Frustrated Phillies lose again

PHILADELPHIA – Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has an unusual way of measuring his frustration with his slumping team.

"I never put it up to a level," he said. "I just feel how hot my face gets." And it is, he said, "pretty damn hot."

Manuel had plenty of reasons for that heat after Philadelphia committed three errors and blew a two-run lead during an 8-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.

The last-place Phillies (28-31) have dropped a season-high six straight games. They are 12-19 at Citizens Bank Park for the worst home mark in the NL.

Once one of the majors' most difficult stops for opponents, Philadelphia has become quite the cozy ballpark for visiting teams.

"We don't scare (anybody)," Manuel said.

Cole Hamels (8-3) pitched six innings for the Phillies, yielding four runs, three earned, and six hits. The left-hander struck out six and walked one while dropping to 3-1 with a 1.64 ERA in six career starts against Los Angeles.

Hamels' frustration centered on a 2-2 pitch to Elian Herrera leading off the sixth inning. The pitch was ruled a ball, and Hamels then walked Herrera with Philadelphia holding a 3-1 lead.

Juan Rivera followed with a single, prompting pitching coach Rich Dubee to visit the mound. Hamels then retired Jerry Hairston Jr., but James Loney singled in Herrera and Tony Gwynn Jr. and Matt Treanor added two-out RBI singles. Treanor's tiebreaking hit was a broken-bat flare to left.

Hamels also allowed a fourth-inning run after back-to-back errors by third baseman Ty Wigginton.

"I don't let errors affect me," he said. "The walks, I do. I hate walking guys, especially to lead off an inning. . It obviously haunts you, and it has."

Manuel was asked if Hamels lost his composure in the pivotal inning.

"He might have lost it a little bit," he said, "but I think he stayed pretty cool."

Los Angeles added four runs in the ninth against Chad Qualls. Herrera hit a run-scoring grounder with the bases loaded that second baseman Mike Fontenot booted for an error. Andre Ethier stopped an 0-for-16 slide with a two-run double, and Hairston followed with an RBI single.

Rivera, Hairston, Treanor and Loney had two hits apiece for the Dodgers (37-21), who had not swept a four-game series at Philadelphia since Brooklyn accomplished the feat from May 24-26, 1946, according to STATS LLC. Aaron Harang (5-3) earned his 100th career victory.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly was not aware of the significance of the sweep until told by reporters afterward, and acknowledged it was "pretty cool."

"We really just got the momentum going here," he said.

Harang (5-3) allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings while improving to 100-97 in 11 seasons.

"Early on I was getting swings and misses from my fastball," he said. "Later I just tried to work on location. Fortunately I got some quick outs and kept my pitch count down."

Philadelphia took a 3-0 lead in the third following throwing errors by Alex Castellanos in right and Herrera at third. Hunter Pence hit an RBI grounder as Herrera threw wildly to the plate. Wigginton delivered a sacrifice fly and Fontenot had a run-scoring bloop single.

Wigginton, starting at third in place of injured Placido Polanco, misplayed consecutive grounders by Herrera and Rivera starting the fourth, leading to Hairston's sacrifice fly.

The Phillies have been beset by injuries, notably to Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Roy Halladay. But Wigginton said: "That's just an excuse, in my mind."

"I think we're a better team," outfielder Shane Victorino said. "We've all got to get a gut check, including myself."

NOTES: The Phillies recalled INF-OF Michael Martinez from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to fill the roster spot vacated when 2B Freddy Galvis was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a lower-back strain. ... The Phillies open interleague play Friday night in Baltimore, with Joe Blanton (4-6) opposing Jake Arrieta (2-7). ... The Dodgers send Nathan Eovaldi (0-2) to the mound Friday night in Seattle, against Kevin Millwood (3-5). ... The Phils announced that retired catcher Mike Lieberthal will be added to the team's Wall of Fame during ceremonies before the Aug. 10 game against St. Louis. ... The announced attendance was 44,096, the Phils' 235th consecutive regular-season sellout. ... Paula Abdul danced with the Phillie Phanatic on the field after the fifth inning.