For several minutes Friday night, Cole Hamels stood near the mound at Citizens Bank Park and talked.
Hamels thanked the scout who signed him, the coaches who mentored him, the teammates who supported him, and the fans who pushed him. He recounted the best times from a major-league career that lasted 15 seasons, the first 10 with the Phillies. Then, at the end of his speech, he tied everything together.
“And now,” Hamels said, “it’s this team’s turn.”
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The Phillies believe that. Deep down, all the way to the organization’s core, they think they’re good enough to win the World Series. But then, they had the same feeling last season, right up until the moment the Arizona Diamondbacks snatched it all away.
It was weirdly fitting, then, after Hamels passed the proverbial torch in a pregame ceremony to mark his retirement, those same Diamondbacks emerged with a 5-4 victory that reminded a sellout crowd of 44,436 paying customers — if not the league-leading Phillies — that nothing should be taken for granted.
Taijuan Walker gave up three homers in four innings, the latest in a series of duds for the embattled No. 5 starter. Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Gabriel Moreno, and Joc Pederson went deep to start the Diamondbacks to a 4-0 lead before there were two outs in the third inning.
Manager Rob Thomson came with the hook after four innings, replacing Walker with Spencer Turnbull. Walker’s velocity, diminished for much of the season, topped out at only 91.7 mph. His ERA rose to 5.60 ERA in 10 starts.
Walker didn’t pitch in the postseason last year and wasn’t happy about it. After the Phillies bowed in Game 7 of the NL Championship Series, he liked a social media post that was critical of Thomson for not using him.
But if this is what it would’ve looked like to send Walker to the mound against Arizona, well, it was the easiest decision Thomson ever made.
If anything, Walker’s performance will renew the calls to replace him with Turnbull in the starting rotation. Turnbull tossed three scoreless innings to keep the Phillies within striking distance. And homers by Trea Turner and Nick Castellanos helped to draw them to within 4-3 in the seventh and 5-4 eighth.
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Heck, the game was on Bryce Harper’s bat in the seventh inning. But with the bases loaded, one out, and the Diamondbacks clinging to a one-run lead, Harper chopped into a double play — pitcher, to catcher, to first base.
Easy as 1-2-3.
The loss also amplified the Phillies’ need for another right-handed hitter. Righties were hitting .328 with a .924 OPS against Diamondbacks starter Jordan Montgomery entering Friday’s game, so the Phillies stacked the lineup with right-handed hitters, including Cristian Pache in center field and Whit Merrifield in left.
It didn’t pan out.
After Edmundo Sosa’s two-out double in the second inning, Merrifield grounded out. When the Phillies threatened with two on and one out in the fourth, Merrifield flew to left field and Pache struck out looking on a changeup.
It was a snapshot of a larger problem. Thomson doesn’t trust Brandon Marsh against lefties, so in the aftermath of Johan Rojas’ demotion to triple A, the Phillies are running a platoon in both left field and center. And from the right side, Merrifield is batting .187 with a .563 OPS and Pache is at .206 and .592.
Opponents have noticed. Entering the game, the Phillies were leading the majors with 1,157 plate appearances against lefty starters and ranked 11th with a .726 OPS. They’re set up to face another lefty Saturday, and righties have walloped Arizona’s Tommy Henry, too. But his splits are more even than Montgomery’s.
Will Thomson stick with the platoons?
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Longer-term, the Phillies face a larger question. Because unless Castellanos gets on one of the torrid streaks that have eluded him this season, or Marsh suddenly starts hitting lefties, or Rojas delivers more offense whenever he returns from triple A, a righty-hitting outfield will become the most pressing trade-deadline need.
Put a pin in that. The deadline is still five weeks away.
The Diamondbacks almost did the Phillies a favor when they replaced Montgomery after six innings and only 83 pitches. Trailing 4-2, the Phillies loaded the bases and scored one run on Turner’s infield single before the double play by Harper.
