LOS ANGELES -- Zack Greinke is in midseason form. Mike Scott Jersey . Cole Hamels is just starting his season. Greinke outpitched Hamels with seven strong innings, Hanley Ramirez homered and Yasiel Puig drove in two runs for the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night. "It wasnt like everything was incredible, but I could use anything in or away at any time," Greinke said. "For the most part, throughout my whole career, Ive had at least two pitches. There have been very few games where I dont have two pitches working, and usually theres three." Greinke (4-0) allowed two runs and five hits while striking out 11 and walking one batter intentionally. Manager Don Mattingly tried to squeeze one more inning out of the right-hander, but lifted him after Jayson Nix drove Greinkes 108th pitch to left-centre for a leadoff homer. J.P. Howell got three outs in the eighth, and Kenley Jansen pitched a perfect ninth for his eighth save after the Dodgers picked up a couple of insurance runs in the eighth on Ramirezs leadoff homer to centre and Justin Turners RBI single off Shawn Camp. Greinke is off to the second-best start of his 11-year career. He won his first six decisions in 2009 with Kansas City, when he finished 16-8 and established career bests with a 2.16 ERA and 242 strikeouts en route to the AL Cy Young Award. "Hes been a great pitcher. He took off in Kansas City when he won that Cy Young and hes been good ever since," Hamels said. "Hes a true competitor and hes pretty smart. He definitely knows how to pitch, and you know when you have to face a guy like him, you have to keep the other guy from scoring because hes going to do the same." It was Greinkes 18th double-digit strikeout game in the majors and his first in 33 starts with the Dodgers. This was the 17th consecutive start in which Greinke pitched at least five innings while allowing fewer than three runs. Hamels took the loss in his season debut, after missing the first three weeks because of biceps tendinitis. The 30-year-old left-hander made 86 pitches, allowing two runs and six hits over six innings with five strikes and a walk. He made 30 or more starts in each of the previous six seasons, so starting the season this late was an adjustment for him. "Thats in the past. I dont really think about last year or last week. I just keep going forward and try to get healthy," Hamels said. "I was worried about what I had to do -- build up my pitch going and get ready to start every five days. Thats what transpired for the past couple of weeks. Thats kind of all I could do. "I knew what I was going into. It was just a matter of preparing myself just like I normally have and getting ready in a spring training-type setting. It was just a couple of weeks later than everybody else." Puig struck out his first two times up, but lined an RBI single to right in the fifth to put the Dodgers ahead 2-1 after Hamels gave up a two-out single by Drew Butera and walked Greinke. "You can never walk the pitcher. I understand Greinke is a very good hitter, but at the same time, you have to let him hit his way on," Hamels said. "That right there was the ballgame. It decided everything in terms of what transpired in the next inning and it racked up my pitch count right there." Juan Uribes sacrifice fly gave Los Angeles 1-0 lead in the second, after Matt Kemp led off with the first of his two doubles. Ryan Howard tied it in the fourth with an RBI single after a leadoff double by Jimmy Rollins. "One of the keys, where Rollins hit that leadoff double, I didnt even try to keep him from scoring," Greinke said. "It would be really tough. As long as you just limit it to that one run, its not that big of a deal. Thats kind of the mindset. Its been working." Greinke had nine strikeouts through the first five innings, including five in a row after Howards hit. Greinke doubled with two outs in the seventh and scored on Puigs triple off the right field fence. NOTES: Two-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw will make a minor league rehab start on Friday with Class A Rancho Cucamonga as he works his way back from a muscle strain in his upper back. He last pitched for the Dodgers in a season-opening 3-1 win over Arizona during the teams two-game visit to Australia. ... The Phillies have 18 extra-base hits over their last four games after getting none in their previous four -- the clubs longest drought since a four-game stretch in May 1968. ... Dodgers 1B and cleanup hitter Adrian Gonzalez, whose 16-game hitting streak ended Tuesday, didnt start for the first time this season. He pinch-hit in the ninth and flied out to the warning track in centre with two men on. Evan Gattis Jersey . MLB executive Joe Torre ruled on Tuesday nights game at Wrigley Field that was called after 4 1-2 innings. The Cubs were declared the winners by a 2-0 score. Now, it is instead a suspended game that will resume at 4:05 p. Carlos Lee Jersey . Paul, MN (SportsNetwork. http://www.astrosteamproshop.com/Astros-Nolan-Ryan-Kids-Jersey/ . Ferrer, the two-time defending champion in Buenos Aires, is aiming to win his 21st ATP tournament. Ferrer will next face fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, the fourth seed, who defeated Jeremy Chardy of France 7-6 (7), 6-3 in another quarterfinal match.Lewis Hamilton has admitted he is not enjoying being the hunter in this years world championship fight. Primarily because of the unreliability of his Mercedes car this year, Hamilton finds himself trailing team-mate Nico Rosberg by 43 points in the standings. But the reigning champion has scoffed at the idea that, in the position of chaser, the pressure is off him - or that its harder being the driver everyone else is striving to catch.Its much easier leading the championship, full stop, the Mercedes driver responded. You have the advantage and so you have that comfort buffer. I have zero comfort buffer right now. Its just hard work right now. Im not focusing on the what ifs, Im just focusing on the here and now. Ted Kravitz and Johnny Herbert analyse how Lewis Hamiltons nose got broken in the Mercedes garage during Thursday practice at Monaco Hamilton has previously described his points-deficit to Rosberg as being akin to a mountain with the German almost two full race victories ahead. So has Hamilton already come to terms with the possibility of failing to complete a hat-trick of championships at Mercedes?If it happens, it happens, if it doesnt, it doesnt. There will be many, many opportunities in the future but this opportunity is still there - we have 16 races to go - and Im remaining positive. The glass is only 10 per cent full and there is still all the rest to fill up.Mercedes seek Monaco solution after practice surpriseBut Rosberg has his own special motivation this weekend. Victory would make him only the fourth driver in F1 history to have won at Monaco three or more times in a row. And the current roll-call is an illustrious list: Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Mr Monaco, Graham Hill. Hamilton finished the 2015 Monaco GP in third after Mercedes pitted the race leader under Safety Car, leaving him behind Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel Hamilton, conversely, has won just once around the iconic venue - a modest statistic which prompted him to describe the race as his Achilles heel earlier this month. Houston Astros Jerseys. . And while Hamilton remains a committed fan of the art of conquering the circuit and its unforgiving barriers, describing a lap of Monte Carlo as one of the purest thrills you can have in a racing car, the 31-year-old has admitted that he is not a fan of the spectacle the race sometimes provides. Can Hamilton end his Monaco hoodoo?In the last few years it has been a one-stop race and that is a procession, he mused. The track looks so cool at night and l was thinking why dont we have two races here?. We should have more stops and the ultrasoft tyre isnt soft. We need an ultra, ultra, ultra, ultrasoft - four times softer - so we have more stops and that mixes it up. In my first years, when there were more stops and that was way more exciting. We will be two seconds faster this year than last year but the overtaking will still be the same.The weather may have something to say about that, however, with showers still forecast for race day. And in any case, would Hamilton mind a lack of overtaking if he crosses the line in first?As he addressed his pre-event media briefing, Hamilton remarked that a friend had declined to attend this years event because he considered the race to be a train. Hamilton paused for a moment and then added:I said, Yeah, Im in it - and hopefully at the front. Watch the Monaco GP live on Sky Sports F1. The race starts at 1pm on Sunday, with build-up underway at 11.30am. Or watch the race without a contract for £6.99 on NOW TV. Also See: Mercedes seek Monaco solution Hamiltons Monaco hoodoo Get a NOW TV weekend pass When is the Monaco GP on Sky? Cheap Red Sox Jerseys Cheap Orioles Jerseys Cheap Mets Jerseys Cheap Phillies Jerseys Cheap Nationals Jerseys Cheap Cubs Jerseys Cheap Reds Jerseys Cheap Brewers Jerseys Cheap Pirates Jerseys Cheap Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Diamondbacks Jerseys Cheap Rockies Jerseys Cheap Dodgers Jerseys Cheap Padres Jerseys Cheap Giants Jerseys ' ' '