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Phillies gets big outings from Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard to beat Mets

Phillies lefty Cole Hamels keeps Mets' hitters in check. Slugger Ryan Howard homers in a 3-1 victory.

Phillies' pitcher Cole Hamels throws the baseball in the second-inning
against the New York Mets on Friday, May 8, 2015 in Philadelphia.  (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)
Phillies' pitcher Cole Hamels throws the baseball in the second-inning against the New York Mets on Friday, May 8, 2015 in Philadelphia. (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)Read more

THE DARK KNIGHT of Gotham arrived to South Philly for the first time in nearly two years.

But the leading man in the New York Mets' starting rotation doesn't work alone. It's "Matt Harvey Night" when he pitches at Citi Field. Last night, he brought a legion of followers with him down I-95.

The blue that intermingled with red at Citizens Bank Park wasn't the empty seats that have become a common fixture to Phillies baseball in 2015. They were Mets fans, attempting the take over the 12-year-old ballpark like the bad ol' days at Veterans Stadium.

Just as they were for the better part of the last decade, the traveling party from New York was silenced.

Cole Hamels outpitched Matt Harvey, the New York ace with the Dark Knight nickname, and Ryan Howard hit a go-ahead home run off the Mets righthander as the Phillies defeated their divisional foes, 3-1.

Cole Hamels, dubbed "Clark Kent" by the Phillies media relations staff yesterday, held the Mets to one run over seven innings on a night when 32,734 came to Citizens Bank Park - the largest crowd since Opening Day.

"I wish Harvey would pitch the next two days, so we would have a crowd, that would be great," Hamels joked. "We had something good going, and hopefully they'll be able to get it back, because this is the best place to play when you have a sellout, 45,000 fans that are supporting you, with a few who aren't supporting you. That's the game. That's what you live for."

On a night that began with the billing of superheroes, a man who fashions himself as a villain got to play a starring role, too.

Jonathan Papelbon set down the Mets in the ninth inning to record his sixth save of the season and his 112th in a Phillies uniform. Papelbon, who was pitching in a save opportunity for the first time in 10 games, is tied with Jose Mesa for the franchise record in saves.

"It's really humbling to be at the top with Jose Mesa," Papelbon said. "I didn't necessarily come here and do this and break this milestone. I came here to hopefully win some championships . . . For me, it's very humbling to be atop this organization, with all the history it has."

Long before Papelbon jogged in from the bullpen, Hamels had set the tone for a night when everyone expected to see stellar starting pitching.

Hamels, who was touched up for six runs a week ago in Miami, retired six of the first seven hitters he faced. He allowed only one hit entering the fourth inning.

Hamels, who gave up seven home runs in his first three starts of the season, has allowed only one in his last four starts. He attacked the inside of the plate last night.

"From what I saw, that's what I needed to do to make the game more my game," Hamels said. "I couldn't let them get extended. The game plan changes. You have to be on top of it."

In the fourth, things got a little hairy for the 31-year-old, future prize of the trade-deadline season.

After striking out former teammate John Mayberry Jr., who was hitting third in the Mets' order, Hamels served up two singles and a walk, and mixed in two wild pitches, too. Hamels and Carlos Ruiz appeared to be mixed up on the second wild pitch, which brought home Michael Cuddyer with the game-tying run.

"I messed up," Hamels said of not reading signs correctly. "That's all me."

But Hamels left the bases loaded, striking out Harvey to end the inning. He yelled something inside his glove as he walked off the mound.

Hamels, who has dealt with poor run support for more than two years, had surrendered the lead. But he didn't have to wait long to get it back.

Howard jumped on the first pitch in the bottom half of the inning, a 95-mph fastball from Harvey, and hit it to left-center, just out of the reach of Gold Glove centerfielder Juan Lagares and into the seats.

The home run was Howard's sixth of the season - all have come in his last 15 games.

"It's awesome," Hamels said. "It's really good to see. He's been working his tail off. The extra work, the early work, in the cages. Just like Chase [Utley], you want those guys to go out there and put up the numbers I'm accustomed to seeing, and you know they're going to be able to do so. So it's great to see Howie being able to do that right now."

Howard, who also knocked in the game's first run, is hitting .278 (15-for-54) with six home runs 13 RBI in his last 15 games. He went 2-for-3 with a walk last night.

"The contact, the quality of the at-bats, laying off pitches, taking some walks," manager Ryne Sandberg said. "Howie looks like he's gained a lot of confidence. That goes with the quality at-bats he's had."

Freddy Galvis co-starred with Howard, going 3-for-3 with two stolen bases and a run scored. He's hitting .351, fourth in the National League.

On the other end of the spectrum are Cody Asche, hitless in his last 20 at-bats, and Utley, hitless in his last 19. Utley (0-for-4) is hitting .099 this season.

Sandberg was asked whether moving Utley down in the order was an option.

"I just take it a day at a time," Sandberg said. "With him, I've been thinking about a lot of things with Chase . . . He'll continue to grind."

Blog: ph.ly/HighCheese