Phillies Unable To Sit Down After Spanking From Giants

GAME RECAP: Giants Garrote Phillies 15-2

Hunter Pence's grand slam Friday night helped the San Francisco Giants propel Cole Hamels to one of the worst defeats of his career as the reigning World Series champions routed the Philadelphia Phillies, 15-2. The Giants, who broke their AT&T Park record with 22 hits and set a season high in runs, established a 2015 best with eight runs in the fourth inning, as seven consecutive batters reached base with one out before Pence launched a 1-1 fastball onto the right-field arcade. "It was time for us to break out at some point," said manager Bruce Bochy, whose Giants scored 13 runs in their previous seven games and had 22 hits in the preceding four games. "It looked like the day off [Thursday] helped the guys." Pence's fifth career grand slam finished Hamels (5-7), whose 3 1/3-inning outing was his shortest since a 2 2/3-inning stint against the Mets on April 5, 2011. "The moment it left my hands, I knew it wasn't going to be something good," Hamels said of Pence's homer. "With the strength that he has, you know exactly what the writing on the wall was." Hamels surrendered a career-worst nine runs, and the 12 hits he allowed matched his highest total since May 31, 2013, against Milwaukee. "We all know he's much better than that," interim manager Pete Mackanin said. "I can't remember a time when I've seen him pitch like that."

OTHER NOTES FROM THE DAY:

• The Phillies entered Friday having not scored a run in 20 straight innings, their second longest such streak of the season. After coming up empty in the first three innings against Bumgarner, Carlos Ruiz took a first-pitch slider from the lefty and deposited it into the left-field seats to tie the game. The catcher finished a triple short of the cycle and scored both Philadelphia runs.
• The Giants claimed Pence was hit by a third-inning Hamels pitch, which eluded Ruiz and caromed off the backstop. A video review determined the call on the field that Pence was not hit stands.
• The Giants' 22-hit total was their highest in a nine-inning home game -- encompassing their tenure in Seals Stadium and Candlestick Park as well as AT&T Park -- since the franchise moved to San Francisco in 1958.

NEXT GAME:

David Buchanan returns from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to make his sixth start of the season Saturday. Buchanan has not pitched well on the road this year, allowing 15 runs and 23 hits in 15 innings away from Citizens Bank Park. Ryan Vogelsong, who opposes Philadelphia on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. PT, expects to stick around longer than he did at Washington last Sunday. That night, Vogelsong received his first career ejection in the fifth inning just as he was hitting his stride, having allowed one run in four innings.

PHILS PHACTS:

Not Helping His Trade Value – Friday night at AT&T Park was one Cole Hamels would probably like to forget. The 2008 World Series Most Valuable Player lasted 3 1/3 innings in a 15-2 loss to the Giants, tying a career high in hits allowed (12) and giving up nine earned runs, the most he's surrendered over his 10-year career. "It's always nice and easy to have something that goes great, but sometimes that doesn't happen," Hamels said. "You have to keep battling. This game can be a physical and mental grind." Things got ugly from the get-go, as the Giants greeted Hamels with three straight singles to load the bases in the first inning. The left-hander got Buster Posey to ground into a double play and escaped having allowed just one run. But Hamels loaded the bases three more times in the fourth inning and San Francisco took full advantage. Two-run singles by Angel Pagan and Matt Duffy extended the Giants' lead to 5-1 before Hunter Pence smacked a grand slam off his former teammate to cap an eight-run frame. "Sometimes when you're not able to make the right pitches at the right time and you're leaving pitches out over the plate, confidence can build," Hamels said. "Especially with a good team." The three-time All-Star saw his ERA jump from 3.02 to 3.63 in what was his shortest start since April 5, 2011, an Opening Day loss to the Mets in which he surrendered six earned runs. Hamels has been a hot topic of discussion in the baseball world in recent weeks, as the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline steadily approaches. Hamels has publicly stated he would be open to being moved to a contender, and following Friday's game, he explained how he's dealt with trying to focus on pitching amid trade speculation. "You have a lot of things that are out of control," Hamels said. "Sometimes there's uncharted territory and you just kind of have to go with it and hope that you're going in the right direction." As the interim manager of a Phillies team that fell to 31 games under .500 three days before the All-Star break, Pete Mackanin said he knows where his ace is coming from. "I understand the situation he's in and I get it," Mackanin said. "When you're on a losing team, it's not a lot of fun."

Out Of Place On The Base Paths – Madison Bumgarner doesn't often run the bases. Occasional dinger off of an MVP aside, he much prefers keeping batters off of the bases to being on them himself. It's a lot of work, after all -- there's all that running, and it requires actually getting on-base in the first place. So, uh, maybe he's not familiar with how the whole baserunning process works. Because when Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco fielded a grounder and noticed MadBum on his way to third, the Giants starter's response was to ... well, we're really not sure what his end game was here

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are starting the season as expected and are now at the bottom of the NL east at 29-60. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and performance so far this season, this could end up being the worst team in franchise history! All time, the Phillies are 44-36-0 on this day.