Phillies win a strange one, continue domination in San Diego

SAN DIEGO -- Two balks on their starting pitcher. Their leadoff man called out for hitting outside the batter's box. Their No. 5 hitter told to stay in the box after being hit with a pitch.

It was a strange game for the Phillies, but it would end like their previous 12 games in San Diego: They walked off winners, 4-1 over the Padres, extending the club record for consecutive wins in any ballpark.

"Baseball is a weird game," said Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, whose team hasn't lost in Petco Park since a defeat there on Aug. 16, 2008.

Shane Victorino singled to begin a three-run rally in the seventh inning. An inning later, batting right-handed, the switch-hitter hit his second home run of the season. It came a few pitches after umpire Dan Bellino told him to continue batting because he'd leaned into a pitch that him in the shoulder.

"I hit a home run; that's all I need to say," Victorino said.

Cole Hamels (2-1) held the Padres (3-13) to one run over six innings despite two balks, the first multi-balk game by a Phillies pitcher since Paul Quantrill also had two in July 1995.

Hamels agreed with the first balk call, but he yelled in disagreement after umpire Bob Davidson called him for a second balk in the fourth.

The lefty escaped after each balk.

"You're got to take it for what it was and keep pitching," said Hamels.

Brian Schneider's first hit of the year, an RBI single off Padres reliever Andrew Cashner with none out and the bases loaded, tied the score 1-1 in the seventh. One out later, Juan Pierre's two-run single put the Phillies ahead 3-1.

The Padres' Edinson Volquez (0-2) took a 1-0 lead into the seventh, but Victorino hit a leadoff single and advanced to second base on Ty Wigginton's single. When Freddy Galvis bunted the ball between the mound and third base, neither Volquez nor third baseman Chase Headley moved toward the ball. The result was a single that loaded the bases.

"I screwed up," Headley said.

Cashner replaced Volquez and began with a 99 mile-per-hour fastball to Schneider, who was in the starting lineup because catcher Carlos Ruiz had a sore wrist. Schneider pulled the fastball into right field for a base hit to score Victorino.

Pierre yanked a slider into right field for his third and fourth RBI of the season.

"I got the groundballs I wanted," Cashner said. "They just didn't find the right spots."

Jonathan Papelbon allowed no baserunners to get his fifth save and improve the Phillies' Petco record to 24-4 while lifting the team's 2012 record to 7-7.

A Padres fans who grew up in San Diego, Hamels entered the game as Petco's all-time leader in ERA (1.23) with at least five starts. But the lefty needed Petco's large outfield and a strong defense to keep the Padres in check.

"It's nice pitching in a big ballpark," Hamels said. "I wasn't able to locate with too many pitches. Fortunately with the ballpark, you're able to get away with a lot of pitches down the middle."

In the third, the Phillies' defense stepped up. Galvis, the second baseman, made a difficult play to his left, and right fielder Hunter Pence made a running catch in deep right-center.

In the fourth, it was Hamels who made a stellar defensive play, using his glove creatively to retire Yonder Alonso at home plate. With one out, Volquez put down a safety squeeze bunt toward Hamels, who raced off the mound and with a scoop-and-flip of his glove sent the ball about 10 feet to his catcher, Schneider, well before the slow-footed Alonso arrived.

"I know I couldn't have gotten the ball with my bare hand," Hamels said.

The Padres took a 1-0 lead in the fifth on Cameron Maybin's leadoff triple and Jesus Guzman's RBI groundout to shortstop. The run ended a 21-inning scoreless streak by Phillies starters.

Volquez overcame a leadoff double by Hamels off the center-field fence in the third.

NOTES: Hamels had three career balks entering the game. ... Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz was out of the lineup because of a wrist injury suffered on Thursday when he jammed his wrist while tagging out the Padres' Will Venable. "The wrist was swollen," said manager Charlie Manuel. Brian Schneider started for Ruiz and might start Saturday's game as well. ... Phillies leadoff man Juan Pierre was called out for stepping outside of the batter's box while putting a bunt in play in the third inning.