Hitting propels Phils to victory

Charlie Manuel is hopeful that the worst has passed.

The Phillies have lost Ryan Howard, Brett Myers, Tom Gordon and Freddy Garcia to injuries this season. Howard is back and has seven home runs and 18 RBIs in 18 games since his return. The Phillies are hoping that Myers and Gordon could be back before the end of the month. They even hold out hope that Garcia could pitch again, although he is thinking about season-ending surgery.

But while the Phillies have watched those stars fall, constants like Cole Hamels and Chase Utley have kept them alive. Both played major roles last night in a 7-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Citizens Bank Park.

"I know this," Manuel said. "We've got some guys in there that want to come to the ballpark and win. I'm talking about winning every day. As long as they keep the same attitude, that's where they'll drag us."

Hamels allowed six hits, two runs and one walk in eight innings. He struck out eight. He improved to 9-2, which ties him for the major-league lead in wins. He also leads the majors with 104 strikeouts.

Utley went 3 for 3 with a home run and four RBIs. He is second in the National League with 52 RBIs.

Both are on pace to be NL all-stars. Utley leads the NL voting for second basemen, while Hamels' numbers seem too impressive to ignore.

"I think about it every year," Hamels said. "It's anybody's goal. What's the point of trying to be the best if you're not trying to go to the All-Star Game where the best play?"

Hamels and Utley helped the Phillies improve to 34-31, the first time this season they have been three games over .500. They have the best record in the NL since April 20, after they started the season 4-11. They are 30-20 since then, but the New York Mets still had an 81/2-game lead over them in the NL East on June 2.

But the Phillies would cut that deficit to just three games if the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Mets last night at Dodger Stadium.

"I didn't feel we were worried," Utley said.

The Phillies, who lost two of three this weekend to the Kansas City Royals, have a chance to sweep the White Sox this afternoon. The Phils will look to rookie righthander Kyle Kendrick, who is making the jump from double-A Reading because Garcia is on the disabled list with shoulder problems. The Sox will counter with lefthander John Danks.

The Phils had little trouble with Sox righthander Jose Contreras (4-7). They scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a 3-2 lead when Contreras walked Pat Burrell with the bases loaded and Greg Dobbs ripped a single through the right side of the infield to score Utley and Aaron Rowand.

Manuel said Dobbs has pushed himself into regular playing time against righthanded pitchers. Dobbs is hitting .284 with six home runs and 27 RBIs in 116 at-bats.

Sox second baseman Tadahito Iguchi booted a ball with two outs in the second, and Utley made Contreras pay. He crushed a two-run home run off the second-level façade in right field to make it 5-2. Utley knocked in two more runs in the fourth to make it 7-2.

"It all starts with Jimmy [Rollins] and Shane [Victorino]," Utley said of his run production. "Both of them can run, and I think that's important. They make it tough for the pitcher to focus because at any time, they can steal a base. I think that's an advantage for the hitter."

Hamels allowed back-to-back homers to Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye in the first inning to give the Sox a 2-0 lead, but he did not allow another run the rest of the way.

"The kid is legit," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said of Hamels. "He's the best pitcher we've faced from the National League so far."