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Rollins helps Phillies snap scoreless streak, top Pirates

Aug 10, 2008 - 4:34 AM By Vince DiGregorio PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Jimmy Rollins was just the catalyst the Philadelphia Phillies' offense needed.

Rollins went 4-for-4, including two triples, and scored two runs to lead the Phillies to a 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.

Philadelphia, which had been shut out in its previous two games, had not scored a run in its last 23 innings.

"The 23 innings have been behind us," Rollins said. "It's a new game. We don't look at innings. It makes a great story for you guys to write about, but it was only two games."

Rollins quickly helped the Phillies snap the scoreless drought when he led off the first inning with a triple off Ian Snell (4-9) into the right field corner and scored on Shane Victorino's single for a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Ryan Howard doubled the advantage with an RBI single.

"I was able to get out there and get in scoring position immediately, and that's big," Rollins said. "You don't have to worry about sacrificing the guy and hoping to get a hit. With the runner on third, you can pretty much score on any ball.

"Have to set the table for the big guys. They get better pitches to hit because pitchers are worried about us running. Tonight, we were able to do that and walk away with a victory. That's really what's most important."

Pittsburgh halved the deficit in fourth, but Rollins led off the seventh with another triple, just missing a home run as the ball hit the top of the wall in right field. The speedster - who posted his fifth career two-triple game - came home on a single by Victorino, giving Philadelphia a 3-1 bulge.

"It's definitely one of (my) better games," Rollins said. "I went inside the cage today and I did a couple of my Tony Gwynn drills. Just trying to get my hands out in front of me, and I guess they worked.

"I don't know if Tony would have hit two triples in a game, as he got older, but I was just trying to feel my hands work. Hopefully, I can use this as a launching pad for the rest of the season because we definitely need it."

Rollins collected all four of his hits against Snell, improving his lifetime average against the righthander to .632 (12-for-19) - including four triples.

"Fortunately, it was (against) a pitcher that I've had success off of, so you feel a little more comfortable in the box," Rollins said.

Jayson Werth made it 4-1 when he led off the eighth with Philadelphia's third three-base hit and scored on Greg Dobbs' base hit.

Brett Myers (5-9) was the beneficiary of the offense. The righthander worked 7 2/3 innings, allowing just one run and five hits with one walk and six strikeouts.

"I felt like I was locating my pitches well tonight," Myers said.

Myers, who threw 93 pitches, visibly was angry when Phillies manager Charlie Manuel removed him from the game. The two exchanged words in the dugout before Myers stormed into the clubhouse.

"It's my fault. I should have just respected his decision instead of snapping at him," Myers said. "I wanted to finish the game, but sometimes your emotions get the best of you. You might do something irrational out there. He thought I did. That's all patched up now, though. We're buddies."

Manuel shrugged off the incident afterward.

"Just two strong-willed people kind of disagreeing," he said. "But everything's all right. He was wanting to stay in the game, and I like that. There's nothing wrong with that. As a matter of fact, if he didn't want to stay in the game, I'd probably be mad. It was just a misunderstanding."

J.C. Romero retired the only batter he faced and Chad Durbin notched his first save of the season despite yielding an RBI single by Brendan Moss in the ninth.

Myers was making his fourth start since returning from a stint in the minors in which he worked on his mechanics. He tossed his third straight quality start in his first appearance at Citizens Bank Park since June 21.

"I missed a month without being here with the team and I wanted to try to prove myself again that I could actually pitch in the big leagues," Myers said. "I went down to the minors to try to fix everything. Mentally, I had to get back to the way I used to pitch as a starter. It was more or less getting out of my own way."

Myers retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced before Pittsburgh got on the board in the fourth inning, when Nate McClouth lined a double into the right-center field gap that scored Doug Mientkiewicz from first base.

Philadelphia let Snell off the hook in the bottom of the frame, when Chase Utley struck out with the bases loaded and two outs.

"(Snell) settled in and threw the ball pretty well," Pirates manager John Russell said. "It seems like the first inning is the inning that's giving him the most trouble lately. Once he gets out of it, he's doing fine."

Snell lasted six-plus innings, surrendering three runs and eight hits.