Much as I’d prefer to the bask in the glory of Jorge Sosa pacifying the defending AL Champs last night (and how about Willie Randolph leaving Sosa in to face the crazy hot Gary Sheffield with a runner on first in the 8th and the New York starter having already thrown 115 pitches?), Phillies hurler Cole Hamels has seen fit to crank up the level of rhetoric between his club and the Mets. From the News Journal’s Scott Lauber.

Cole Hamels (above) wasn’t pleased about serving up back-to-back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning Thursday against the Mets.

But the Phillies ace lefty was downright steamed about Paul Lo Duca’s reaction to hitting the third.

Lo Duca, the Mets catcher, flipped his bat and watched the ball clear the left-field wall at Shea Stadium. He hit Hamels’ first pitch after a delay while the Phillies protested the reversal of a call that awarded a homer to David Wright. Lo Duca’s shot gave the Mets a 3-2 lead.

“You need to act like you’ve done it before,” Hamels said Friday. “He’s a veteran. He should know better. It’s the old sacred game thing. There are little kids out there that are looking up to you. They look at what happens. That’s not the right way to do things.”

If he chooses, Hamels will have opportunities to express his displeasure. The Phillies and Mets play 11 more games, including June 29 to July 1 at Citizens Bank Park. If the Phillies starting rotation remains unchanged, Hamels will start in that series.

“It’s a situation where you know you’re going to face him for the next five, six, 10 years,” Hamels said. “It’ll be more in his head than mine, because I’ll have the ball in my hand, controlling what happens.”

Hamels has a point about young people looking up to Lo Duca. But enough about what happens in the men’s room of a Long Island nightclub — I’m just happy to see one member of the Phillies taking the pressure off Jimmy Rollins in the providing-bulletin-board-fodder department.

After closing to within 5 games of the first place Mets on Thursday, Philly slipped another game beind New York with an 8-4 loss last night to the fearsome (23-39) Kansas City Royals. Freddy Garcia allowed a pair of Mike Sweeny homers in KC’s 6 run 2nd inning, and the former White Sox starter will seek medical advice concerning a sore shoulder.

With KC and Texas each victorious in interleague play last night, the Reds completed a successful night for the Majors’ 3 worst clubs with a 4-3 defeat of the Indians, as highly touted rookie P Homer Bailey (above, 5 IP, 2 earned runs, 5 hits, 4 BB’s, 3 K’s) earned his first big league win.