April 30 -- NO MORE APRIL SHOWERS

The Phillies were going to win last night.

Cole Hamels guaranteed it.

Hamels, the ace lefty, was so confident that he'd be able to beat the Padres -- and 349-game winner Greg Maddux -- that, upon arriving in the Phillies' clubhouse, he walked across the room to Tom Gordon's locker and made a promise to the 40-year-old setup man.

"I'm going to give you the night off," Hamels said.
Hamels was superb last night, yielding two runs in 7-1/3 solid innings against the feeble-hitting Padres and upstaging Maddux, who allowed three runs in 6-1/3 innings. But Hamels, with an assist from J.C. Romero, left the Phillies in a bases-loaded, one-out bind in the eighth, and it took Gordon to bail them out with two grounders that preserved a 3-2 lead before the Phils tacked on four runs in their eighth.

"When they called down and told me to get up, I didn't want to move because Cole told me I could have the day off," Gordon said with a smile. "He pulled a Randy Johnson. You never want to come into that situation, but it's what our job requires at times. You want to hold that game. Cole pitched so well, as relievers, we had to be able to help him, too."

And, just like that, the Phillies clinched a winning record in April for the first time since 2003. Yeah, it's been a while. Since I've been covering the team, we've always spent this portion of the calendar talking about how the Phillies are off to another slow start. But, somehow, with Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino missing significant time with sprains and strains, the Phils recovered from a 4-6 start and are 11-6 in their last 17 games.

How, exactly, have they done it? Give credit to Chase Utley and Pat Burrell, a stronger-than-expected starting rotation, an excellent bullpen and Charlie Manuel's upbeat nature. But, even GM Pat Gillick said the other day, the Phillies' performance thus far has been a little mystifying.

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Victorino went from the disabled list to the bench last night. But he repeated, several times, during a session with reporters that he doesn't think he has lost his starting job to Jayson Werth. He also said he still thinks of himself as a center fielder, even though Manuel indicated Victorino may play some more in right.

OK, you be the manager: How would you align the Phillies' starting outfield, keeping in mind that you have to choose from Pat Burrell, Victorino, Werth and Geoff Jenkins. Would you just play the hot hands? Would you have a platoon for righties and lefties? Do you prefer Victorino is center field, where his speed becomes a factor, or in right, where his strong arm may play bigger?

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Check out Bill Bretzger's photo gallery from last night's game, including a nice picture of 2008 Miss America Kirsten Haglund. Trust me, that's worth looking at.