Chicago Cubs: The acquisition of Cole Hamels saved the Cubs season

Chicago Cubs: Hamels makes an immediate impact on the mound for the Cubs

In Hamels’ Cubs debut he faced off with the Pittsburgh Pirates – and he looked right at home. In five innings, the lefty surrendered just one unearned run, while striking out nine batters and walking just two. He looked like the Hamels of old and earned his first win as a Cub in the process.

Hamels built on his success in his debut and put together a stellar August. The 34-year-old made six total starts winning four of them while allowing just three total earned runs. He finished the month with an ERA of just 0.69 in 39 innings pitched. During that span, he struck out 38 batters in comparison to 11 walks while allowing no home runs.

Perhaps his best performance of that month came in his Wrigley Field debut against the Washington Nationals for Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. He pitched seven dominant innings of one-run baseball, allowing the only run to score on a sacrifice fly in the second inning. After the run scored, Hamels set down the next 17 batters in a row. Over the course of the game, he allowed just one hit and one walk – striking out nine batters.

Two starts later against the Cincinnati Reds, Hamels was dealing again. He ended up pitching all nine innings, becoming the first Cubs pitcher to throw a complete game in 2018. He allowed just a single run while giving up eight hits and striking out seven.