LOS ANGELES -- Zack Greinke is in midseason form. 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. China Jerseys . Assistant coach Glen Gulutzan said Thursday that Edler, who played Tuesday in Nashville, is out indefinitely. Jerseys NFL Wholesale . This week, topics cover the World Series champion Red Sox, John Farrell and what to look forward to this off-season. http://www.outletjerseyscheap.com/ . Its not intended to be some magical formula and doesnt apply any context, like, for example, taking injuries into account. This remedial statistical method has gone 9-5 in picks through the first three rounds. Clearance Jerseys .A. Happ capped a challenging season with one of his best efforts of the year. Cheap Jerseys Online . The league announced Thursday that Tom Higgins is leaving that post effective immediately. SALT LAKE CITY -- Stephen Curry found his shooting stroke in the second quarter, and it was more than enough to push the Golden State Warriors past the struggling Utah Jazz. Curry scored 22 points and Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes had 17 apiece in the Warriors 98-87 victory Monday night. Curry had eight assists and made four 3-pointers before a scary play in the fourth quarter left him a little woozy. The star guard left the game after Utahs Marvin Williams landed on his head in a scramble for a loose ball. "I went to reach for the ball and the next thing I know, I hit the ground pretty hard and then I think Marvin landed on me," Curry said. After a couple of minutes to gain his bearings, Curry got up slowly and left the court under his own power with a towel draped over his head. But he is expected to play in Wednesdays home game against Memphis. "Ive got a nasty headache but Ill be all right," he said. The Warriors made 12 of 22 attempts from 3-point range and led by as many as 28 points. "When you defend, rebound and run, its hard to guard us. Any one of us can make a play in transition," Curry said. Gordon Hayward scored 18 points and Williams had 16 but the Jazz (1-11) dropped their third straight after earning their lone win of the season. Playing without injured centre Jermaine ONeal, the Warriors got 14 points and 14 rebounds from David Lee and Andrew Bogut added 13 boards and three blocked shots to neutralize Utahs inside presence. What the Jazz lack (and the Warriors have in spades) became apparent in the fourth quarter. After clawing within striking distance, Utah missed eight of its first nine shots in the final period. The Jazz are among the worst shooting teams in the league, converting less than 41 per cent of their attempts. They were even worse against Golden State, finishing at 39.5 per cent despite an abundance of clean looks at the rim. "We missed some outside jump shots and they were off to the races and in transition," Hayward said. "Its frustrating and we have to play smarter." On the other end, the Warriors heated up in the final period to put the game away.dddddddddddd Thompsons layup with 7:56 to play extended the lead to 92-69. "Were playing well and sharing the ball . but more importantly, our defence is solid," Curry said. "When you are getting stops and youre able to run in transition, the offence seems to flow pretty smoothly." Utah did have one strong stretch in the third quarter. Diante Garrett, who was just signed last week, checked in and promptly scored eight in a 17-2 spurt. Garrett dished to Williams for a 3 that made it 70-57. The Warriors, who had lost their previous two road games, outrebounded Utah 57-40 and limited the NBAs best offensive rebounding team to just six. "We are starting to get an identity, especially defensively," Bogut said. "We won the rebound battle by 17 against a very good offensive rebounding team. I like our effort." Early in the second quarter, Williams made a 3-pointer to help the Jazz close to 29-27 before Curry led a 30-9 run, fueled by 6-for-8 shooting from beyond the arc for Golden State. Curry had missed eight 3-pointers in a row over the past three games before making a trio of 3s in the second-quarter surge. "It was a close game and they made three in a row there and we panicked a little bit. This is a team that is capable of scoring a lot of points in a short amount of time," Utah coach Ty Corbin said. Golden State also won the front end of a home-and-away set between the teams. Thompson had 25 points as the Warriors held off the Jazz 102-88 on Saturday. ONeal missed the game with a bruised right knee and a strained right groin. He didnt travel with the team, and the reserve is considered day to day. "Were a very loose group and very young group," Bogut said. "Im kind of the old dog now at 29, believe it or not. But weve come together and its been a great start to the season." NOTES: The Warriors signed C Dewayne Dedmon from their D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz. Dedmon did not play. ... The Jazz turned the ball over just 11 times but the miscues led to 19 Golden State points. ... The attendance was 16,051, one of the lowest numbers in years at the Energy Solutions Arena. ' ' '