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Big fifth inning gives Phillies win over Blue Jays

May 19, 2007 - 6:34 AM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Dustin McGowan had everything working for four innings. His mechanics apparently broke down in the fifth.

Aaron Rowand and Shane Victorino highlighted a five-run fifth inning with RBI singles and Jon Lieber tossed seven-plus effective innings as the Philadelphia Phillies began interleague play Friday with a 5-3 triumph over the Toronto Blue Jays.

McGowan baffled the Phillies for four innings, retiring the first 10 batters he faced before walking Victorino. He set down the next two hitters to end the frame but unraveled in the fifth, when Philadelphia scored five runs on just three hits.

Pat Burrell led off the inning with a walk and Greg Dobbs followed with a single to right field, the Phillies' first hit of the night. McGowan continued to struggle with his control, walking Wes Helms on four pitches and, after striking out Carlos Ruiz, issuing a seven-pitch walk to counterpart Lieber to force in Burrell with the game's first run.

"The walk to Lieber, that's the whole game right there," McGowan said. "I shouldn't have been 3-0 (in the count). I battled back, but he's the pitcher. You've got to attack him from the get-go."

Lieber agreed with McGowan's assessment.

"I know from my standpoint, if I'm in that situation, that is definitely frustrating to walk the pitcher," Lieber said. "That was a tough at-bat. He was a little wild there. I just tried to work the count, stay alive as long as I could. It just seemed like after that, things kind of snowballed."

Rowand doubled Philadelphia's lead with an RBI single and Victorino followed with a base hit to plate Helms and make it 3-0. After a wild pitch during his at-bat allowed Lieber to score, Jimmy Rollins made it a five-run advantage with a sacrifice fly to deep left-center field.

(McGowan) opened the door for us," Rowand said. "(He) gave us an opportunity to put together a good inning."

"He was rolling, then it just got away that one inning," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "He's a young kid. He's just got to get over that hump because the times he's been here, it's usually one inning that gets him."

That spelled the end of the night for McGowan (0-1), who yielded five runs, three hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings. The 25-year-old righthander struck out five but saw his ERA rise to 8.22 in three starts this season.

"I'm just waiting for that game where everything just clicks and I go seven, eight innings," McGowan said. "It went well for four innings tonight, and then the fifth just was really embarrassing.

"Every game, it seems like just the one big inning. I've got to learn how to eliminate that. It's all about getting over that inning."

The Blue Jays, who fell to 31-53 all-time on the road during interleague play, got on the scoreboard in the seventh. Troy Glaus started the inning with a single and Aaron Hill launched a 2-2 pitch over the left field wall for his seventh home run of the season.

Batting for reliever Brian Tallet, Matt Stairs led off the eighth with a homer off Lieber, pulling Toronto within 5-3. It was the second blast of the season for Stairs and the 11th of his career as a pinch hitter.

The shot concluded the performance by Lieber (2-2), who allowed three runs and six hits. The righthander, who lost his previous two starts, struck out seven without a walk.

Antonio Alfonseca came on and avoided further damage in the eighth despite surrendering Lyle Overbay's second double of the game with one out. Former starter Brett Myers made things interesting in the ninth, however, loading the bases on a double by rookie Adam Lind and a pair of walks before retiring Alex Rios on a groundout to third base and notching his fifth save.

"I felt like I was strong tonight," Myers said. "I threw a good pitch to Lind and he took a good swing at it and hit a double. (After the walks), I had to settle down and make quality pitches to Rios, which I felt like I did."

Myers' move from the rotation to the bullpen opened a spot for Lieber, who was being dangled as trade bait before the switch.

"I'm very glad he's still here," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said regarding Lieber. "He has been a starter his whole career. Two years ago, he was a big pitcher for us, and last year, he pitched well the second half of the season.

"It was hard for me to accept Lieber out of the bullpen because he had never pitched there, and in some ways, he didn't feel right pitching there."

The victory was the seventh in nine games for the Phillies, who did not register a hit after the fifth inning. Despite the sleeping bats, they improved to 40-44 at home in interleague play.

"I think that's where plate discipline comes into play," Manuel said. "I think we're capable of scoring runs without hitting homers."