Physically, though?
"It's tough to tell," Hamels said after holding the Marlins to four hits in seven scoreless innings in the Phillies' 10-6 win Wednesday. "Innings do creep on you. It's something where I think truly when you look at any year, 33 starts, 34 starts, whatever you have, there are going to be quite a few starts where you aren't feeling as good as when you have your good stuff or you are healthy or you have more jump in your step or something. But to be healthy, and to be able to execute pitches, and have a good plan, finally be able to attack that plan, I think that's all I can really ask for. And I do."
One of the great misconceptions of the last year in Phillies baseball is that Hamels was never himself in 2009, when he finished the regular season with a 4.32 ERA and then logged four disappointing starts in the postseason.
In fact, he threw two shutouts in his first 29 starts last season, which is two more than he has thrown in his first 29 starts this season. In that same stretch he threw at least eight scoreless innings three times, which is one more than he has right now. He threw at least eight innings and allowed two or fewer runs six times, which is the same number of times he has done it this year.
Yet through 29 starts last season, he looked to be a question mark. Through 29 starts this season, he looks to be an exclamation point on a Phillies team that would have homefield advantage throughout the playoffs if the season ended today. His dominance of the Marlins on Wednesday, when he never allowed a runner to reach third base, ran his scoreless-innings streak to a career-best 25. Not since Randy Wolf went 27 in 2002 has a Phillies starter produced such a run.
