Hamels goes eight shutout in win: Philadelphia starter Cole Hamels had his rematch with Bryce Harper and the Nationals on Wednesday night. Pitching in front of the home crowd, Hamels didn’t hit any batters on this night, but the result was the same. A win for Hamels. Hamels improved to 7-1 on the season as he pitched an absolute gem against Washington. Hamels surrendered just four base hits and three walks over eight shutout innings. Any time the Nationals threatened, Hamels shut them down. "We just couldn't get anything going off Hamels," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said. "You have to tip your hat to him. He's tough. He's done that to a lot of people." Hamels struck out eight batters and threw 114 pitches in the win. His ERA is now at 2.17 on the year. (Updated 05/23/2012)
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 5/25/12).
Fantasy Analysis
Hamels threw a few too many pitches to come up with the complete-game shutout on Wednesday, but he was pretty great for the Phillies nevertheless. Hamels even worked around a leadoff triple in his final inning to finish with eight shutout frames. Hamels has now won seven consecutive decisions over eight starts since taking his last loss on April 9 against Miami. He’s been one of the best pitchers in the majors to this point and has struck out 66 batters over 62 1/3 innings. Hamels is very much a must-start Fantasy ace at this point for owners in all mixed leagues. He will get two starts in the upcoming scoring period and his next outing comes Monday in New York against the Mets. (Updated 05/23/2012).
05/23/2012 23:22 Hamels (7-1) stops Nats; Phils end skid
Cole Hamels pitched eight scoreless innings, finishing up by retiring Bryce Harper on a grounder as the Philadelphia Phillies snapped a season-long four-game losing streak Wednesday night with a 3-1 victory against the Washington Nationals.
05/23/2012 00:59 The Lineup: Wainwright wows, Cubs crater
St. Louis got reacquainted with an old friend, the Cubs reached new depths, and a certain Met and a certain Brave enjoyed career nights. Oh, and get ready for Cole and Bryce, Part II.
05/21/2012 22:06 Gonzalez K's 9 in Nationals' victory
Gio Gonzalez allowed three hits over six innings and Ian Desmond homered and drove in both runs to lead the Washington Nationals to a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night.
Cole Hamels may have been the ace of the Phillies' 2008 World Championship team, but he was the third wheel in teammates Roy Halladay's and Cliff Lee's race to second place in NL Cy Young voting last year. But Hamels finished fifth in Cy Young voting himself and was arguably the team's best pitcher before the All-Star break, going 11-4 with a 2.32 ERA. So why wasn't he the one nipping at Clayton Kershaw's heels come season's end? Well, he missed a couple weeks in August with shoulder inflammation and endured a dead-arm period immediately before it. He also needed surgeries to repair a hernia and remove loose bodies from his elbow in the offseason. Apparently, he doesn't quite have the durability thing down like Halladay and Lee do, only once pitching as many as 220 innings in a season. Halladay has reached that number in each of the last six seasons and Lee in three of the last four. Still, you can't argue Hamels is anything less than an ace and at age 28, he seems to be getting better. Over his last 40 appearances (39 starts) dating back to 2010, he has a 2.57 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. Hamels may not be the No. 1 starting pitcher for the Phillies, but you'd be thrilled to have him as the ace of your Fantasy team. (Updated 2/17/12)
Actual 
AccuScore Projections) Note: Points are rounded down.
= probable start