CINCINNATI — Left-hander Cole Hamels pitched five shutout innings in his major league debut last night, leading the surging Philadelphia Phillies to an 8-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

"That was probably the first game I've ever thrown in the rain," said Hamels, 22, who gave up one hit in five innings. "We don't have much rain in San Diego. I was kind of anxious to just get it over with."

With his 93 mph fastball and swing-stopping changeup, he's just getting started.

He struck out boyhood favorite Ken Griffey Jr. the first time he faced him, then later struck him out again. He struck out seven overall and allowed only Felipe Lopez's two-out double in the fifth inning.

Shane Victorino, a St. Anthony alum from Maui, went 4 for 4, including a two-run homer, and Ryan Howard added a two-run shot that kept Philadelphia rolling. The Phillies have won 11 of their past 12 games, a stretch that includes nine straight victories.

Hamels didn't get the victory because the guy he replaced in the rotation couldn't hold on. Ryan Madson (2-2) gave up solo homers to Kearns and Edwin Encarnacion in the sixth, tying it at 2.

The Phillies then pulled away against Cincinnati's bullpen. Victorino, starting in center for the injured Aaron Rowand, had two singles, a double and a two-run homer in the ninth.