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Rollins' walk-off single gives Phillies late win over Reds

Jun 29, 2007 - 5:05 AM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Jimmy Rollins definitely has a flare for the dramatic.

Rollins hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning as the Philadelphia Phillies posted an 8-7 victory Thursday over the Cincinnati Reds in a rain-soaked contest.

The Phillies' leadoff hitter hit a two-out RBI triple in the eighth to tie the game at 7-7 and lined a single into right-center field off reliever Victor Santos (1-3) in the 10th to plate the winning run. Coming into the final at-bat, Rollins was just 1-for-10 against the righthander.

"That's what I'm paid to do," Rollins said. "I'm supposed to come up there in a good situation and be able to deliver. I happened to step up and get the job done."

Chase Utley provided much of the early offense for Philadelphia, as he hit two-run homers in his first two plate appearances. For the 28-year-old, it was his 13th career multi-homer game, giving him 15 on the season.

"We did a great job tonight, coming back and scoring some runs," Utley said. "We didn't really let up, which was a good sign."

Utley just missed hitting a third homer when he flied out to deep left in his third at-bat in the fifth inning.

Pinch hitter Rod Barajas drew a walk to open the 10th and, two batters later, Abraham Nunez singled to left to move Barajas into scoring position. Jayson Werth replaced Barajas on the basepaths and scored on Rollins' fourth hit of the contest.

"They've got a great lineup," Reds manager Jerry Narron said of the Phillies. "They might have the best lineup in all of baseball."

Clay Condrey (3-0) worked around a walk and a hit in the top of the 10th to pick up the victory, one day after Philadelphia's bullpen was unable to hold a three-run lead against Cincinnati.

"The team kept coming back and we had it," said Reds starter Matt Belisle, who yielded six runs and eight hits in five innings. "It's a rough loss, especially in extras, when we really felt like we were gonna take this series."

"It's the way this whole series was when you look at it," Phillies third baseman Greg Dobbs said. "They go up, we go up. Just battle, battle, battle."

It was a seesaw affair from the beginning, as the game was tied on three separate occasions and the lead switched hands four times.

"Every time we play the Reds - ever since I've been here - they've been a thorn in our side," Rollins said. "They match up well against us and I guess, us against them."

"We kept battling back," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "We stayed with them."

Edwin Encarnacion, Adam Dunn and Alex Gonzalez all homered for the Reds, who have dropped four of their last five games.