Philadelphia ? Cole Hamels came up short in his bid for a perfect game, but Philadelphia completed its season-long climb to .500.

Hamels retired his first 18 batters and used one of baseball’s best changeups to strike out 11 in his 32nd career start, leading the Phillies to a 6-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night.

With nearly 43,00 fans going wild on every pitch, Hamels (6-1) didn’t allow a base-runner until he walked Rickie Weeks to open the seventh. NL home run leader J.J. Hardy followed with Milwaukee’s first hit, his 13th homer of the year, to make it 6-2.

A no-hitter will have to wait for the blossoming Hamels, but nothing rattled the lefty. He struck out the final two batters of the seventh and pitched the Phillies (20-20) to the .500 mark for the first time this year. Hamels gave up two hits and one walk in eight innings. Brett Myers pitched the ninth.

Aaron Rowand hit a three-run homer in the second for the Phillies, who evened their record with their sixth win in seven games.

The NL Central-leading Brewers have lost five of six.

The 23-year-old Hamels was on his game from the first inning, needing only 11 pitches to strike out the side and earn the first of many standing ovations from the fans behind the Phillies’ dugout.

Mets 8, Cubs 1

New York – A three hour-plus rain delay couldn’t dampen Jorge Sosa’s stellar night. Sosa pitched seven-plus innings of one-hit ball, David Wright had two RBIs, and New York beat Chicago.

Mixing a precise fastball and a tough slider, Sosa (3-0) allowed one run, walking three and striking out five. The right-hander allowed only a single up the middle by Cesar Izturis in the third.

Dodgers 5, Cardinals 4

Los Angeles – Pinch-hitter Wilson Betemit’s three-run homer with two outs in the fifth inning drove in the go-ahead runs. The win was the fifth in six games for the Dodgers, putting them a season-high nine games over .500, and their second straight over St. Louis following a 10-game losing streak to the Cardinals.

Padres 3, Reds 2

San Diego – Kevin Kouzmanoff walked with the bases loaded in the ninth inning to lift San Diego over Cincinnati. Kouzmanoff, hitting just .137 entering the game, went 3-for-3 and drove in two runs against Bronson Arroyo. Mike Cameron also went 3-for-4 and scored two runs for the Padres.

Marlins 4, Pirates 3

Pittsburgh – Josh Willingham and Miguel Cabrera doubled in runs during Florida’s eighth-inning rally, and the Marlins won for the second night in a row after losing four straight.

Nationals 6, Braves 4

Washington – Ryan Church hit a go-ahead, three-run double, the Nationals’ bullpen provided five shutout innings, and last-place Washington beat Atlanta for its fifth victory in six games. Church’s liner to right-center off Kyle Davies (1-2) capped a four-run fifth in which the Nationals batted around and all of the runs were unearned, thanks to second baseman Kelly Johnson’s fielding error.

Astros 2, Giants 1

Houston – Rookie Hunter Pence homered for the second straight game, and Houston beat San Francisco for its fourth straight win. The victory gives Houston its first home series win over the Giants since 1999 and breaks a streak of five consecutive series losses to San Francisco.

Rockies 5, Diamondbacks 3

Denver – Brad Hawpe homered twice and drove in four runs to lead Aaron Cook and Colorado past Arizona. Hawpe’s first career multihomer game overshadowed the major-league debut of Diamondbacks third baseman Mark Reynolds, who went 2-for-3 and doubled home two runs.