ANAHEIM, Calif. — The walk is lonely for a pitcher after he is humbled, and that is what baseball did to Jake Thompson in Wednesday night’s 7-0 drubbing. The Phillies righthander threw 35 pitches in a seven-run Angels third inning. Three of them traveled a combined 1,270 feet in the air. They were not cheap home runs.
He descended the dugout steps at Angel Stadium. A coach, then two teammates patted him on the butt. Thompson removed his hat, buried his face in a towel, and stared straight ahead. He was once a regarded pitching prospect in the Phillies system, one of the key pieces in a trade for Cole Hamels, and his stock has fallen.