Eight strong innings from starter Cole Hamels and seven more runs by the offense leads the Phils to their first series win on the road as they beat the D-backs, 7-2.

The Phils took the lead in the first as, with one man on, and with two men out, Hunter Pence hits an RBI single, scoring Placido Polanco, who had earlier singled, then moved up to second base on catcher Henry Blanco’s passed ball, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead. The Phils tried to increase their lead later that inning as Pence tried to score on Laynce Nix’s double to left, but is gunned down at the plate by left fielder Jason Kubel, as Blanco applied the tag for the inning’s third out. They tried to increased their lead again in the second as, with a man on first, and with one man out, a wild pitch by Trevor Cahill got past Blanco and then went up the right field foul area, near the Phils’ dug out, allowing Carlos Ruiz, who had just singled, to go first to second base, and then to third base, before he headed for home plate since Cahill never went to cover home plate, but he is thrown out at the plate, 2-5, as third baseman Cody Ransom won the foot race to the plate, before applying the tag for the inning’s second out. The Phils finally added to their lead in the sixth as, with two men on, and with one man out, Juan Pierre, who had earlier singled, then moved up to second base on Polanco’s single, before going on to third on Shane Victorino’s ground out, 4-3, would score on Cahill’s second wild pitch of the ballgame, giving the Phils a 2-0 lead, while allowing Polanco, who had earlier singled, then stopped at second base on Victorino’s ground out, to move up to third base. The Phils then made it a 3-0 lead as Pence hits an RBI single, scoring Polanco. The Phils increased their lead three batters later as, with two men on, and with two men out, Ruiz hits an RBI single, knocking in Pence, who had stopped at second base on pinch hitter Ty Wigginton’s single, giving the Phils a 4-0 lead, while sending Wigginton, who had just singled, on to third. The Phils then took a 6-0 lead two batters later as, with the bases loaded, thanks to a walk to Freddy Galvis, moving Ruiz up to second base, and with still two men out, Cole Hamels helped his own cause by hitting a two-run single, knocking in both Wigginton and Ruiz, while sending Galvis over to third. The D-backs finally got on the scoreboard in the seventh as, with two men on, and with one man out, Kubel hits an RBI single, knocking in Aaron Hill, who had earlier singled, then stopped at second base on Justin Upton’s single, making it a 6-1 Phils’ lead, while sending Upton, who had just singled, up to second base. Two batters later, after Ransom had walked to load the bases, as both runners moved up a base, Upton would score on Paul Goldschmidt grounder, making it a 6-2 Phils’ lead, while second baseman Pete Orr would commit a force attempt, missed catch error, as he missed shortstop Galvis’ throw to second base, allowing Kubel to reach third and Ransom to be safe at second base, while Goldschmidt would be safe at first. The Phils then took a 7-2 lead in the ninth as, with a runner on first, and with nobody out, Polanco hits an RBI double, scoring Pierre, who had just singled. That would end up being the final score as Michael Schwimer, who had just been called up from the Lehigh Valley to replace Michael Stutes, who had just been placed on the disabled list last night, pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, getting Kubel to lined out to center for the game’s final out.

Cole Hamels (3-1, 2.73) got the win as he pitched eight strong innings, giving up two runs on four hits and a walk, while he struck out seven. Michael Schwimer threw a 1-2-3 ninth. Trevor Cahill (1-2, 3.70) took the lost as he went five and a third innings, giving up four runs on six hits, two walks, a passed ball and two wild pitches, while striking out three. Craig Breslow pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up two runs on three hits and a walk, while striking out a batter. Brad Ziegler and David Hernandez combined for two scoreless innings, giving up two hits (one hit each) between them, while striking out four Phils (two apiece). Joe Martinez pitched an inning, giving up a run on two hits, as he struck out a batter.

The Phils had thirteen hits in the game, with Placido Polanco (2 Singles, Double, RBI) and Carlos Ruiz (Singles, RBI) both leading the team with three hits apiece, followed by Juan Pierre (Singles) and Hunter Pence (Singles, 2 RBIs) who both had two hits each. Laynce Nix (Double), pinch hitter Ty Wigginton (Single) and Cole Hamels (Single, 2 RBIs) had the other three Phils’ hits. The final Phil run would score on a wild pitch. The Phils also had three walks in the ballgame, as the Phils’ now hot offense have scored 20 runs in their last nineteen innings.

The Phils (9-10, 4th East) will have an off-day tomorrow before starting a four-game weekend series with the Cubs, starting on Friday night, in Philadelphia.