Philadelphia at Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Pirates imploded yesterday in New York, where they had the Mets down 7-0, and ended up blowing the game in a 9-8 loss. That will rip apart the confidence of a young team. The Phillies pitching keeps them in every game and Cole Hamels at 7-2 with a 3.01 ERA is no exception. Hamels has had his greatest success vs. the NL Central where the Phillies are 29-10 in his last 39 starts. Hamels is also a wrecking crew vs. a losing team, as the Phillies have gone 45-15 when he starts against a sub-.500 team. The Pirates have been no match vs. the NL East as they are 19-42 in their last 61, and Karsten's pitching in rotation on four days rest has seen the Pirates go a woeful 1-10 in his last 11 starts. Philadelphia gets the call.