PHILADELPHIA -- Cole Hamels is used to getting little run support. It hasn't affected his pitching.
The left-hander dominated over seven innings and the Philadelphia Phillies capitalized on a Milwaukee miscue to score the only run they would need in a 1-0 victory over the Brewers on Friday night.
Hamels (9-10) made the lone run stand, as he breezed to his second straight win and ran his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 18. He allowed three hits and struck out seven.
"When you know that every pitch means something and you're able to still keep a good frame of mind and battle, you're not going to mess up as easy," Hamels said. "You understand that that one pitch is the game."
The Phillies moved to a season-best 19 games over .500 (77-58) and moved within one game of NL East-leading Atlanta, the closest they have since Aug. 6. The three-time division champs sat seven games back and in third place on July 21, and are making another late-season push.
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Hamels was coming off another sparkling effort on Aug. 29 in his hometown of San Diego, when he allowed four hits in eight scoreless innings. Before that, the left-hander had gone 0-3 with five no-decisions in his previous eight outings, receiving a total of 12 runs in those starts.
"It's grueling," Hamels said of pitching in close game after close game. "That's when you discover who you are and what you are capable of."
A Milwaukee miscommunication led to the game's only run. Center fielder Lorenzo Cain and left fielder Ryan Braun converged on a Shane Victorino fly ball, but it dropped between them for a double, despite Braun's last-minute lunge.
Braun appeared to initially be calling for the ball, but neither outfielder took command.
"It was a tough situation," Cain said. "Loud crowd. He initially called it and thought I called it, so I just backed off. It was just a missed communication."
Victorino, hustling from the instant he made contact, ended up on second. He moved to third on a groundout and scored on Carlos Ruiz's grounder.
With the way the Phillies are playing -- their 29-12 record since July 21 is the best in baseball -- those are the types of breaks they get.
"It helps," Victorino said. "We got the winning run out of it. Then you go back to our pitching. Cole did a great job tonight. Again. Our starting pitching has been unbelievable."
