After 14 straight Cole Hamels starts dating back to last year, the Rangers' streak of winning games in which he was the starting pitcher finally came to an end on Sunday against the Angels.
And while several games this year have seen the Rangers starter throw well only to get no run support, that wasn't the case for Hamels in his last start.
Hamels was killed by the free pass, an issue that has gotten to him all year with a WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) of 1.40, which is WAY higher than any season WHIP in his career, granted it's still early in the season. His walks per nine innings figure is currently at 4.5, nearly two higher than his career average.
To put it simply, walks have been a big issue for Hamels, and he's issued 15 walks in 30 innings this year after allowing just 23 in his 83 2/3 innings as a Ranger last year.
Hamels has been able to pitch around the control issues with the exception of his last time out when he walked four in five innings, which was the shortest outing of his Rangers career, dating back to last August. He'll hope to get back on track on Friday night against Detroit.
