Jimmy Rollins took a big swing, stood at home plate and watched the ball soar into the seats. Before he even reached first base, the dugout had already emptied and his teammates were waiting for him.
"It felt good,'' Rollins said. "It was one of those moments.''
Rollins hit the first game-ending homer of his career, a two-run shot with one out in the ninth inning Wednesday night that lifted the Philadelphia Phillies over the Cleveland Indians 7-6.
"I never saw a crowd like that coming around third base,'' Rollins said. "I didn't know what to do. I thought about
sliding.''
Rollins was mobbed by his teammates and got a knuckle noogie on his shaved head from manager Charlie Manuel. Then he took a shaving cream pie to the face from Shane Victorino while doing an interview.
"He said, 'I got one, didn't I?''' Manuel said. "He was very
happy about it.''
Trailing 6-5, the Phillies rallied against Kerry Wood (1-3). Brian Schneider led off with a walk and pinch-runner Wilson Valdez
advanced to second on a groundout.
Rollins then hit a liner inside the right-field foul pole to win it. The 2007 NL MVP was 0 for 8 since returning from his second stint on the disabled list.
And his big hit came right awful a costly error. The Indians went ahead 6-5 in the ninth off J.C. Romero (1-0). With runners at second and third and the infield drawn in, Carlos Santana hit a hard one-hopper to shortstop. Rollins made a diving backhanded stop, but the throw home from his knees skipped past Schneider for an error and Trevor Crowe scored standing.
Schneider and Jayson Werth added solo homers for the Phillies.
Philadelphia's Kyle Kendrick allowed four earned runs and six hits in four-plus innings. "I wasn't good,'' Kendrick said. "I fell behind hitters. I didn't do my job. It's frustrating.''
The two-time NL champion Phillies are 6-3 since a 5-14 skid. Cleveland, which has the second-worst record in the AL, has lost four straight.
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