Phillies Starter Cole Hamels Pitched Two Games While Suffering From Poison Oak

by Jashvina Shah on Sat, Jul 9, 2011 at 10:51PM

It's doubtful that All-Star pitcher Cole Hamels will fish in shorts on Roy Oswalt's property in the near future.

Hamel's latest fishing trip, on Oswalt's property, resulted in the Phillies pitcher getting poison oak. But Hamels ignored the pain and started two games in late June, one against the Athletics and the other against the Red Sox, Fox Sports reported.

"I didn't even know I was pitching. I didn't focus on pitching. It was one of those things where every pitch I was like, 'OK, I think I'm done,'" Hamels told Fox Sports.

In his start against the Athletics, Hamels went eight innings while giving up two earned runs. In a four-inning performance against the Red Sox, Hamels gave up two hits and no runs, but had to leave after a line drive went off his glove.

Hamels' teammate, Ross Gload, also caught poison oak. Cliff Lee, Carlos Ruiz and Oswalt, who were also on the fishing trip, did not.

"You're ready to quit. It wasn't because of my arm. It just hurt so bad. The sweat didn't help. It was the most miserable three weeks of my life. I didn't sleep for three weeks," Hamels said.

Hamels has made one start since his condition began to improve. His next start is scheduled for Sunday against the Braves.