Cole Hamels is pitching exactly the way the Chicago Cubs had to envision when they acquired him from the Texas Rangers at the Trade Deadline. He stayed hot on the mound Thursday night, going the distance in the Cubs' 7-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field. Hamels struck out seven and walked just one, improving to 4-0 as a member of the Cubs. The left-hander did give up eight hits, but was still able to complete his 17th-career complete game.
It was his first complete game with the Cubs, as he has posted a 0.79 ERA in five starts with his new team. This comes after going 5-9 with a 4.72 ERA in 20 starts with the Texas Rangers this year. Right before the trade is when he was at his lowest of lows, as Hamels was just 1-3 with an 11.12 ERA in his final four starts with the last-place Rangers.
The 34-year-old explained his turnaround with the Cubs as "getting back to the basics" following his struggles. He is now with a first-place team, which has rejuvenated his season, and he was supported well on Thursday night. Both Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo went deep on the night, as those two long balls came off of Reds starter Anthony DeSclafani, who dropped to 6-4 on the year.
The Cubs slowly pulled away in this one, getting two in the first, one in the third, one in the fifth, and three in the seventh inning. Chicago now holds a three-game lead on the St. Louis Cardinals for the top spot in the NL Central Division. One down side to the day is that they were once again forced to send Tyler Chatwood to the disabled list with a hip injury. They will continue this series with the Reds on Friday afternoon.
It was his first complete game with the Cubs, as he has posted a 0.79 ERA in five starts with his new team. This comes after going 5-9 with a 4.72 ERA in 20 starts with the Texas Rangers this year. Right before the trade is when he was at his lowest of lows, as Hamels was just 1-3 with an 11.12 ERA in his final four starts with the last-place Rangers.
The 34-year-old explained his turnaround with the Cubs as "getting back to the basics" following his struggles. He is now with a first-place team, which has rejuvenated his season, and he was supported well on Thursday night. Both Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo went deep on the night, as those two long balls came off of Reds starter Anthony DeSclafani, who dropped to 6-4 on the year.
The Cubs slowly pulled away in this one, getting two in the first, one in the third, one in the fifth, and three in the seventh inning. Chicago now holds a three-game lead on the St. Louis Cardinals for the top spot in the NL Central Division. One down side to the day is that they were once again forced to send Tyler Chatwood to the disabled list with a hip injury. They will continue this series with the Reds on Friday afternoon.
