PHILADELPHIA -- Cole Hamels used an amped-up fastball in his latest dominant performance. Hamels pitched eight strong innings and Chase Utley had a tiebreaking RBI single in the fifth inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Thursday. Hamels (5-5) got the better of Tim Hudson in a matchup between starters who have combined for seven All-Star appearances. The Philadelphia left-hander gave up six hits while striking out 10 and walking one. More noted for his changeup, Hamels has found an extra gear for his fastball over his last two starts. After using it to shut down Atlanta in a 2-1 win last Saturday, Hamels frequently featured a heater that again touched the mid-90s. "Hes really gone with his fastball to set up his other pitches," Philadelphia manager Ryne Sandberg said. "Hes got everything behind him. Hes feeling very good; hes feeling strong." Added Hamels: "Everything was coming out the right way. I wasnt having to put as much effort into each pitch." Hudson (8-7) gave up two runs in six innings although both were unearned. The right-hander struck out six and walked two. "Youre hoping your guy gives you a chance, and thats what (Hudson) did," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. "He pitched great." The Giants, who were looking for their first four-game sweep in Philadelphia since 1998, lost for just the second time in eight games. San Franciscos lead over the idle Dodgers in the NL West dropped to 1 1/2 games entering this weekends three-game series between the rivals at AT&T Park. Despite the defeat, the Giants return home feeling positive after a 5-2 road trip. "Thats a really good road trip," Bochy said. "Weve got a big series ahead of us. Its going to be a good, exciting series. Its what you play for." Utley, Marlon Byrd and Wil Nieves had a pair of hits for Philadelphia, which snapped its four-game losing streak while winning for just the second time in nine games. Jonathan Papelbon pitched a scoreless ninth for his 24th save in 27 opportunities to stop a rocky stretch. Papelbon blew his third save in Tuesdays 9-6, 14-inning defeat and took the loss in Wednesdays 3-1 loss. He was booed upon entering the field and then again when he was introduced by PA announcer Dan Baker. Papelbon pitched a 1-2-3 inning to tie Goose Gossage for 21st place on the all-time save list with career save No. 310. Philadelphia slugger Ryan Howard wasnt in the lineup for the second straight day as Sandberg has decided to look elsewhere to find production from first base. Howard has been in a power drought with just one homer since June 19 and his .224 average, .377 slugging percentage and .682 on-base plus slugging mark are well off his usual production. The move was eye-opening considering the three-time All-Star and former MVPs dominance against Hudson, against whom he has batted .328 with seven homers and 17 RBIs in 67 career at-bats. Howards replacement, Darin Ruf, went 1-for-4 with a strikeout. "I wanted to see (Ruf) play for a couple of games, get him some at-bats and basically go from there," Sandberg said. "Well continue to watch." Sandberg met with Howard prior to the game, and Howard said he wanted to be in the lineup. But the manager made no promises, adding that a platoon with the right-handed hitting Ruf was possible. "If he has trouble against left-handed pitching and Darin Ruf is swinging it, that becomes an option," Sandberg said. "If (a platoon) becomes the scenario and both guys are going well, thats a good scenario." The Phillies got some help on both of their runs off of Hudson. In the first, Jimmy Rollins hit a one-out double, went to third on a passed ball and scored on Byrds single to left. San Francisco tied the game in the fifth on Ehire Adrianzas RBI single to centre. Philadelphia got some more good fortune in the bottom of the frame as Ben Revere opened the inning with a medium flyball to left. Michael Morse charged hard but couldnt come up with the grab and the error allowed Revere to reach second. Revere scored on Utleys single to centre. Hamels went at least seven innings for the 13th time in the last 15 starts and gave up three runs or less for the 11th consecutive outing. The left-hander reached double-digits in strikeouts for the fourth time this season and 27th in his career. Hamels cooled off Hunter Pence, who went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts. Pence entered batting .412 with a homer and six RBIs in the series, including the game-winning double in Wednesdays 3-1 Giants victory. "I dont ever recall his fastball being as good as it was today," Hudson said. Nieves came up limping after moving awkwardly to block a fourth-inning pitch to Adam Duvall but stayed in the game. Nieves was activated Monday after spending a month on the DL with a strained right quad. NOTES: Adrianza strained his right hamstring running the bases in the fifth inning. Bochy said hell be evaluated further on Friday. ... The Giants open a pivotal three-game series at home against the rival Dodgers on Friday with San Francisco right-hander Tim Lincecum (9-6, 3.68) opposing Los Angeles right-hander Zack Greinke (11-6, 2.90). . Philadelphia hosts Arizona for a three-game set that begins Friday when Diamondbacks lefty Wade Miley (6-6, 4.16) takes on Phillies right-hander Kyle Kendrick (4-10, 4.87). . The Giants last swept a four-game series against the Phillies Aug. 30-Sept. 2, 1999, and last did it in Philadelphia July 31-Aug. 3, 1998. Jose Berrios Jersey . -- Chris Tillman paid no attention to the Baltimore bullpen as it started to stir in the ninth inning. Kirby Puckett Jersey . - Chris Davis hit a two-run double, scoring Nelson Cruz in his Orioles debut in Baltimores 9-7 win over to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. http://www.twinsrookiestore.co.....ds-Jersey/ . With the Rangers already leading 2-0, Carey Price was taken down early in the second period of New Yorks 7-2 pounding of the Canadiens in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final on Saturday afternoon. Bert Blyleven Jersey . Nikolaos Kounenakis has been hired as an assistant coach, the team announced on Monday. Custom Minnesota Twins Jerseys .7 million, one-year contract.The deal, announced Friday, includes a $50,000 performance bonus if the left-hander appears in 60 games.The carefully orchestrated build-up to Thursdays official unveiling of Louis van Gaal kicked off in earnest on Monday with the news that Manchester United had signed a 10-year apparel deal with Adidas worth a guaranteed minimum of 750 million pounds (roughly about $1.35 billion.) Mind-boggling. More than a mere jersey deal, “a global technical sponsorship and dual-branded licensing deal” was how it was described in a brief statement that was published on the clubs website at 1pm Monday afternoon. Lunch time in Manchester, but make that 8am in New York City. Since the club began trading on the NYSE in August 2012, it is mandatory practice that, for any announcement which could affect the share price, it is made outside of trading hours. Only 10 per cent of the share capital is listed on the NYSE. The Glazer family privately holds the remaining 90 per cent. Barcelona likes to claim it is more than a club and the same holds true for Manchester United PLC (Public Limited Company.) As van Gaal set about steering the Netherlands to a third-place finish in Brazil, his new club were announcing they had completely sold out their season ticket allocation for next season- all 55,000 of them. This was the earliest in the summer that Manchester United has sold out of season tickets since Old Trafford was expanded to its current capacity of 76,000 ahead of the 2005-2006 season. In recent seasons, the club has had difficulty selling the entire allocation. Van Gaals appointment would certainly have been an influencing factor and it makes you wonder how many Old Trafford season tickets were purchased in the immediate aftermath of the Netherlands destroying Spain 5-1 back on June 13.. The 62-year old Dutchman began his coaching career back in 1991 with legendary Dutch club Ajax, where he won his only Champions League trophy during the 1994-1995 season, when he also steered Ajax to a domestic league glory during an unbeaten season. Going on to win domestic titles with both Barcelona and Bayern Munich, the closest he came to winning a second European crown was with Bayern ,when they lost in the 2010 final to Jose Mourinhos Inter Milan. Van Gaal immediately restores a winners mentality and image to a club that was without peer through the Ferguson years - when the Knight of the Realm amassed 38 trophies, including 13 BPL titles, in his quarter of a century at the helm. No one will need reminding of how painful Manchester Uniteds season was under David Moyes last term. In Moyess defence, it was not ever going to be easy for whomever followed Ferguson. Still, call it the most expensive "gap year" in Uniteds illustrious history. Bereft this season of Champions League football, all the associated pressures and inherent demands thatt it brings with it will work in Van Gaals favour.dddddddddddd If for nothing else, it allows him to focus primarily on returning Manchester United to the BPL summit. Then, you can look to the examples set by two of the Dutchmans previous clubs, Bayern and Barcelona, both of whom sat on the Champions League sidelines for a season. Shortly after their respective returns, both have gone on to dominate the European stage. Where Moyes talked of trying to win the League Cup ahead of a semi-final showdown with Sunderland and where some clubs target Champions League football, at his unveiling, van Gaal was unequivocal in his response to whether he could immediately restore the club to its former glories. "The challenge is always to come first. Not fourth." The "Iron Tulip," as van Gaal is nicknamed for the so-termed autocratic way he manages, was astute enough yesterday to recognize the commercial demands and the business of Manchester United. As the red and blue halves of Manchester look to continue their three-year duopoly of the BPL title, they are also fierce competitors in the global commercial market. Its not a coincidence that, on the day van Gaal was appointed, Manchester City announced they had signed the Japanese car giant Nissan as their first global partner of the City Football Group. CFG is the holding company which oversees the commercial affairs of the football clubs now under the control of Sheikh Mansour. Since purchasing City in 2008, Mansour has added New York City FC, Melbourne City and a 20 per cent holding in Japanese club YF Marinos to his expanding portfolio of football clubs. Intriguingly, with Manchester Cit up before the UEFA Financial Fair Play panel where they were fined $90 million and had their Champions League squad for the upcoming season trimmed to 21 players down from 23, Nissan is the new car partner of the UEFA Champions League. In the continual search for overseas revenue, barely 24-hours into the job Van Gaal announced his squad for Uniteds highly lucrative pre-season tour of the US. Having jetted out to Los Angeles earlier on Friday, they will play their first game against the Galaxy at the Rose Bowl next Wednesday, before taking part in the International Champions Cup. Paired in a group with Real Madrid, Inter and Roma, the final takes place in Miami August 4th. Manchester Uniteds potential opponents that day could be their noisy neighbour. Whether or not the club goes on to lift their first trophy under van Gaal in the home state of the Glazer family, the Dutchman is already a winner in their eyes. Since Manchester United announced van Gaals appointment on May 19, the share price for MANU is up over 15 per cent, and now sits within a nickel of a 52-week high. David who? ' ' '