Duckworth Wins in Phillies Debut

Brandon Duckworth heard the fans quacking, then almost silenced San Diego`s bats. Duckworth pitched six solid innings to win his major league debut as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Padres 7-3 Tuesday night.

Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell and Scott Rolen homered for Philadelphia, which remained three games behind first-place Atlanta in the NL East.

Duckworth, starting in place of the injured Randy Wolf, allowed three runs and four hits. He got a standing ovation from the 19,465 fans at Veterans Stadium after hitting a line drive single to right in the fourth.

The fans immediately welcomed Duckworth to Philadelphia with signs reading "Quack Pack," "Duck Pond" and "Sitting Ducks" and quacking after strikeouts.

"It was incredible. I couldn`t believe the support," Duckworth said. "It`s hard to express how that makes you feel."

The Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the first when Rolen hit his 11th homer. Rolen, who averaged more than 25 homers in each of his first four years, also made two outstanding defensive plays early in the game.

"You want to support any pitcher," Rolen said. "It felt great."

Travis Lee`s RBI single in the fourth scored Abreu to make it 2-0. Abreu hit a one-out double to right before Lee blooped a single just out of the reach of second baseman Damian Jackson.

Burrell followed with a two-run homer to right, giving the Phillies a 4-0 lead. The opposite-field shot was Burrell`s 16th homer and fourth in seven games.

"It started in Colorado where he didn`t have to swing hard," Phillies manager Larry Bowa said. "Maybe he realizes he just has to take a good pass at it. It was a pleasant surprise to see him hit the ball the other way."

San Diego cut it to 4-3 on Mark Kotsay`s three-run homer in the fifth. D`Angelo Jimenez singled to start the inning and Jackson walked with one out before Kotsay hit a 1-2 pitch into the right-field bullpen.

But Abreu`s two-run homer in the fifth made it 6-3 and Jimmy Rollins` RBI triple in the sixth capped the scoring.

"Both hits by Abreu and Rollins were mistake pitches," Padres manager Bruce Bochy said.

Bobby Jones (7-14) allowed seven runs and 11 hits in 5 2-3 innings. He is tied with Milwaukee`s Jimmy Haynes for most losses in the majors.

"The bottom line is I made a lot of mistakes," Jones said. "I missed with some pitches that cost me."

Duckworth, considered the Phillies` top prospect, didn`t allow more than one runner until the fifth. He struck out four and walked four.

The 25-year-old right-hander led the International League in wins (13), ERA (2.63) and strikeouts (150) and pitched at least six innings in all but three of his 20 starts.

"He did a great job," Bowa said. "He was nervous. He tried to be too fine early and got his pitches up. I was very impressed. It was hot out there."

Notes: Padres OF Tony Gwynn, on his final trip to Philadelphia, got a standing ovation before hitting into a double play as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning. ... Before the game, the Phillies placed LHP Dennis Cook on the 15-day disabled list for personal reasons. LHP Eddie Oropesa was called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to fill the roster spot. ... Phillies hitting coach Richie Hebner coached first base in place of Tony Scott, who was ill. ... Abreu has hit in 10 straight. ... The game-time temperature was 98 degrees on the hottest day of the year in Philadelphia. ... Kotsay was 1-for-13 before the homer.

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

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Author: 6 ABC - Action News