Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Chase Utley singled home the go-ahead run in the fourth and the Philadelphia Phillies held on to beat the Seattle Mariners 4-3 in the rubber match of a three-game set.
Wil Nieves finished 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored and Jimmy Rollins scored twice as the Phillies picked up their first ever series win against the Mariners.
Cole Hamels (7-6) got the win for his five innings of work. He let in three runs and gave up nine hits, while striking out four to pick up his first win in his last four starts.
"It was a struggle for Cole," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "He wasn't quite himself out there. He was up in there. He missed some pitches, but was just good enough to battle through his five innings...It was good to have the run support behind him. The bullpen was outstanding"
Philadelphia's relievers held Seattle scoreless for the final four frames, striking out nine batters and the Phillies won for just the third time in their last nine games.
Kendrys Morales hit a solo homer and Logan Morrison hit an RBI double for the Mariners, who have dropped three of five on the heels of a five-game winning streak.
"I feel like we gave the game away," Morrison said. "We had opportunities early, errors, passed balls, wild pitches, whatever, it feels like we gave them all four runs."
James Paxton (3-1) suffered his first big league loss, surrendering four runs -- one earned -- on seven hits and two walks, while striking out five. He had gone nine starts without a loss, including six victories, dating back to last season.
Morales' lead-off shot in the second gave Seattle an early lead.
Marlon Byrd's RBI single tied the game at one apiece in the third. Rollins doubled and Utley followed with a walk. Ryan Howard flew out to left for the second out of the inning, but Byrd lined one softly into right, scoring Rollins.
Seattle responded with two runs in the next half inning. Kyle Seager walked to open the fourth and Chris Denorfia hit a ground ball to third. Andreas Blanco dove, knocking the ball down with his glove, but threw wide of second trying to get the lead runner, allowing Seager to advance to third. With runners on the corners, Morrison hit a liner into left-center, scoring Seager and moving Denorfia to third.
Jesus Sucre was next up, but he and Denorfia had a miscommunication. Denorfia ran home on what appeared to be a suicide squeeze attempt, but Sucre never laid down the bunt and Denorfia was out easily. Sucre eventually singled in the at-bat and Paxton moved the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt. With Austin Jackson batting, Morrison scored a wild pitch by Hamels.
Three runs gave the Phillies the lead in the fourth. Nieves dropped one into shallow center field to leadoff the inning. Blanco hit a line drive up the middle that struck Paxton on the mound. He picked it up, but threw over Morales' head at first and the runners advanced to second and third. A passed ball allowed Nieves to score and Blanco to move to third. After Hamels struck out, Blanco scored when Ben Revere grounded out to short.
With nobody on and two away, Rollins singled, then took second on a wild pitch. Chase Utley lofted one into shallow right, just past the outstretched glove of Robinson Cano, to plate Rollins, giving the Phillies a 4-3 lead.
The Mariners threatened to respond in the fifth. With one out, Cano and Morales hit back-to-back singles, then moved over to second and third on a wild pitch. Hamels recovered, however, retiring the next two batters for the final outs of the inning.
The Phillies loaded the bases in their half of the inning, but couldn't extend the lead.
Jonathan Papelbon picked up his 30th save of the season for closing out the ninth.
Game Notes
Both teams left 10 runners on base, while the Mariners were 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and the Phillies were 3-for-11 ... Byrd now has 72 RBI on the season and Utley has 67 ... Revere stole second in the first inning for his 37th stolen base of the season ... The Phillies are just 4-8 against the Mariners dating back to 2003 ... Philadelphia starts a six-game homestand with a three-game set against St. Louis beginning Friday ... Seattle starts a three-game series at Boston on Friday.
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