"I'm sure a lot of guys will be dragging after this flight," Bowa said. "We'll need a big game out of Vicente Padilla."

Message received. Padilla stymied the World Series champion Angels for seven shutout innings as the Phillies rode home runs by Jim Thome and Jimmy Rollins to a 3-0 win.

Vicente Padilla   /   P
	Height: 6'2" Weight: 200 Bats/Throws: R/R More info: Player page Stats Splits Phillies site

Suddenly, after a four-game, mid-week losing streak, the Phillies have taken three in a row from two outstanding AL West teams.

Rollins, who popped up a bunt attempt in the sixth inning, redeemed himself with a home run in the eighth. Two batters later, Thome connected for his 18th career homer off the Angels, and eighth at Edison Field.

Padilla (5-7) and Anaheim starter Jarrod Washburn traded zeroes until the top of the sixth when Jason Michaels led off with a double. Marlon Byrd showed bunt twice, then wound up legging out what appeared to be a routine grounder to short. With two on and none out, Rollins popped up a bunt attempt to first baseman Brad Fullmer.

"Jimmy understands that he has to do little things like that," Bowa said. "We can't afford that. We're not hitting the ball that well to not execute in that situation and that's important for us to be successful."

After Placido Polanco flied out for the second out, Thome eased the pain by delivering Michaels with a single to center.

"If Washburn gets out of that inning, you never know..." Thome said. "Maybe it gave us a little momentum. When Washburn pitches like that, I've seen them win a lot of games."

Bowa chalked that up to Thome's impressive leadership abilities.

"When your manager says that, it's a great compliment. I appreciate that," said Thome.

The real push came on a defensive gem from right-fielder Bobby Abreu and David Bell, who helped Padilla escape major trouble in the seventh. After a one-single by Fullmer, Abreu scooped up a single by Scott Spiezio and fired a dart to Bell. Though Fullmer beat the throw, his momentum carried him past the bag, and Bell wisely followed with a tag.

"I think that was the key. That won the game right there," Padilla said.

"He made a perfect throw," said Bell. "I knew he was going to slide to the side of the base, and sometimes it's hard to stay on [the base]."

After allowing another single to Bengie Molina -- which would have scored Fullmer -- Padilla retired Benji Gil on a comebacker. Rheal Cormier pitched a scoreless eighth and Jose Mesa tossed the ninth for his 16th save. It was his 103rd as a Phillie -- tying Steve Bedrosian for the franchise lead.

Mesa, who has had trouble retiring the leadoff batter when he comes into a game, got a huge boost from Polanco and Thome in the ninth.

Troy Glaus rolled a ball between Polanco and Thome. Polanco stabbed it as Thome retreated to first for the throw, which was slightly off line. Thome scooped it for the out a step before Glaus reached the base.

"Jose didn't have a real good outing his last time out so [Mesa] might have had negative stuff going through his head [if Glaus had reached]," said Bowa.

The night really belonged to Padilla, who hasn't looked this crisp since his April 17 four-hit shutout against the Braves. He walked none and allowed five hits, while hitting two batters.

The key to his effectiveness, according to Bowa, was his ability to concentrate for his entire outing. His Achillies heel has usually been an inning or two in which he strays from a game plan.

Padilla used all his pitches on Monday, rather than relying mostly on fastballs. The next step for him, as he continues his learning process, is to adapt to hitters, and use their tendencies against them.

"The idiosyncrasies of the game -- how to read a hitter," said Bowa. "Once he figures that out, he's going to be all right. The question is when does he figure it out."

"At first he was a little unwilling to listen [to pitching coach Joe Kerrigan] because he had success last year. He's still not where we want him to be, but he's getting there."

Ken Mandel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to approval by Major League Baseball or its clubs.