There are any number of possible explanations for this ineffectiveness. An injury, however, isn't one of them.
Charlie Manuel said it could be that Hamels is trying to be too perfect after not getting a win since July 3 despite some excellent performances.
"He might be trying too hard to hold them down," the manager said.
The manager also pointed out that, in each of his last two starts, Hamels had one bad inning in which everything seemed to fall apart.
Carlos Ruiz had a different view.
"I don't see anything different. He's still got good stuff," the catcher said. "But his best pitch is his changeup and he's been leaving it up [in the strike zone] in the last two games."
Hamels said he tended to agree with Ruiz.
"Now that I think of it, in the big innings I've given up, I haven't been able to locate down in the zone," he said. "That's definitely an issue. I have to be able to locate that pitch if I want to put the team in a position to win."
Last night's loss stopped the Phillies' winning streak at five. With the Mets 7-3 loss at Houston, however, they maintained a 1-game lead in the National League East.
"I wanted to help the team out, especially with the winning streak," he said. "My last start was poor and I wanted to redeem myself. But I didn't do it."
It didn't help that Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse had a no-hitter going until Hamels singled with two outs in the fifth. By then, St. Louis had already built a 5-0 lead.
Lohse, who spurned a reported 3-year, $21 million offer from the Phillies and ended up having to take a 1-year, $4.25 million deal from the Cardinals late in spring training, hung around just long enough to improve his record to 13-3 when the Phillies knocked him out of the game in the sixth.
