PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Cole Hamels struck out nine in eight strong innings and Ryan Howard homered to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night.
Hamels (8-2) allowed six hits and walked none while lowering his ERA to 2.58 and continuing his mastery of the Dodgers. He improved to 3-0 with a 1.18 ERA in five career regular-season starts against Los Angeles. He also is 3-0 in three career postseason starts versus the Dodgers.
Howard’s sixth-inning homer to right off Hiroki Kuroda (5-7) gave Philadelphia a 1-0 lead. The Phillies had gone a season-worst 65 1-3 innings without a home run, and Howard had been 0 for 13 with six strikeouts previously against Kuroda.
Ryan Madson pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his 14th save in 14 chances.
