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Rollins homers twice as Phillies pound Cubs

Jul 21, 2011 - 12:07 AM Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Jimmy Rollins homered from both sides of the plate for the second time in his career, finishing with three hits and four runs scored, as the Philadelphia Phillies streaked to a 9-1 win over the Chicago Cubs in the finale of a three-game set at Wrigley Field.

Rollins added a double and had three RBI for the Phillies as they won for the third time in the last four outings and recorded their major league-leading 61st win on the campaign. Chase Utley accounted for a pair of doubles and two RBI, while Michael Martinez scored twice and stole two bases.

Philadelphia starter Vance Worley (6-1) made it through a career-high eight innings, permitting one run on four hits and a pair of walks while striking out seven batters.

Chicago hurler Ryan Dempster (7-7) suffered the defeat as he yielded six runs on seven hits, walked three and struck out five in just three innings of action. Dempster threw a total of 86 pitches in the appearance.

"I'd like to take most of the credit for pitching bad, but they (the Phillies) deserve some of it for working the count," Dempster said of how the game played out. "Worley threw a great game and he shut us down. It's a tough loss for sure."

Cubs hitters managed just four hits on the day, with Geovany Soto being credited with the lone RBI courtesy of a fielder's choice which scored Aramis Ramirez in the seventh inning.

With Houston coming to town for a three-game set beginning on Friday, Chicago has dropped four of the last five games.

The NL East-leading Phillies got on the board in the top of the first inning after Martinez reached on an infield single and then stole second. Utley made it to first on a nine-pitch walk, followed by Ryan Howard, who singled to left to plate Martinez. Howard posted his 74th RBI of the season to take over the NL lead. On the play Utley advanced to third.

Shane Victorino grounded to the left side and brought home Utley to give the visitors a 2-0 advantage.

After both Domonic Brown and Brian Schneider struck out swinging to begin the second inning for the Phillies, Worley stepped in and roped his first career double to left-center field. Rollins followed with a double of his own down the left-field line, plating his pitcher, while Martinez picked up his second hit of the game and his fifth of the series with a single to center. Rollins scored in the process to give the visitors a 4-0 lead.

Martinez then logged his second steal in as many innings, his third in the last two games, before coming home for Philadelphia's fifth run of the game thanks to a double to left by Utley.

Worley showed some defensive glove work in the bottom of the second, when he snared a line-drive off of the bat of Alfonso Soriano and threw over to first to double up Soto, who had reached after being hit by a pitch.

Brown reached first on a walk with two outs and then came around on a double by Schneider to make the score 6-0 heading into the bottom of the third.

"We gotta get better," Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro said. "We gotta talk more, we gotta be more excited to be out there. I'll take responsibility for that."

After being pinch-hit for in the previous inning, Dempster gave way to Ramon Ortiz, who saw Rollins reach base on a fielding error by Carlos Pena in the fourth. Rollins advanced to second on a throwing error on the same play and scored on a subsequent double to center by Utley, making it six straight innings in which the club had scored stretching back to Tuesday night's come- from-behind win.

Rollins scored for the third time when he belted his 10th home run of the season, a solo effort, over the right-field wall in the sixth to make the score 8-0.

"His hitting is starting to pick up," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said of Rollins. "When his hitting picks up, his numbers go up of course."

Worley began to feel the heat in the bottom of the seventh after the Cubs loaded the bases on a double by Ramirez, a walk to Pena and a single from Marlon Byrd. With no outs Soto, who posted the first hit of the day for the Cubs against Worley with a single back in the fifth, grounded into a fielder's choice in order to score Ramirez with the first run of the game for the hosts.

Soriano, however, grounded into a double play to end the threat.

Leading off the eighth, Rollins was at it again as he stepped up and cranked another solo home run, this time from the right side of the plate to add to the overwhelming lead for the Phillies. It was the first two home-run game for Rollins since August 25, 2009 and the second time in his career that he connected on long balls from both sides of the plate.