Game 21: Hamels makes season debut vs. L.A.

The long-awaited return of Cole Hamels comes Wednesday night against Zack Greinke and the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine.

Beerleaguer is back -- and just in time for Hamels' season debut.

The lefty has dominated the Dodgers in his career, going 3-1 with a 1.76 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in seven starts. He's also beaten them three times in the playoffs.

But this bunch isn't those Dodgers. Hanley Ramirez, Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Scott Van Slyke and Justin Turner are batting a combined 42 for 130 (.323) off Hamels with 16 doubles and four homers. They're all in the lineup tonight.

Hamels is also a notoriously slow starter, especially in his first start of the year. Hamels has a 9.55 ERA and 2.123 WHIP in his last five season debuts. He also has a career ERA of 3.92 in March/April -- the highest of any month.

Zack Greinke (3-0, 2.42) goes for the Dodgers. Surprisingly, he's yet to pitch into the seventh inning in any of his four starts.

Lifetime at Dodgers Stadium, Greinke is 10-2 in 17 starts with a 2.10 ERA and 0.949 WHIP -- both his lowest marks in any park where he's pitched at least five times.

OF NOTE...

• Cody Asche isn't in the starting lineup for the third straight night and the sixth time in 11 games. The young third baseman is just 6 for 42 (.143) at the plate minus his three-hit season opener. In his place, Freddy Galvis (1 for 18) mans the hot corner.

• Maikel Franco is 9 for 67 at Lehigh Valley with no homers.

• B.J. Rosenberg (6.1 IP, 6 R, 13 H, 3 BB) was optioned to Triple A to make room for Hamels.

• Key matchups for Greinke: Marlon Byrd (3 for 20, HR), Jimmy Rollins (3 for 14), Ben Revere (6 for 14)

• Key matchups for Hamels: Ramirez (17 for 63, 10 2B, 2 HR), Matt Kemp (9 for 25), Justin Turner (5 for 11)

• The Dodgers are hitting .203 and have scored 21 runs over the last eight games.

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Comments

[Mike Wisniewski]

For those who don't know, why Typepad has been on and off (and mostly off) the past week:

http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/21/say-media-owned-blogging-platform-typepad-enters-day-5-of-on-and-off-ddos-attacks/

[amazed like a met]

Holy cow, a new thread!

[Willard Preacher]

Thanks, Mike! You're still my favorite from Monsters, Inc! ;)

I kid a ton, but you actually appear to be one of the few who gets this place. I'd love to hear the gory details of the red tape you likely incur with Comcast. Perhaps over a beer at CBP someday.

[sully]

"Thanks, Mike! You're still my favorite from Monsters, Inc! ;)"

That's crap. I'm the one with all the scaring records.

[BobbyD]

The biggest news is I make my Dodger Stadium debut tomorrow. Can't wait. But of course I get Kendrick. But I also get a Kershaw bobblehead.

[Cyclic]

When should we start being worried about Franco?

Seems like every time I see the minor league roundup posts it's "Franco 0 for 4"

And any word on why Asche is in Sandberg's doghouse?

[NEPP]

Michael Pineda ejected for foreign substance on his neck.

What a dumbass.

[NEPP]

***And any word on why Asche is in Sandberg's doghouse?***

Sandberg actually saw him play.

[NEPP]

***When should we start being worried about Franco?***

When he gets up to the 200-300 PA threshold and he's still sucking. Till then, dont worry about it. New league, young for it, poor weather, etc etc. Dont stress it for now.

[Willard Preacher]

"Michael Pineda ejected for foreign substance on his neck."

And yet Bruntlett got away with that face/beard for years.

[NEPP]

I mean seriously...learn how to use suntan lotion like everyone else. Who the hell puts a big glob of pine tar on their neck?!?

[Cyclic]

2014:
Asche: .196/.275/.304/.579, 51 PA
Galvis: .056/.143/.056/.198, 18 PA

Career:
Asche: .226/.296/.370/.666, 230 PA
Galvis: .223/.263/.361/.624, 443 PA

Has Sandberg seen Galvis play?

[NEPP]

Yeah but Galvis is versatile.

[NEPP]

Michael Wacha: 8 SO through 2.2 IP.

[NEPP]

Make that 9 SO through 3 IP for Wacha.

[NEPP]

https://twitter.com/SBNationMLB/status/459120998281801728/photo/1

Very subtle by Pineda.

[bay_area_phan]

In fairness to Sandberg, he is trying to win games and Galvis may well be a better player than Asche. Neither has demonstrated any ability to hit. But one guy is an impact defensive player and one guy is defensively below average.

[bay_area_phan]

Since I've been accused of dumping on the guy, I hasten to point out that Biddle is having his 2nd straight really nice outing tonight. None of the wildness which plagued him last year has been present early this season.

[NEPP]

Why do you hate Jesse Biddle, bap?

[Curt]

I thought the one thing we knew about Asche is that he required a couple of months to adjust to each new level. I guess the FO has decided that he isn't going to get it done at this level. Seems premature, since no one is pushing him.

[Willard Preacher]

Galvis's perceived "versatility" (i.e. mediocrity across a multitude of positions) is all the more reason to use him off the effing bench!!!!

I'd rather have him as a late inning defensive replacement (his only real value) than getting 3-4 AB's over an equally terrible offensive player who likely has more upside and not nearly the same late game defensive value.

Perhaps Sandberg is saving his bat for later?

[jr]

Biddle has 9 SO also.Just took twice as long as Wacha. Perkins still hot,Ceasar o for last 11. Most important Joseph has started to hit.

[bay_area_phan]

NEPP: I don't. It's just that, over the last few years, we've had multiple hot pitching prospects who completely flamed out (i.e., May, Colvin, Carrasco, Drabek, Aumont, Ramirez), often because they couldn't throw strikes. Given this trend, I found it troubling that the guy who was universally regarded as our best pitching prospect had a really horrible 2013 season in which he could not throw strikes.

If he can turn things around this year, I'd be thrilled.

[NEPP]

I was just kidding, bap.

[NEPP]

And the wheels just fell off for Wacha in the 4th as he walks in a run.

[NEPP]

Biddle probably done after 7 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 10 SO, 1 BB.

Nice.

[Bonehead]

NEPP, why do you hate Wacha?

[NEPP]

Because hes starting against me this week in FBB.

[GBrettfan]

I read this a few days ago and thought some of you might like it.

Mike Reinold ‏@mikereinold Apr 22
5 Reasons Why There Are So Many MLB Tommy John Injuries- #1: Injuries are higher the first month of the season http://buff.ly/1jBUWK5

[NEPP]

Great article, GBrett.

[Bonehead]

Given that, GBrett, I hope that the Phils are being appropriately cautious with Cole.

[PLM]

Giving Asche a few days off is good. I would inject him in the line up sooner than later. Offensively he has more upside than Galvis. Needs work on that glove but this comes to little surprise. He'll probably never be Feliz like.

[Jack]

I don't really know what to say on the Asche situation.

Part of me just really enjoys watching Freddy Galvis play defense, so I like him being in the starting lineup (as opposed to Nix, obviously). Part of me doesn't think all that highly of Asche generally, so I am neither all that surprised they soured on him nor all that disappointed.

But a big part of me thinks this is ridiculous--if there's one thing this team should be doing, it's giving a young guy a chance to play his way out of a slump and establish himself as a starter for the next few years. Especially when it's not like he's blocked--this isn't Dom being benched for Hunter Pence when he was acquired. Cody Asche is almost surely a better everyday 3B *right now* than Galvis or Nix. And he has a chance to be a starter for them going forward (granted, I think it's not a high chance and I don't think he'll be a particularly great player, but it's a chance nonetheless).

[Coach Kent Murphy]

Keep and eye on tocci. This kid is starting to hit more constantly. The Lakewood team top 4 hitters starting to put it together. Would love to see tommy stay solid too.

[Reality]

Part of me thinks Jack is rooting for failure at all times when it comes to this team so his "positive thoughts" are phony.

[sully]

This feels like a loss.

[bay_area_phan]

Oh, my bad. I forgot to change that sully handle. Fixed it now.

[Iceman]

I really like Matt Stairs, and I think he seems like a really genuine person (unlike the used car salesman sitting next to him). He also seems very determined to do a good job.

I really hope he gets better at it, though, because 90% of the time he's been brutal.

[MG]

If McClure has any ' cliches delievered' incentive clauses in this contract, he'll obtain all of them.

[NEPP]

Stairs is notably better now than he was a month ago. He's also better in a 2 man booth than a 3 man.

[GBrettfan]

I kind of like listening for his Canadian accent when he says "about". Which, by the way, is similar to how lifelong Virginians say it. At least that's how I remember them sounding when I lived there for a few years.

I'm rooting for Stairs to succeed, too, Iceman. But whereas I listen to Moyer for his insights, I'll put the radio on more often than not when Stairs is the color commentator.

[MG]

Wish they had Moyer in the booth tonight given the caliber of the starters and it being Hamels first start.

[PLM]

He's been slumping all season long basically. This is the time for him to sit. This doesnt necessarily mean that they soured on him. I actually wasnt sold on the Franco Chochoo express bandwagon. I wanted to see a little more before getting hyped up. Asche has the potential to become a decent player. He must be giving a opportunity even if that goes into next year. Frandsden was the back up in case Asche needed to be sent down for a bit.

[Iceman]

Agreed NEPP. I think he's getting a better idea of when to chime in and when to shut up.

He's also gotten a lot better with mumbling. Those first couple of games you could barely tell he was there, or what he was trying to say.

[MG]

Not a bad approach by the Phils' hitters there. Take pitches, work some counts, and swing at 2-strike pitches over the plate.

[BobbyD]

Forgot Hamels was 8-14 last year.

[BobbyD]

Hamels "stuff" looks good.

[MG]

Hamels didn't get that pitch ?

[NEPP]

Hamels looks great.

[Iceman]

I expected him to come out looking like crap, so that was a nice surprise. Change up looks great.

I thought he struck Hanley out once, if not twice.

[GBrettfan]

Ump isn't being generous.

Good to have Cole back.

OT, but since it's Wrigley's 100th birthday....Some fun & interesting stuff in here. And a video featuring Ryne Sandberg.

http://voices.suntimes.com/sports/100-years-of-wrigley-field-photos-videos-and-somewhat-obscure-facts/#.U1hzBOZdUlY

[bittel]

Hamels does look good. SO does Greinke thought.

Dom bomb here 3-0? Let him swing.

[Iceman]

God Brown is slow.

[MG]

Ugh. Another misplay in LF by Brown and had no chance at 2nd to get Kemp. Sucks defensively and I have given up on him really improving.

[MG]

Crowd thought initially it was a HR until they remembered it was Turner.

[MG]

Nice throw Howard.

[fumphis]

Home Dodgers games for me are always a Vin Scully occasion. He's to be savored while he's around.

[bay_area_phan]

Well, it would be difficult to look any more pathetic than they did in those first 3 innings.

[bittel]

Nice Piece. Of hitting.

[Dickie Thong]

I counted three hops for Revere to get the ball to the 2nd base bag.

[docjoe]

Stairs has no clue who Don Newcomb is. Makes us yearn for Wheels.

[Curt]

There have been many times in recent years when it seemed the 3B situation couldn't get any worse. Wrong.

[lorecore]

I wonder how many PA vs Grienke it would take for Galvis to get a base hit off him?

Lets see, take his K%, BABIP, GB% rate, HR/FB%, OPS against, whiff%, Z-contact, O-contact, multiply by park factors, adjust for wind and altitude, take the square root of his milb splits, find the derivative of their age curve and then you come up with.....

A lot.

[bay_area_phan]

"There have been many times in recent years when it seemed the 3B situation couldn't get any worse. Wrong."

It's a pretty shocking state of affairs when Pedro Feliz is your team's best 3rd baseman of the last decade.

[bittel]

Wtf walking Greinke.

[GBrettfan]

Never a good thing when you walk the opposing pitcher.

[bay_area_phan]

It's hard to have a good feeling about this . . .

[Dickie Thong]

PADFG.

[Papelbon]

I didn't stay up for this

[GBrettfan]

Nice play by Utley to get out of that inning.

[lorecore]

Grienke now has a higher career BB% than our leadoff hitter.

[HammRadio]

ok. make'em pay.

[bay_area_phan]

I'm sure glad we signed Marlon Byrd to a 2-year deal. Brilliant off-season acquisition.

[Jack]

In a shocking development, it seems that signing Marlon Byrd at age 36 coming off a career year hasn't delivered the results Rube was hoping for.

Oh well, nothing you can do but keep signing old guys. It has to work sooner or later, right?

[bittel]

We dodge another bullet from the midnight arm of Ben Revere.

[Curt]

It was just about a year ago when Placido Polanco tagged up at 1b and move up on a routine fly to our CFer. Actually kinda surprised at how little most teams take advantage of that arm.

[bay_area_phan]

Re-signing Chooch isn't looking too brilliant either. His hitting looks every bit as bad as last year and his defense looks even worse.

[Curt]

Well at least Asche didn't K.

[bay_area_phan]

Well, scratch that last post. Chooch somehow had an .806 OPS coming into tonight. I guess it wasn't noticeable because a good deal of that number is attributable to his 10 walks in 68 PAs.

[bittel]

Seems to me more and more teams are catching on, Curt.

And is Dom Brown ever in good position to throw the ball into the infield after he fields it?

[Curt]

The BP promptly works its magic.

[bay_area_phan]

For a guy whose defense came advertised as plus, Marlon Byrd sure does suck defensively. In fairness, there was no way to foresee that his defense would start to decline when he's still only 36.

[bay_area_phan]

Am I alone in the belief that, if Galvis had still been in the game, that Greinke double might have be a Greinke ground-out?

[Cyclic]

They better score at least twice so this can be a LATTB

[HammRadio]

Or that Chooch struggled early and has started to come on as of late...

Last 7 days for Chooch coming into tonight:
.286/.375/.786/1.161

[Cyclic]

I don't think so bap, judging by the fact that they promptly got Nix into the game

[bay_area_phan]

I don't believe that just happened.

[bittel]

Blind squirrel alert.

[Cyclic]

Omfg

[Dickie Thong]

He'll be starting at 3B the rest of the week now.

[HammRadio]

I know TMac has a tough time judging flyballs. But I swear he just said Jayson Nix hit a home run off Zach Grienke. That can't be true right?

[Curt]

Maybe Revere will go back to back.

[Cyclic]

Wrong night for an 0fer, Ben

[Dickie Thong]

Matt Gelb (@magelb)
Jayson Nix's last five home runs have come off the following pitchers: Greinke, Buehrle, Darvish, Verlander, Lester

[HammRadio]

In this inning alone... Tmac has called Rollins Howard and Ethier Grienke.

[Cyclic]

I miss scorching hot Utley

[Lou Costello]

Who's on first?

[bay_area_phan]

Good work by the bullpen tonight.

[GBrettfan]

Phillies ‏@Phillies 3m
Make a nice catch: http://atmlb.com/1hqASHV
Then hit a home run: http://atmlb.com/1hqARnp
The Jayson Nix way. #Phillies

[Curt]

Well at least he avoided the lead off walk.