For the second straight day, Jimmy Rollins had a productive performance in an extended spring training game at the Carpenter Complex.

The rehabbing shortstop was 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs, two walks, two runs and a stolen base.

He's scheduled to play for the Clearwater Threshers on Wednesday.

His goal is to join the team in Arizona Thursday; meeting up with the team in San Francisco is probably more likely.

"Their schedule is they want me to be (in Clearwater) Thursday, but mine says I have a plane ticket," he said.

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The Archive Files

If you didn't stay up past midnight, you missed a masterful performance from the oldest player in baseball, Jamie Moyer, against a highly-touted rookie.

In the notes, Jimmy Rollins' first rehab game goes well.

Here's the filler story (written in case the game doesn't get into your paper) that didn't appear on line:

PHILS HOMER-HAPPY OFFENSE COULD USE ROLLINS


PHOENIX – Jimmy Rollins went 4-for-4 with three doubles in his first extended spring training game in Clearwater, Fla. Monday afternoon.

Over 2,100 miles away, Charlie Manuel cast a wistful eye toward his leadoff-hitting shortstop.

Rollins, whose status is still “day to day” according to assistant general manager Ruben Amaro, has talents that are obvious. But his impact on how the lineup functions, while also clear in his MVP-winning season in 2007, have perhaps never been more glaring than in the Phillies recent winning surge.

Since Rollins was placed on the disabled list on April 20, the Phillies have won 10 of 14 games. But during that run they’ve relied heavily on the long ball.

In those 14 games, the Phillies have scored 30 of their 70 runs (43 percent) off of home runs.

“I’m not concerned about the hitting, but right now, that’s the hitting that we got,” Manuel said before the Phillies game in Arizona Monday night. “We’ve got guys who swing big. We got guys who take big hacks at the ball. That’s who they are.

“I don’t mean that negative or positive… that’s who they are. If we don’t hit doubles or homers, where are we going to get the speed from?”

Rollins, and Shane Victorino, who only returned to the starting lineup Thursday, add the dynamic of small ball more regularly to the team’s lineup.

They both can steal bases – Rollins and Victorino combined for 78 last summer. The Phillies set a major league record for stolen base efficiency (138 stolen bases in 157 attempts) and ranked second in the league in steals last year.

Without their two jackrabbits at the top of the order for most of 2008, the Phillies’ running game has gone from productive to non-existent. The team’s 15 stolen bases in 20 tries is 10th in the league.

“One player can make a difference,” Manuel said. “Because with Rollins, a switch hitter (and) a contact hitter who can also hit the ball out of the yard and he can run – he sets the game up for us.”

Before Sunday’s game, the first two games against the Giants over the weekend – one win, one loss – saw the Phillies relying solely on the home run. The scored eight runs on five home runs.

“We’re not manufacturing runs like when you have Jimmy at the top of the lineup who’s able to steal a base and make things happen,” Phillies hitting coach Milt Thompson said. “The runs he scores, the runs he produces… he does it all.”

Although the Phillies entered Monday’s game tied for the third most wins in the National League, they were only 10th with an ordinary .250 team batting average. While Rollins can only do so much in bringing that number up, his ability to get on base could at least make some of those outs productive outs with his knack for getting around the bases quicker than most.

“I think once we get Rollins back it’s going to help us, speed-wise, that plays a big part in it,” Manuel said. “With him and Victorino at the top of our order, that’s how we manufacture runs.”