This is a shocker: Cole Hamels pitched and the Phillies batters were nowhere to be found. Save an RBI single by Chooch in the second inning, the Phillies very well may still be battling the Brew Crew at this very hour.

Behind a three-hit, seven-inning shutout performance by Cole Hamels, the Phils dropped the Brewers, 1-0, at home Friday night. Coupled with the Braves 6-1 loss to the Marlins, the Phillies now trail the Braves by just one game.

Cole Hamels tossed seven innings en route to a 1-0 Phillies win on Friday. The Phils now trail the Braves by just a game in the NL East.

Pitching was the key to tonight’s win as Jose Contreras and Ryan Madson combined for two shutout innings in relief. Hamels, for his part, threw 70 of his 103 pitches for strikes and looked as his dominating self.

Just a day removed from a twelve run performance, including a nine spot in the seventh inning in Colorado, the Phillies looked like their old anemic selves. There is no reason to worry, however.

The Phillies got in from Colorado at 4 a.m. on Friday. They had to get to the ballpark around 11 a.m. In essence, the team was tired from a seven game West Coast swing. Jetlag had to be playing with their bodies.

Luckily, the same old sorry ass brewers were in town and Hamels was on his game.

With the way the pitchers are throwing and the Braves are slumping, we could be talking about the Phillies magic number by the end of the weekend. Roy Halladay gets the call for the Phillies on Saturday.