Delayed Gratification: Phillies 9, Padres 4

When the Phillies last entertained the San Diego Padres in South Philadelphia, it was mid-April, and all that stood between a weekend Friars sweep was a Raul Ibanez walkoff homer that probably did as much as anything to help the new left fielder win over fans still missing Pat Burrell. In the emotional opener of that series, the club's first game back at home after the sudden passing of beloved announcer Harry Kalas, Cole Hamels was staked to early leads of 5-0 and 7-1 but surrendered three home runs to let San Diego back into it; the Padres completed the comeback against Ryan Madson for an 8-7 win that lifted their record to 9-3. The last game of the series, a rare Friday-to-Monday wraparound, was rained out, prompting the rescheduled contest tonight. 

Fast forward more than three months, and though San Diego had gone 28-55 in the interim, it momentarily looked like the same story would unfold. Cruising with a 4-0 lead in the fourth, Hamels was touched for a run scoring double and two-run homer by rookie Kyle Blanks, both with two outs, and the Phils' lead was down to 4-3. But the team chased San Diego starter Kevin Correia with four runs in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by a two-run Ibanez double, and were never seriously threatened again as they secured their 15th win in 17 games.

Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz each had three hits for the Phils, and Hamels recovered from his one rough frame to go seven innings, allowing four hits, two walks and three runs while striking out six to improve his record to 6-5 on the year.