Phillies On Top In NL

The Philadelphia Phillies have the best record in the National League after their 6-5, 10-inning victory over Arizona on Saturday night. But they have lost one of their team leaders.

Catcher Mike Lieberthal injured his right knee when he was picked off at first base by Brian Anderson in the second inning. The initial diagnosis was a sprain, but an MRI is scheduled Monday, when the team arrives back in Philadelphia.

"You get a sick feeling in your stomach," Philadelphia manager Larry Bowa said. "You`re talking about an All-Star catcher."

Pat Burrell singled home Gary Bennett for the winning run. Bennett also had a two-run double the inning after he replaced Lieberthal.

"As a backup or a bench player, whatever you want to call it, you`ve got to try to stay sharp somehow," Bennett said. "I was just trying to get the bat on the ball. I got lucky a little bit."

Bennett was shaken when told Lieberthal was headed for the disabled list.

"I don`t want to hear that," Bennett said. "He`s one of the leaders of this club, and we need him back – quickly."

The win assured Philadelphia of its first series triumph over the Diamondbacks in the last seven tries.

Reggie Sanders hit a pair of two-run home runs, and Luis Gonzalez hit his major league-leading 17th homer as Arizona rallied from five runs down to send it to extra innings.

"I`ve got to give our guys a lot of credit for battling back," Arizona manager Bob Brenly said. "You don`t want to have to battle from behind every time. You`d like to get on top with a few runs. But lately, every game`s been a struggle."

Bennett singled off of Miguel Batista (1-2) to lead off the 10th, then Travis Lee walked. Burrell followed with his RBI single to left.

Ricky Bottalico (2-2) gave up a hit in one and 1 1-3 innings for the victory. Jose Mesa pitched the 10th for his 10th save in 11 tries.

Scott Rolen and Bennett each hit two-run doubles in Philadelphia`s five-run third inning.

Sanders hit a 448-foot smash off Omar Daal, the second-longest homer at Bank One Ballpark this season, to cut the lead to 5-3 in the fourth. He tied it 5-5 with a 427-footer to straightaway center off reliever Chris Brock in the sixth.

Daal, the ex-Diamondback looking to improve to 5-0, left after walking Mark Grace with two outs in the fifth. Sanders, the next batter, hit Brock`s 3-2 pitch high off the wall in center to tie it.

Daal, who allowed four runs on four hits in 5 2-3 innings, was 3-for-3 and scored a run.

Anderson settled down after giving up six hits in Philadelphia`s third-inning surge. He left after seven innings with the game tied at 5.

Lieberthal`s knee buckled as he lunged back toward first on the pickoff throw. He grabbed his knee in pain, then had to be helped from the field.

X-rays were negative, but trainer Jeff Cooper said it won`t be known whether there was any significant ligament damage until the MRI is completed.

The Phillies called up catcher Johnny Estrada from Triple-A Louisville. At the same time, Philadelphia placed pitcher Vicente Padilla on the disabled list with a sprained ankle and called up pitcher Nelson Figueroa.

Both teams nearly scored in the ninth.

Perez led off with a single, and advanced to second on Doug Glanville`s sacrifice bunt. Perez tried to score on Jimmy Rollins` single to short left field.

Gonzalez threw a one-hopper to catcher Damian Miller, who tagged Perez as the runner slid head-first across the plate. Umpire Bruce Froemming called Perez out, but replays showed Perez`s hand appeared to touch the plate ahead of the tag.

Bowa, who has yet to be thrown out of a game this season, argued but not as hard as he could have.

"Probably one more word and I`d have been gone," Bowa said. "I didn`t want him kicking me out of my first game. He kicked me out of a whole bunch when I was a player."

Womack led off Arizona`s ninth with a single, then moved to second on Damian Miller`s bunt. With two outs, Jay Bell lined a shot to right-center, where Glanville made a game-saving, diving catch.

Game notes:
Arizona RHP Armando Reynoso was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained right shoulder. RHP Erik Sabel was recalled from Triple-A Tucson to take Reynoso`s roster spot. ... Randy Johnson needs 14 strikeouts Sunday to break Kerry Wood`s record of 33 in consecutive starts, and 17 to break Nolan Ryan`s record of 47 in three straight starts. ... Daal raised his batting average from .286 to .412. ... Arizona`s Matt Williams extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an eighth-inning single.

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Author: 6 ABC - Action News