Phillies Regain 1st Place

Jimmy Rollins walked on the field, saw his first sellout crowd at Veterans Stadium and couldn`t believe it.

Joe Torre couldn`t believe what he saw, either.

Scott Rolen hit a go-ahead RBI single, and Philadelphia`s bullpen didn`t allow a run in four innings as the Phillies beat the New York Yankees 9-3 Sunday.

The Phillies, who tied the Chicago Cubs for the worst record in the majors last season, lead the NL East by one game over Atlanta. The three-time defending champion Yankees have lost three of four since the All-Star break, prompting Torre to hold a closed-door meeting for about 25 minutes after the game.

Derek Jeter made his 13th error, Mark Wohlers threw a wild pitch and Jorge Posada had three passed balls, raising his season total to 16 _ five more than his total last year.

"It was ugly. We were terrible and we`ve got to straighten it out," Torre said. "We had a meeting. That`s a product that we put out there today that we`re not proud of."

A sellout crowd of 59,470 _ nearly one-third New York fans _ turned out to watch the two division leaders.

It was the second-largest crowd in the majors this year and the most fans at a Phillies game since opening day of the 1993 season, when 60,985 came out.

Despite being in first place for all but four days this season, the Phillies have the third-lowest attendance in the National League.

"Wow, this is what this place looks like with people in it," Rollins said. "It`s a great feeling."

Jeter drove in all three runs for New York with a two-run homer and a double.

Robert Person (7-5) allowed three runs in five innings to win his third straight decision. Wayne Gomes pitched the sixth, Rheal Cormier allowed one hit in two innings and Jose Mesa worked the ninth.

"The bullpen was great," Phillies manager Larry Bowa said.

The Phillies scored two unearned runs off Andy Pettitte (9-5) after tying the game at 3, then broke it open with four in the eighth.

Doug Glanville reached first when Jeter failed to handle his hard grounder with one out in the fifth. Glanville was forced at second on Rollins` grounder to third.

After Bobby Abreu walked and Rollins stole third, Rolen hit a single just past Alfonso Soriano to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead.

"We haven`t heard that many people booing, cheering or anything," Rolen said.

Abreu`s RBI single in the seventh scored Rollins for a 5-3 lead. Rollins reached first on an infield single to third with two outs, moved to second on a passed ball by Posada and scored on Abreu`s bouncer up the middle.

In the eighth, Philadelphia got RBI doubles by Travis Lee and Glanville, an RBI single by Gary Bennett and Eric Valent scored on Posada`s third passed ball of the game.

"I love seeing the crowd," Bowa said. "This is what I used to play before. This was nice. They got to go home with a good taste in their mouth."

Pettitte allowed five runs _ three earned _ and eight hits in seven innings. He struck out three and walked one.

"I kind of lost it after the third," Pettitte said. "I lost my rhythm. I was terrible."

The Yankees took a 2-0 lead in the first on Jeter`s ninth homer.

Glanville`s RBI double in the third cut it to 2-1.

A two-out double by Jeter on a liner to left that was misplayed by Pat Burrell scored Soriano, giving the Yankees a 3-1 lead in the fourth.

But the Phillies scored twice in the fourth to tie it.

After Rolen`s one-out single, Burrell tripled to right-center to make it 3-2. Lee then hit a sacrifice fly to tie it at 3.

Person gave up five hits, tied a season high with six walks and struck out four. He constantly ran into trouble, but the Yankees stranded seven runners in the first five innings.

"A team like the Yankees, they capitalize on mistakes," Person said. "You have to minimize."

Posada had no explanation for his tough day behind the plate.

"I didn`t catch the ball," he said. "That`s the bottom line."

Notes: There were four steals of third base without a throw, including three by the Yankees. ... Rollins stole his 31st base and 26th in a row. ... Person is 4-1 in 11 starts since losing at Arizona on May 13. ... Glanville made a great running catch on a liner in the gap by Paul O`Neill that preserved a 4-3 Phillies lead in the seventh.

(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Author: 6 ABC - Action News (AP)