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Rollins and Phillies aim for sweep of Pirates

Jul 29, 2007 - 2:20 PM Pittsburgh (42-60) at Philadelphia (54-49) 1:35 pm EDT

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- So far, the absence of All-Star Chase Utley has not affected the potent offense of the Philadelphia Phillies, thanks in large part to Jimmy Rollins.

Rollins and the Phillies look to complete a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.

Utley, who ranks in the top 10 in the National League in runs (79) and RBI (82), suffered a broken hand after being hit by a pitch on Thursday.

Rollins picked up the slack on Saturday, driving in three runs and finishing a homer shy of the cycle in a 10-5 victory. Chris Coste homered and drove in four runs for Philadelphia, which has scored 18 runs over the first two games of the series and is averaging nearly seven runs a game this month.

Kyle Kendrick (4-1, 4.44 ERA) looks to benefit from the Phillies' scoring binge. Kendrick is winless in his last two starts, but Philadelphia is 6-2 when he is on the mound.

Kendrick did not figure in the decision of his last start after allowing three runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings of a 4-3 win over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.

As for Pittsburgh, it has lost 12 of 14 games and owns the National League's worst record.

Ian Snell (7-8, 3.62) has been a bright spot for the Pirates, but has fallen into a bit of a rut. Snell has lost a career-high three straight starts after surrendering a season-high six runs and 10 hits in four innings in an 8-4 loss to the New York Mets on Tuesday.