jimmy rollins

PHILADELPHIA - Shane Victorino doused the fans with a fire hose, Brett Myers and Ryan Howard jumped into the stands to join the celebration and Hall of Fame announcer Harry Kalas sang "High Hopes" over the public address system.

Believe it, Philly. The Fightin' Phils are going to the playoffs - just as Jimmy Rollins predicted way back in January.

"There's only one more celebration to try and go for now and that's the whole thing," Howard said.

Considered all-but-out of contention just 2? weeks ago, the Philadelphia Phillies overcame a huge deficit in the standings, caught the Mets and won their first NL East title since 1993 on the final day.

Howard hit his 47th homer, 44-year-old Jamie Moyer pitched 5 1-3 gutsy innings and the Phillies, backed by a crowd going crazy, beat Washington 6-1 Sunday to end a 14-year playoff drought.

Myers tossed his glove underhanded straight in the air and jumped off the mound after striking out Wily Mo Pena to end it. Pat Burrell ran out of the dugout and hugged Myers and everyone piled on.

The party was on, and it lasted for hours right there on the field, thousands of fans staying to enjoy a rare moment in Philly.

"This has been an incredible ride and we've got to keep going," Burrell said.

The Phillies also needed help up I-95 to clinch, and got it from Florida. The Marlins beat the Mets 8-1 to ensure there wouldn't be a tiebreaker playoff game on Monday.

Philadelphia rallied from seven games down on Sept. 12, matching the biggest September comeback in major league history. The Phillies and the Mets went into the last day tied for the division lead.

Now, it's the Phillies who are advancing to the post-season for only the 10th time in their history. They'll host Game 1 of the first round Wednesday against the winner of Monday's wild-card tiebreaker between San Diego and Colorado.

Somehow it seemed fitting the Phillies enjoyed success the same season they became the first team in professional sports to lose 10,000 games.

A team known for one of the biggest collapses in baseball - they blew a 6?-game lead with 12 games left in the 1964 NL race - took advantage of a colossal fold to finish first. The Phils won 13 of their last 17 and wound up 89-73.

The Phillies' long-suffering fans are quite familiar with heartbreak and failure. One World Series championship (1980) in 125 years makes for plenty of disappointing finishes, especially in recent seasons.

In 2005, the Phillies were eliminated on the final day. Last year, they were knocked out on the next-to-last day of the season.

Finally, the die-hards have reason to celebrate.

Guided by heavily criticized manager Charlie Manuel, Philadelphia overcame a 4-11 start and numerous injuries to key players. Yet even in mid-September, the comeback kids - they rallied for 48 come-from-behind wins this season - never gave up.

"No matter what the stakes are, we're never going to quit," centre fielder Aaron Rowand said.

Many players admitted they shifted their focus to the wild-card race earlier this month. Once the Mets started free-falling, helped by Philadelphia's three-game sweep at Shea Stadium on Sept. 14-16, winning the division became a possibility.

No major league team failed to finish first after having at least a seven-game lead with 17 to play. The Phillies joined the 1934 Cardinals and 1938 Cubs as the only teams to overcome seven-game deficits in the final month.

"The Mets just hit a bad streak, and we were able to take advantage," general manager Pat Gillick said.

The Phillies hadn't spent a day in first place until tying the Mets on Thursday night. They moved into sole possession of first Friday, but gave it right back with a loss on Saturday.

Before they took the field against the Nationals, the Phillies looked up at the out-of-town scoreboard and saw the Mets were trailing 7-0. And, you didn't have to be inside the ballpark to know that score.

When the Marlins scored their fourth run in a seven-run first inning, one tailgater leaped high in the air off the back of his flatbed pickup, landing feet-first on a plastic Mets helmet, crushing it into tiny pieces. His buddies circled around and mocked New York fans with "Jo-se, Jose, Jose, Jose, Jo-se, Jo-se!" in the singsong pattern of soccer's "Ole" chant.

Jose Reyes isn't going to the playoffs, but Rollins is on his way. Rollins took heat for boldly predicting last winter that the Phillies were the team to beat in the NL East. Rollins backed up his words with an MVP-calibre season, and added one more highlight to a sensational year with an RBI triple in the sixth.

"I'm no prophet, just a baseball player," Rollins said.

With the crowd emphatically chanting "M-V-P!" during Rollins' at-bat, he lined his 20th triple into the right-field corner for a 5-1 lead.

Sensing something special, the sellout crowd at Citizens Bank Park never chanted "E-A-G-L-E-S!" Sunday or during the six-game homestand.

Not since the days of the Dude and Wild Thing - Lenny Dykstra and Mitch Williams - has a Phillies team captured the hearts of a city starved for a championship. The NBA's 76ers were the last to win a title in 1983.

And leave it to a native son to deliver at a crucial time. While fellow 40-something Tom Glavine struggled for the Mets, Moyer (14-12) was sharp. Moyer grew up in nearby Souderton and played hookey from school to attend the Phillies' victory parade on Broad Street in 1980.

The crafty left-hander allowed one unearned run and five hits, striking out six. He baffled hitters with a typical mix of off-speed pitches and barely 80-mph fastball.

"I'd like to be going down Broad Street again on one of those floats instead of watching the floats go by," Moyer said.

Tom Gordon, J.C. Romero and Myers finished it off with 3 2-3 scoreless innings.

Rollins singled leading off the bottom of the first against Jason Bergmann (6-6). He stole second and third and scored on Chase Utley's sacrifice fly to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead.

In the third, Howard made it 3-0 with a two-out, two-run single. His solo shot in the seventh capped the scoring.

Notes: The Nationals swept a three-game series in New York earlier this week to help the Phillies catch the Mets. ... Phillies C Carlos Ruiz left with a bruised left elbow an inning after getting hit by a pitch. PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 27 ― It was an innocuous remark, really, but the Mets wasted no time twisting Jimmy Rollins's words into motivational origami.

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H. Rumph Jr./Associated Press
Pat Burrell, left, received congratulations from Aaron Rowand after his two-run homer helped the Phillies beat the Braves, 6-4, and pulled them into a first-place tie.



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Schedule/Results Individual Stats | Team History Times Topics: The Mets The Phillies would be the team to beat in the National League East this season, Rollins predicted last winter. The forecast grew in its clairvoyance Thursday. The Phillies scored four runs against John Smoltz before making their first out and eventually defeated the Braves, 6-4, drawing even in first place with the crumbling Mets.

What was Rollins supposed to say? That Philadelphia would finish last?

He appeared to be trying to light a fire under his own team, not to rattle the Mets' cages, Phillies catcher Chris Coste said. Neither of the above, according to Rollins.

"I wasn't motivated by anything other than the truth," Rollins said.

He said he was surprised that the Mets and their fans seemed to be insulted.

"Everybody assumed the East meant one team," Rollins said. "But it's a five-team division. People forget that."

Rollins more than backed up his words as the Phillies swept the Mets in three series this season and kept themselves hanging around in the pennant race. When Mets fans have booed him, it only seemed to sharpen Rollins's intent.

As the regular season winds down, with three home games against Washington, he has delivered the best year of his career and perhaps has become the league's most complete shortstop.

Rollins is the first major leaguer to have at least 200 hits, 15 triples, 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases in one season. He is also only the third everyday shortstop to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in a season, joining Barry Larkin in 1996 and Alex Rodriguez in 1998.

Rollins ranks first in the N.L. in runs scored (136), at-bats (704), multihit games (62) and triples (19). He began the day tied for second in hits with 207 before adding to his total and drawing within one at-bat of the single-season record of 705, set by Willie Wilson of Kansas City in 1980.

"Thirty homers, Gold Glove at shortstop, steals bases, hits for average ― yeah, I'd say you could make a case he's as good as there is," Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox said of Rollins.

On Thursday night, Rollins slapped Smoltz's first pitch up the middle for a single. He scored on the next pitch, when Smoltz fielded Shane Victorino's bunt and threw it down the right-field line.

After another Braves' error, Ryan Howard blasted his 44th home run and the Phillies took a 4-0 lead. (Pat Burrell added a two-run homer in the third to make the score 6-0).

Defensively, Rollins's glove has adhered to balls like duct tape.

"This year, I've never seen a guy field so many hard-hit balls in my life," Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel said. "I see him have games where it seems like 7, 8, 10 balls are rang at him hard, and he makes all the plays."

Rollins has made himself a candidate for the league's Most Valuable Player award, along with Prince Fielder of Milwaukee and Matt Holliday of Colorado. His candidacy would be further burnished if the Phillies make the playoffs after an absence of 13 seasons.

He was particularly imposing in 18 games against the Mets, hitting .346 (28 for 81), with 6 home runs and 15 runs batted in.

"He replaced the rat as the official pest of Shea Stadium," Jim Salisbury of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote of Rollins. "And he loved every minute of it."

Speaking last week to Philadelphia reporters, the assured Rollins said that if he had to choose between an M.V.P. award and a World Series ring, he would take both.

"He's been one of our most important leaders, on and off the field," Phillies third baseman Greg Dobbs said. "He's always positive. He never gets ruffled. You never see him down, and he's one of the first to pick up the other guys."

As the Mets succumbed Thursday, their final out was shown on the scoreboard here, and 40,589 towel-waving fans roared at Citizens Bank Park.

Two weeks ago, the Phillies were seven games out of first place. Now they were improbably tied. Rollins smiled at closer Brett Myers and hoped he did not break the reliever's concentration.

"Like I said from the beginning, I don't care what everybody else thinks," Rollins said of his off-season prediction. "It matters what these guys in the clubhouse think and the way we go out and play. PHILADELPHIA (AP) -The Philadelphia Phillies spent all season trying to overtake the New York Mets. And once they took the lead, they gave it away.

So now, the NL East race comes down to this: The Phillies and Mets are tied with one game left.

Matt Chico pitched six solid innings Saturday and the Washington Nationals got in the Phillies' way, winning 4-2 to leave the division all even.

''I didn't have to say a word,'' Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said. ''They were all saying, 'We'll get them tomorrow. We've done it all year.'''

New York beat Florida 13-0 at Shea Stadium to put pressure on the Phillies, who moved into sole possession of first place for the first time Friday night.

If Philadelphia and the Mets are still tied after Sunday, there will be a one-game playoff Monday at Citizens Bank Park to determine the East winner.

Both clubs would be eliminated from wild-card contention if San Diego beats Milwaukee on Sunday.

With another sellout crowd waving their rally towels and turning the ballpark into a sea of red, the Phillies had a chance to control their playoff destiny.

But Ryan Howard's 46th homer wasn't enough offense, and the defense was shaky.

Now, it's up to 44-year-old Jamie Moyer, who faces Jason Bergmann and the spoiler-minded Nationals on Sunday afternoon. Washington swept a three-game series in New York earlier this week, and could knock the Phillies out with one more win.

''The way this team has battled the entire season, to have it come down to the final day, it's fun,'' Howard said.

For a while, Chico (7-9) pitched more like Tom Glavine in his prime than a rookie with a 4.63 ERA against the league's highest-scoring offense. The left-hander departed after Aaron Rowand homered leading off the seventh to cut it to 4-1. Chico allowed one run and four hits.

Glavine, the 300-game winner, will start the Mets' finale against Dontrelle Willis and the Marlins.

''It was a fun atmosphere to play in,'' Chico said.

Three Washington relievers prevented the Phillies from their 49th comeback victory. Saul Rivera got one out in the seventh before pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs walked and Carlos Ruiz singled.

Jon Rauch came in and retired pinch-hitter Shane Victorino on a popup and Jimmy Rollins on a grounder to end the threat. Not even the Phillie Phanatic doing his usual dance on the dugout and trying to put a hex on the pitcher could get the rally going.

Howard homered off Rauch with two outs in the eighth to cut it to 4-2. Chad Cordero pitched a perfect ninth for his 37th save in 46 chances.

''He mixed it up well and kept us off balance,'' Howard said of Chico.

It seems fitting a team that started 4-11, endured numerous key injuries and was counted out several times will make its long-suffering fans sweat out a long-awaited playoff berth. The Phils haven't made it since winning the pennant in 1993. And that playoff run ended with Joe Carter's infamous homer to clinch the World Series for Toronto.

In 2005, the Phillies were eliminated on the final day. Last year, they were knocked out on the next-to-last day of the season.

Philadelphia was seven games behind the Mets after losing to Colorado on Sept. 12, but is 12-4 since.

''We're not down,'' Howard said. ''These games happen.''

Starter Adam Eaton (10-10) lasted just 2 1-3 innings, allowing one run, five hits and two walks in probably his last appearance of the season for the Phillies.

Signed to a $24.5 million, three-year free-agent deal last offseason, Eaton was a bust. He has a 6.29 ERA and likely would be left off the postseason roster if Philly advances.

Eaton allowed an RBI double to Ryan Zimmerman in the first to put the Phillies in an early 1-0 hole. He got in trouble in the second after getting the first two outs, but retired Ronnie Belliard on a foul pop to leave the bases loaded.

Left fielder Pat Burrell made a shoestring catch on a sinking liner by Dmitri Young in the third to temporarily bail out Eaton. After Austin Kearns singled to put two runners on, Manuel had seen enough.

Geoff Geary entered and retired Ryan Church on a double play to end the inning. Geary left with runners on first and third in the fourth. Felipe Lopez made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly off Jose Mesa.

''I didn't want it to get away from us,'' Manuel said.

Manuel then turned to Kyle Lohse, who pitched seven strong innings to beat Atlanta on Wednesday. Pitching on his side day, Lohse tossed two scoreless innings before having problems in the seventh. He came out with one out and runners on the corners.

J.C. Romero nearly got out of the jam, but first baseman Howard couldn't handle Young's squibber, a run scored and everyone was safe. Zimmerman scored from third to make it 4-0 after catcher Ruiz's throwing error to center following a wild pitch that allowed pinch-runner Justin Maxwell to advance from first.

It would be Lohse's turn to pitch Monday if there was a tiebreaker game.

''If I can get one out to help the team, I'll do it,'' he said.

Notes: Moyer is the only member of the Phillies' original starting rotation not to spend time on the disabled list this season. ... Lohse allowed two runs - one earned - in 2 1-3 innings. ... The Nationals clinched fourth place in the East.



"We're here. There are three games to go. It's a good position. It'll be fun. Hopefully, we're getting started toward some new territory, a place a lot of us in this clubhouse haven't been."