By DAN GELSTON
AP Sports Writer

PHILADELPHIA(AP) -- Cole Hamels is again pitching like
Philadelphia's October ace.

Hamels has turned his season around down the stretch for the NL
East-leading Phillies, putting himself in position for another
postseason run.

Hamels took a perfect game into the sixth inning, masterfully
using his changeup while matching a season high with 10
strikeouts and leading the Phillies to a 4-2 win over the
Washington Nationals on Thursday night.

"I think you have to enjoy it," Hamels said. "Sometimes, the
games get a little bit more meaningful. The fans know it, we
know it. It's just going out there and doing what we know best."

Hamels (10-9), the MVP of last season's NL championship series
and World Series, allowed one run and five hits in eight strong
innings. He even chipped in with an opposite-field RBI single to
help the Phillies win their fifth straight game.

"There's nothing better than pitching at home in September," he
said. "The fans are great and it kind of gives you that extra
motivation."

Hamels was as sharp as he's been all season and continued a
sensational string of quality starts from Philadelphia's
rotation. He finally ran into trouble in the seventh when he
gave up a run and loaded the bases. The 25-year-old left-hander
got Mike Morse to fly out and struck out Josh Bard to escape the
jam.

Hamels retired the first 15 batters before Morse led off the
sixth inning with a clean single to left. He quickly regrouped
against the last-place Nats, striking out Bard, Jorge Padilla
and Justin Maxwell to end the inning.

Hamels got some help in the fourth when third baseman Pedro
Feliz made a leaping catch to rob Ryan Zimmerman, sending a
spark through the crowd and ending the inning.

Zimmerman had a nice grab of his own when he made a tumbling
catch over the tarp and banged his head on the railing to retire
Chase Utley in the sixth.

Hamels was looking at a no-decision until the fifth. Feliz
walked and scored on Jimmy Rollins' two-out double into left
field for a 1-0 lead.

Hamels got ahead of hitters all night and threw 73 strikes in
109 pitches. He walked one.

"That's as good as we've seen him this year," Nationals manager
Jim Riggleman said. "All their pitchers did very well against us
this year. He had it all going tonight."

Brad Lidge gave up a run in the ninth before finishing for his
30th save in 40 chances. The Phillies (85-60) moved 25 games
over .500 for the first time since they finished the 1993 season
97-65.

"We do firmly believe that we have the best team," Hamels said.

Ross Detwiler (0-6) had perhaps his finest start of the season
for Washington, striking out six and allowing one run in five
innings.

Nice, just not close to perfect.

Hamels struggled for most of this season until finding his way
again in late August. He's 3-1 in his last five starts and has
the Phillies feeling good about their rotation as they inch
closer toward their third straight division title. When the
Nationals scored off Hamels in the seventh, it ended a streak of
29 straight scoreless innings from the starters.

"This is the best starting pitching we've had since I've been
here," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.

Manuel's only gripe with Hamels was that he favored the change
almost too much at the expense of his other pitches. Batters
know it's coming, can wait on it and have a better chance of
hitting it - sometimes.

"It can get him in a jam at times," Manuel said. "It took them a
long time to get wood on it."

The Phillies scored twice in the sixth to give Hamels a cushion.
Ryan Howard scored on a bases-loaded walk to Carlos Ruiz and
Hamels added his run-scoring single.

Utley scored on a wild pitch in the seventh to make it 4-1.

NOTES: The Nationals acquired C Jamie Burke from Seattle for
cash and placed C Jesus Flores on the 60-day disabled list. ...
Phillies CF Shane Victorino left in the seventh with a
gastrointestinal illness. ... Nationals C Wil Nieves left with a
hamstring injury. ... Phillies RHP Chan Ho Park will miss two to
three weeks with a strained right hamstring. He has a 2.52 ERA
in 38 relief appearances. ... Lidge marked 30 saves for the
fourth time in his career.