Hamels tossed five innings Friday against the Angels, allowing four runs on five hits and three walks while striking out five. He did not factor into the decision.
For the second start in a row, the southpaw was unable to get much going on the mound. He needed 101 pitches to complete five frames, and just 59 of those went for strikes. After a stellar start to the month of August, the 33-year-old has fallen off. He's given up 10 runs over his past two starts, raising his ERA 50 points to a 3.92 mark, notably higher than his 3.34 career mark. Hamels still holds a solid 1.17 WHIP to go with a 9-2 record, but a low strikeout rate and an abnormally low BABIP suggest that his recent hiccups aren't just a blip on the radar. He'll look to right the ship in his next scheduled start Wednesday in Atlanta.