Hamels (3-6) allowed five earned runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five across 7.1 innings to take the loss Thursday against the Astros.
Hamels was burned by the long ball once again as three of his five runs came on the two home runs he allowed in the start. He has now surrendered two home runs in four consecutive starts, pushing his HR/9 to 1.9 for the season. Positively, he continued to show his renewed ability to miss bats by generating 13 swinging strikes against one of the better lineups in the American League. Despite the homer problems, his ratio stats are respectable for the season as he has a 3.86 ERA paired with a 1.24 WHIP.