Harper would welcome Hamels
PHILADELPHIA >> With the Phillies among the teams to have scouted free agent Cole Hamels for a possible pennant-race boost, there looms one particular issue. Bryce Harper.
It was Harper, then 19-year-old Nationals rookie, who was hit deliberately by a Hamels pitch in a celebrated 2012 welcome-to-thebig-leagues moment.
Since the Phillies are no longer Hamels’ team, Harper’s blessing of the left-hander’s return would be valuable.
So?
“Cole was one of the best to ever wear a Phillies uniform,” Harper said Friday, after a 5-1 victory over Atlanta. “So I have a lot of respect for him and the way he went about it for his whole career. Any team that gets him is going to be very good. And anyone who has seen him in the postseason knows what he can do.
“So I think any team that gets him is going to be very good.”
Not including three innings last season with the Braves, Hamels has not pitched since 2019 and has auditioned for multiple teams. Should he sign, he would need weeks, not days, to round into shape.
As for Harper, he was a difference-maker Friday. when he was the first Phillie to steal second, third and home in a game since Jayson Werth in 2009. His three stolen bases were a career-high.
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With the Phillies on a three-game losing streak, Zack Wheeler needed to be a stopper Friday.
That, he was, striking out eight in seven innings to improve to 8-5.
“When you lose three in a row, you need a win, obviously,” he said. “So you want to go out, pitch a good game and keep runs off the board as much as possible for our guys.”
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Sam Coonrod had a setback in Allentown, where he was on a rehab assignment. He has been on the IL with forearm tendinits since June 24.
Coonrod assured reporters that all tests were encouraging and that he will be “fine.”
In 27 games with the Phils, the veteran righthanded reliever is 1-2 with a 4.18 ERA.
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Matt Moore’s ERA was up to 5.79 after a dull start Thursday, when he allowed six runs in six innings.
“His curveball was fairly effective, his changeup was fairly effective,” Joe Girardi said, “but he got beat on his fastball.”
In the midst of a stretch where they are scheduled to play on 20 consecutive days, the Phils need the veteran left-hander to provide length.
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Alec Bohm returned from the Covid-related IL and started at third base. Mauricio Llovera was returned to Lehigh Valley, giving Didi Gregorius a night off against lefthander Max Fried.
Gregorius, who had two hits in his previous eight games, had a double and a triple in a 7-2 loss to the Braves Thursday.
“I’m always looking forward to helping the team,” Gregorius said. “I am taking it day by day and take all my work around the cage out there. You’re not going to be successful every day. But at least you can go out there and battle.”