July 21, 2012: Pitchers Matt Cain and Cole Hamels surrender three homers, one to each other

The early professional careers of Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels and San Francisco Giants pitcher Matt Cain were linked in several ways. Selected out of high school in the first round of the June 2002 draft, eight picks apart,1both made their major-league debuts after short minor-league stints. Each had early success in the majors, with two All-Star Game appearances and a World Series win before turning 28 years old. When questioned about the similarities in their careers, Hamels remarked, “I think we’re the opposite twins. Cain from the right side and me from the left side. I guess we were separated at birth.”2

When the 27-year-old Cain and 28-year-old Hamels faced each other on July 21, 2012, in Philadelphia, their teams were headed in opposite directions in the standings. With a 6-1 record since the All-Star break, the Giants had moved into first place in the National League West Division, while the Phillies, who had won the NL East five seasons in a row, had dropped to last place in the division by losing 13 of 18.

Cain and Hamels took the mound 11 days after both had pitched in the All-Star Game, pacing the NL to an 8-0 shutout win.3 Cain, who had thrown the 22nd perfect game in major-league history on June 13, entered with a 10-3 record and a 2.56 ERA; Hamels was at 11-4 and 3.07.

The Saturday night contest drew 45,989 fans, the 250th consecutive sellout of Citizens Bank Park. Many were wondering if this would be the last time they would see Hamels pitch in a Phillies uniform. His agent was negotiating with the Phillies on a contract extension for his client similar to the one Cain had signed earlier in the year. With the July 31 trade deadline approaching, it was possible Hamels would be traded if they failed to reach agreement.4

The only baserunners for the Giants in the first two innings reached on soft hits, a bunt single by Melky Cabrera in the first and an infield single by Joaquin Arias in the second.

In the Phillies’ first, Cain struck out leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins and retired Shane Victorino on a groundout to second. Chase Utley worked the count full, then pulled a pitch over the right-field wall for his third home run of the season.5 It was the first run the Phillies had scored off Cain in 2012. He had tossed nine scoreless innings against the Phillies on April 18 in San Francisco in an extra-inning Giants win.

Cain retired the Phillies in the second, then led off the top of the third. He entered the game hitting .143 for the season, but he had homered five times in his career.

On the third pitch from Hamels, Cain belted a home run down the left-field line to tie the score. It was the first home run Hamels had ever allowed to an opposing pitcher.

Nate Schierholtz and Ryan Theriot were retired, but Cabrera walked on four pitches. Cleanup hitter Buster Posey hit a home run to left, his 12th of the season, putting the Giants in the lead, 3-1.

Hamels batted with one out in the bottom of the third. Two starts earlier, on July 5, he had a two-hit game against R.A. Dickey of the New York Mets; for the season, he was batting .263.

Hamels turned on the first pitch from Cain and powered a home run to right field. It was his first career homer. “You wait long enough and hopefully, eventually, you can have one,” Hamels said.6

“I figured he’d try to put one out,” said Cain. “The most frustrating thing you can do is give up a homer to a pitcher.”7

Cain mastered the Phillies the second time through the lineup; his only blemish was hitting Utley with a pitch.8 The next time Hamels batted, he grounded into a double play to end the fifth inning.

Hamels surrendered a leadoff double to Ángel Pagán in the fourth, but the Giants could not cash in. In the fifth, with Schierholtz on second with a double and Theriot on first with a walk, Cabrera hit a liner toward second. Utley dived to catch the ball, then crawled to tag the bag with his glove just before Schierholtz could return. But Theriot stole second and Posey drove him in with a line-drive single to left, extending the Giants’ lead to 4-2.

The Phillies responded in the sixth to retake the lead. Rollins walked and Victorino singled to right. One out later, Ryan Howard, who had recently returned to the lineup after offseason surgery for an Achilles tendon injury,9 blasted his third home run of the year, over the right-center-field wall. The five runs scored by the Phillies were tied for the most relinquished by Cain all year.

Both teams were retired in order in the seventh, and Cabrera was due to lead off the eighth. He already had a bunt single, a walk, and the smash up the middle that Utley turned into a double play. This time he pulled a ball over the left-field wall to tie the game, 5-5.

Posey followed with a double and moved to third when Pablo Sandoval grounded out to shortstop. Gregor Blanco, who entered the game in the sixth after Pagan was tossed for arguing a called third strike, missed a squeeze sign and Posey was tagged out in a rundown. “A sense of dismay is a good way to put it, I guess,” said Posey. “I know Blanco feels worse about it than anybody.”10

Blanco walked and Arias singled. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel strolled to the mound and took the ball from Hamels, who headed off the field to a standing ovation from the sellout crowd. “The crowd knows that you gave it all you had,” he said.11

Antonio Bastardo induced a weak infield popup off the bat of Brandon Belt to end the threat.

There was no scoring in the eighth and ninth, and the game went into extra innings. Jonathan Papelbon, who retired the Giants on six pitches in the ninth, returned for the 10th. “He said he was fine and wanted to go back out,” said Manuel. “I figured that was our best option.”12

The two batters who had given Hamels the most trouble led off the inning. Cabrera walked on four pitches and motored to third on Posey’s fourth hit of the game, a single to right.13 Sandoval struck out, and Blanco stepped to the plate. After the failed bunt attempt in the eighth, Blanco was determined to drive in Cabrera. On a 3-and-1 count, Blanco pushed a perfect bunt down the first-base line and Cabrera scored the go-ahead run. “I had said to myself, ‘You’re going to get another opportunity to win this game,’” Blanco said.14

Papelbon escaped the inning without further damage, but the Giants had the lead. The run held up when the Phillies went down quietly in the bottom of the 10th. The loss was the Phillies’ 29th at home against 17 wins. “I don’t think anyone in the clubhouse expected us to be where we’re at,” said Papelbon.15

Neither Cain nor Hamels was involved in the decision. Neither pitcher was at his best; each surrendered three home runs, one to each other. “Both pitchers made mistakes,” said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. “They’re as good as anybody in the game.”16

Four days after the game, the Phillies signed Hamels to a six-year contract extension. With the uncertainty over Hamels’ future resolved, Philadelphia improved over the next two months to finish at .500, good for third place in the NL East.

The Giants won their 53rd game of the season. “We did it with a bunt today, and tomorrow we can do it with our pitching or with more homers. That’s why we’re playing so [well] this year,” said Blanco.17 San Francisco closed out the season with 94 wins and the NL West title. The Giants swept the Detroit Tigers in the World Series for their second championship in three seasons.

Both Cain and Hamels set career highs in wins in 2012 and finished in the Top 10 in the NL’s Cy Young Award voting. Both hit one more major-league home run after their matchup in Philadelphia. Cain hit his seventh career home run in 2016 and retired after the 2017 season. Hamels homered as a member of the Chicago Cubs in 2018 and retired in 2023.18

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Bruce Slutsky and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball Reference and Retrosheet for information including the box score and play-by-play.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI201207210.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2012/B07210PHI2012.htm

Notes

1 The Phillies selected Hamels 17th overall; the Giants selected Cain 25th.

2 Michael McGarry, “Phils Lose Hamels’ Possible Last Home Start,” Atlantic City Press, July 22, 2012: B1.

3 Cain started for the NL and pitched two scoreless innings. Hamels contributed a perfect seventh inning.

4 Matt Gelb, “Farewell to Arm?” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 22, 2012: D1.

5 Knee injuries had sidelined Utley, a five-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger Award recipient at second base, until June 27 in 2012.

6 Matt Gelb, “Hamels: ‘We Have to Give It Everything We Have’ Now,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 22, 2012: D10.

7 Rob Maaddi (Associated Press), “Giants Edge Phillies in 10th,” Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Sunday News, July 22, 2012: 23.

8 Utley was hit by pitches 204 times in his 16-season career. As of 2023, he ranked ninth in major-league history in that category.

9 Howard tore his left Achilles tendon while making the final out in the Phillies’ final game of 2011, a 1-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in Game Seven of the National League Division Series.

10 Alex Pavlovic, “Slugfest Ends Not With a Bang, but With a Vital Bunt,” Sacramento Bee, July 22, 2012: C1.

11 Mandy Housenick, “Hamels Return to Philly Not Certain,” Allentown (Pennsylvania) Morning Call, July 22, 2012: C1.

12 Matt Gelb, “Farewell to Arm?”

13 Posey won the NL batting title in 2012 with a .336 average and was selected as the league’s MVP.

14 Alex Pavlovic, “Slugfest Ends Not With a Bang, but With a Vital Bunt.”

15 Mandy Housenick, “Hamels Return to Philly Not Certain.”

16 Rob Maaddi (Associated Press), “Hamels’ Future in Doubt After Loss,” Centre Daily Times (State College, Pennsylvania), July 22, 2012: B4.

17 Alex Pavlovic, “Slugfest Ends Not With a Bang, but With a Vital Bunt.”

18 “Home Runs by Pitchers Off Each Other in the Same Game,” BaseballAlmanac.com, accessed December 30, 2023, https://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/2_HR_Pitchers_Same_Game.shtml.