Phillies Snare Marlins, 7-3 to Complete Sweep

  Scott Rolen thinks his new manager is nuts.

MIAMI -- If the Phillies have a season like the first three games of the season, new manager Larry Bowa will either have an ulcer, a rapid loss of his thick, dark mane, fingernails chewed down to the quick, or a Dick Vermeil-esque burnout. But on the other hand, the bald, pepto chugging skipper would have a decent record.

	Marlon Anderson leaps over Eric Owens to complete a double play in the fourth inning.

The Phillies pulled out another close one Wednesday night in Pro Player Stadium, 7-3, thanks to some of the same variables that cost them 97 losses last year. Then again, a four-run eighth inning to rebound from a 3-2 deficit didn't hurt matters either.

More importantly, the Phillies head back to Philadelphia with a 3-0 record for the first time since 1993. After an off day Thursday, the team will open its new NeXTurf laden field Friday afternoon against the Chicago Cubs -- the very team it faced after sweeping the Houston Astros in 1993.

"This game can bring you to your knees real quick," Bowa said. "Don't get me wrong. I love 3-0. It's a lot better than 0-3. Maybe they're taking us lightly. Everybody picked us for dead last."

"We didn't do this last year," said Doug Glanville, who went 2-for-4 Wednesday night. "We couldn't get any type of rhythm. But this is a beautiful thing, we're pretty excited to get out of the gate like this."

On Friday, the Phils play their home opener against the Cubs. The Phils haven't started 4-0 since 1915.

"I would like to do that," Scott Rolen said. "I've never had a start like this or even close to this."

But before we start comparing Travis Lee's swing to John Kruk's or Pat Burrell's to Pete Incaviglia's, a bit of caution should be exercised. The Phillies have beaten only a mediocre Marlins' team three straight and not the Mets.

But then again, did the '93 team open with its bullpen allowing just two runs in 15 2/3 innings?

Down 3-2 to start the eighth, the Phillies scored four times in the inning on one hit and with only two balls leaving the infield. Scott Rolen led off with a walk and moved to second on a passed ball to catcher Charles Johnson. He moved to third on an infield single by Pat Burrell and came around to tie it on a wild pitch by Dan Miceli. Two more walks loaded the bases for pinch-hitter David Newhan who lifted a fly ball to right to bring in Burrell with the go-ahead run.

Glanville added the insurance with a two-base error by leftfielder Cliff Floyd that scored Mike Lieberthal and Marlon Anderson. Bobby Abreu capped the scoring with a solo shot to lead off the ninth.

"When we force teams into mistakes, we're capitalizing on them," Glanville said. "That's what good teams do and we didn't do it much last year."

"I'm very satisfied," Bowa added. "They're leaving with a good taste in their mouth and they get a day off (on Thursday), which they deserve. These guys keep scratching and that's a tribute to them."

With the Phillies stingy bullpen throwing blanks at the Marlins, that was curtains. Reliever Ricky Bottalico issued a single to Mike Lowell, whiffed Johnson with some high cheese and got Derek Lee to ground into an around-the-horn double play.

Jose Mesa set the Marlins down in order in the ninth, but didn't record a save since the Phils were up by four.

Nobody, not even the most Stepford of Phillies fans could have predicted how well the bullpen has fared. The unit is 3-0 with a 1.15 ERA.

At the same time, the Phillies bench (what there is of it) has been as perfect as the team's record. Last season, the bench and the bullpen were the biggest team's biggest group of underachievers. But besides starting the year 4-for-4 in pinch-hitting, clutch would be an understatement to describe the bench play. Kevin Jordan started a two-out rally in the seventh with a single and came around to tie the game at 3 on a single by rookie Jimmy Rollins.

An inning later, David Newhan lifted a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to right to give the team a lead it would never relinquish.

But while the bullpen and the bench has been a surprise, the starting pitching has yet to record a decision. Bruce Chen was the latest to go home with nothing to show for his efforts.

If there was one aspect of Chen's game that worried new manager Larry Bowa the most, it was the young lefty's propensity to serve up a long ball or two. During the spring, Chen served up seven gopher balls in just 22 innings. Wednesday night in ProPlayer Stadium, that habit for hanging a few almost cost the Phils.

To his credit, Chen pitched well, but his two mistakes were big mistakes. The first such error was a 2-0 hanging curve that Derek Lee placed 434-feet into the upper deck in the second. The next was a 3-2 high fastball in the fifth that Preston Wilson crushed 448-feet into dead centerfield to break a 1-1 tie.

Yeah, that's nearly 900-feet of home runs.

Lost in the shuffle was decent outing by Chen, who went 5 1/3 and struck out five. Save for the two, long homers, Chen gave the Phillies a chance to win.

Like Chen, Marlins' starter Brad Penny pitched well and came up empty. Penny went 6 2/3, struck out five and allowed two runs. After getting the first two out in the seventh, Jordan singled and ended up tying the game. That was it for Penny.

Notes: Bowa is the first Phillies manager to start his career 3-0. … Glanville, Abreu and Rolen have a hit in all three games. … Slugger Burrell is 2-for-12 with eight strikeouts. … Mesa and Bottalico have pitched in all three games. … Phillies pitchers didn't walk a batter Wednesday night. … Rheal Cormier made his Phillies debut. He went one inning, gave up a run but got the win.

John R. Finger
ComcastSportsNet.com