By ROB MAADDI
AP Sports Writer

PHILADELPHIA(AP) -- Cole Hamels hopes to make up for a so-so
season by pitching well when it matters most.

Hamels pitched 6 2-3 effective innings, a new-look bullpen got
the last seven outs and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New
York Mets 4-2 in a game played through steady rain Friday night.

Jimmy Rollins and Pedro Feliz had RBI singles and Shane
Victorino hit a career-high three doubles for the NL
East-leading Phillies, who increased their lead over Florida to
six games.

Hamels (9-9) allowed one run and seven hits, striking out six.
Last year's World Series and NLCS MVP, Hamels has been sharp in
three of his last four starts.

"I'm trying to redeem my season and finish strong, finish the
way I planned on starting the year," Hamels said.

Chan Ho Park retired David Wright with the tying run on second
in the seventh. Brett Myers needed just six pitches to get
through an easy eighth. Ryan Madson finished for his seventh
save in 12 chances after giving up one run.

Brad Lidge, who has 10 blown saves this year after going
48-for-48 last season, hasn't been used in the last two save
situations. Madson relieved Lidge after he loaded the bases in
the ninth on Tuesday night and got the last two outs in a win at
Washington. Madson also closed out Wednesday night's victory
over the Nationals.

"We're definitely going to get Lidge back out there," Phillies
manager Charlie Manuel said. "I want to just give him time to
settle down from a mental state and (work on) his command."

Mets starter Nelson Figueroa (2-5) allowed two runs and nine
hits in 5 1-3 innings. He pitched out of trouble often as the
Phillies stranded 13 runners and were 4-for-19 with runners in
scoring position.

New York fell to a season-low 17 games under .500.

This Phillies-Mets series lacks the luster of previous
Septembers when the two teams were battling for the division
lead. Philadelphia edged out New York both times. The Mets blew
a seven-game lead with 17 games to play in 2007. They lost a 3
1/2-game lead with 17 remaining last year, and the Phillies went
on to win the World Series.

Rollins put the Phillies up 1-0 in the second with a two-out RBI
single. But Figueroa escaped further trouble by retiring Chase
Utley on a foul pop to leave the bases loaded.

Feliz delivered another two-out RBI single in the third to make
it 2-0.

After the Mets cut it to 2-1 on Luis Castillo's sacrifice fly in
the seventh, Carlos Ruiz gave Philadelphia a two-run cushion
with a key sac fly in the bottom half.

"I wanted to stop the game and give him the ball," Manuel joked.
"I didn't think we can do that."

The Phillies have struggled getting runners in from third with
less than two outs. They failed an inning earlier after Utley's
single chased Figueroa and put runners on first and third with
one out. Ken Takahashi came in and struck out Ryan Howard and
retired Raul Ibanez on a grounder to end the threat.

Victorino and Utley hit consecutive doubles in the eighth to
extend the lead to 3-1.

Hamels' strong effort was an encouraging sign for Philadelphia,
which had lost five of seven. Hamels tossed eight scoreless
innings in an extra-inning win at Pittsburgh on Aug. 26 and
followed that up with a two-hit shutout against San Francisco.
But he regressed in his next start, allowing four runs and eight
hits in six innings in a loss at Houston last Sunday.

"He was effective, ran his fastball up on our hitters and had a
good changeup," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said of Hamels.

NOTES: Kyle Kendrick (0-1) will start Game 1 of Sunday's
day/night doubleheader for the Phillies. Kendrick won 21 games
over the last two seasons, but failed to win a spot in the
rotation in spring training. ... The Phillies recalled RHP
Andrew Carpenter. ... Several injured Phillies pitchers are
making progress. LHP Scott Eyre (elbow) hopes to throw Monday.
LHP J.C. Romero (forearm) threw on flat ground and felt fine.
RHP Clay Condrey (oblique) will make a rehab appearance at
Double-A Reading on Saturday. LHP J.A. Happ (oblique) is
progressing. Phillies INF/OF Greg Dobbs (calf) ran the bases and
will do it again Saturday. ... Figueroa pitched for the Phillies
in 2001 after joining the team in the trade that sent Curt
Schilling to Arizona a year earlier. He was 4-5 with a 3.94 ERA
in 19 games, including 13 starts.