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Insight, observations (and whatever else comes to mind) on the trails of the team that ended the quarter century-long parade drought in the City of Brotherly Love - the Philadelphia Phillies.



Saturday, May 10, 2008

Rollins and Feliz enjoy Bay Area homecoming

SAN FRANCISCO - If you're a Phillies fan who stayed up late enough to watch the entirety of the Phillies-Giants game Friday night, you rested easy when your head finally hit the pillow.

Why? Jimmy Rollins'left ankle looks just fine.

The All-Star shortstop and Bay Area native banged out three hits, finishing a triple away from the cycle as the Phillies beat the Giants 7-4 before 33,796 fans at AT&T Park.

Rollins, making his first start since spraining his ankle in New York on April 8, was 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs.

"We'll save that for later - we don't want him doing too much in one day," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said afterward of Rollins failing to hit a triple.

Former Giants third baseman Pedro Feliz, who was with the San Francisco organization for 14 years before signing with the Phillies this winter, hit an RBI double in the sixth inning to tie the game at 4-4.

Two innings later, the Phillies batted around and plated three more runs to grab a 7-4 lead. Carlos Ruiz's fielder's choice scored the go-ahead run. Rollins tacked on the seventh and final run with an double to right field to cap a three-run eighth inning.

Rollins helped the Phillies rally back from a 4-1 deficit by slugging a two-run home run in the fifth. As Rollins circled the bases, the Phillies trailed 4-3.

Rollins, 0-for-2 in his first two trips to the plate, also singled in the seventh inning. He said he visited the indoor batting cage following his first two at bats to fine-tune his swing.

"If I would have know I was going to have three at bats like that, I would have started a little earlier," Rollins said of missing out on the cycle despite collecting three hits in his final three at bats.

Cole Hamels (4-3) earned the win despite pitching through two shaky frames. He retired the first seven hitters of the game, but then allowed four runs before the end of the fourth inning.

The all-star left-hander scattered six hits in seven innings. Hamels struck out seven and walked three.

After the fourth inning, Hamels didn't allow a Giants baserunner to reach second base.

"Things went haywire there for a while, but he battled through and settled down," Manuel said of Hamels' night.

The game marked the first time the Phillies played with all of their regulars since the second week of the season.

"I'm happy we've got everyone back, we're going to play better," Manuel said. "We're going to go get the (National League) East.

"When we're healthy... we've got a pretty good chance."


Reach Ryan Lawrence at ryanlawrence21@gmail.com

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