound. MLB circa 2014 is confounding and Bailey is a fairly good example of that. Bailey threw his second no-hitter in two seasons last year, making him the third pitcher in Reds history to throw two no-hitters, joining Johnny Vander Meer and Jim Maloney. However, he was just 11-12 with a 3.49 ERA for the season and finished 2013 with a 49-45 record in his career (4.25 ERA). How does that warrant a six-year, $100 million contract? However, that's exactly the deal the Reds signed him to in February.
They MUST be thrilled, as Baily is 3-2 with a 4.72 ERA in eight starts (team is 3-5). My question is, where's the surprise? As for this matchup, note that Bailey is 0-3 with a 3.61 ERA in eight career starts vs the Phillies (Reds are 2-6) plus he's backed by bullpen whose ERA is 4.77, the worst of any team in the NL (in fairness, Chapman just returned, May 11).
All in all, I WON'T pass on Hamels and his perfect lifetime mark against the Reds under these circumstances.
