PHILADELPHIA — Charlie Manuel was fired once before at the All-Star break in his first managerial stint with Cleveland. He'd like to believe he can safely pack his bags after this break when Philadelphia travels to San Francisco later this week.

Manuel can handle the rumors about his shaky job status. It's the way others handle the speculation that has him on edge.

"People look at you like you have cancer," an emotional Manuel said. "They act like they don't know what to say to you."

He won't mind the concerned looks if he can keep his job.

Cole Hamels pitched five solid innings to win for the first time in over a month, and the Philadelphia Phillies took their first series in that same span, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-3 Sunday.

General manager Pat Gillick hasn't indicated that Manuel's job is in jeopardy, but the Phillies have sorely underachieved after finishing only one game behind National League wild-card winner Houston last season. Manuel said the rumors have affected his team's performance.

"If I lose games for the Phillies, then I've got to go," he said.

Nearly 90 minutes after the extended press conference ended, Manuel called a Phillies spokesman to relay a message to the media that he did not believe he was going to be fired.

Manuel was fired at the 2002 break in the final year of his contract with the Indians over a contract dispute. Manuel said he learned his lesson with the Indians about going public with his unhappiness over a team's direction and wouldn't gripe about the Phillies' talent level.

"When I was in Cleveland, I kind of fired myself," he said. "I got blamed for a lot of things. They act like I walked in and asked for a contract and asked for more money and I never did. ... Once I got let go, everything was my fault, everything fell on me. I felt that kind of hurt who I was in baseball. I never will quit. I'll come to work every day and do the best I possibly can."

Expected to be the next Philly Phenom, Hamels (2-4) has been more of a Philly Flop since he was called up in early May. The left-hander hadn't won since June 6 against Arizona in a victory that clinched a series win against the Diamondbacks.

He lost his next four starts and had a no-decision in his last outing as the Phillies tumbled under .500 and out of the NL East race. The Phillies had lost eight straight series and won their first home series since May 29-31 against Washington.

"We finally won a series if that means anything," Manuel said. "We've got to play a lot better baseball."

Bobby Abreu had three hits and reached base for the 34th straight game, and Chris Coste continued his hot hitting with two RBIs for the Phillies.