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New guys help the Phillies beat the Padres, 5-2

Cole Hamels tossed seven strong innings and the Phillies beat the Padres, 5-2, at Petco Park in San Diego.

The Phillies' Freddy Galvis, Ben Revere and Domonic Brown celebrate after the game. (Don Boomer/AP)
The Phillies' Freddy Galvis, Ben Revere and Domonic Brown celebrate after the game. (Don Boomer/AP)Read more

SAN DIEGO - Give it up for the new guys. Darin Ruf, Domonic Brown, Freddy Galvis and Ken Giles were the pertinent names in the Phillies' 5-2 win over the Padres on Wednesday night.

In only his sixth start in 20 games, Ruf went 2-for-4 with a double and a pair of runs scored. Brown went 2-for-4 and scored a run. Galvis drove in two runs with a single in the fifth inning. And Giles cruised through the ninth inning in an appearance that in normal circumstances might have gone to suspended closer Jonathan Papelbon.

The Phillies scored four of their five runs in the fifth inning and addd the fifth in the sixth. That was more than enough to take advantage of another fine outing by Cole Hamels, who struck out nine, walked one, and allowed one run in seven innings. In doing so, the San Diego native lowered his ERA to 2.47, which would represent a new career low for a season (eclipsing the 2.79 he posted in 2011). Hamels, who threw 108 pitches, now has 189 2/3 innings on the season, giving him a very good chance of reaching 200 innings for the fifth consecutive season, this despite missing a couple of starts in the first month of the season as he recovered from a bout with biceps tendinitis.

Hamels said reaching that mark would mean "everything" to him.

"When you know you are going to be on the DL at the start of the season, you kind of throw that out of the window," he said. "It's different from 190-something. When you see that 2 at the start of the number, you know you accomplished something. I knew it was going to be a grind because of the DL stint, but that's what I'm gunning for."

Hamels is one of five pitchers in the majors to log at least 180 innings in each of the last eight seasons (Justin Verlander, James Shields, Felix Hernandez and Mark Buehrle are the others). He needs only four innings to reach 193 innings for the seventh consecutive season.

It had been 4 days since Ruf last started a game. In 19 starts heading into Wednesday, he had hit .286/.364/.500, but was only 2-for-21 with five strikeouts and no walks and two hit-by-pitches in 23 plate appearances as a pinch-hitter.

"That's the goal," Ruf said, "to get hits when you play."

He could get several more opportunities in the near future, with the Phillies' scheduled to face four straight lefties: the Padres' Robbie Erlin, and Oakland's Jon Lester, Drew Pomeranz and Scott Kazmir.

"He swings a good bat," manager Ryne Sandberg said. "Even when he sits for a little bit, he can put together a good game."

Ruf has been encouraged by his performance in a platooning role.

"It might be my role going forward, so I have to get used it it," he said.

Rookie third baseman Maikel Franco hit a double, his second extra-base hit since his call-up. Franco entered the night 6-for-21 with a double, a walk, a sacrifice fly, and five strikeouts in 33 plate appearances.