PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Cole Hamels finally finished what he started.

The Philadelphia left-hander pitched his first career shutout, Ryan Howard homered and the Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 5-0 on Thursday night.

‘‘I’m always wanting to go out there and finish it,’’ said Hamels, who lowered his ERA from 3.36 to 2.89. ‘‘It was nice to finally get that done.’’

Pedro Feliz and Shane Victorino also homered and drove in two runs each for the Phillies, who lead the major leagues with 59 home runs. The Florida Marlins have hit 58, but their game against Cincinnati was rained out Thursday.

Because of the postponement, the Phillies also moved within a game of the Marlins for the top spot in the NL East.

Hamels (5-3) gave up just four hits, struck out six and walked two in his first complete game of the season. Only two runners reached second base against Hamels, who has lasted at least seven innings in eight of his nine starts this season.