A rookie to the rescue as Phillies thwart Mets

The Phillies, their pitching staff on medical alert, have a pulse.

They avoided a four-game sweep that might have killed their season yesterday by outlasting the New York Mets, 5-3, before another sellout crowd at Citizens Bank Park.

On a postcard-perfect afternoon, the Phils received 62/3 strong innings from rookie righthander Kyle Kendrick, a two-run homer from Jimmy Rollins, and three hits, two stolen bases and a homer from Shane Victorino as they salvaged one win in the series and moved to within five games of the first-place Mets.

"We needed to win today," manager Charlie Manuel said. ". . . If we had lost, we would have been eight out in the loss column."

Using an effective sinker, Kendrick induced three double-play grounders while allowing only two runs and raising his record to 3-0. In four starts, all wins, he has a 4.38 ERA since being promoted from double-A Reading.

"He kept his poise. He's a very gutty kid," Manuel said.

"We could have put a lot more pressure on him, but the double plays killed us," Mets manager Willie Randolph said.

Manuel said he initially thought of Kendrick - the Phils' seventh-round selection in the 2003 draft - as "a five-inning guy, but he's pitched much better than that."

Kendrick's solid pitching yesterday was needed after the Phils lost the first three games of the series, including shaky performances by rookies J.D. Durbin and J.A. Happ.

"What I got is what I got," Manuel said of his pitching staff, "and what I got is what I'll use. Anybody who gets people out is good."

And then, in a comment that seemed to ask general manager Pat Gillick for help, Manuel said, "For right now, it's what we have to do. It's what we have."

Many moons ago, the Boston Braves had a refrain for their sad-sack starting rotation: Spahn and Sain and pray for rain.

This weekend, the Phillies had a similar plea: (Cole) Hamels and three rookies . . . and pray for no "cookies."

There were a lot of cookies (read: fat pitches) thrown by Phils pitchers in the first three games of the series, but yesterday, Kendrick stopped the bleeding.

"He set the tone," said third baseman Greg Dobbs, who tied the score at 1-1 with a second-inning RBI double.

In the third, Rollins ripped a two-run homer off righthander Mike Pelfry (0-6, 6.11 ERA) - who was recalled from the minors to replace injured starter Oliver Perez - to give the Phils a 3-1 lead. It was their first lead in 30 innings in the series.

With the Phils holding a 3-2 lead, they tacked on a pair of seventh-inning runs on Victorino's homer off the right-field foul pole and Aaron Rowand's single, which scored Chase Utley (triple).

"You don't want to get swept at home - or anywhere," said Kendrick, who pitched from the stretch with no one on base in the seventh because he said it put less strain on his sore groin. "It's nice to get a win, and, hopefully, we can carry it on."

"I don't know if this was a must-win. We have a whole second half . . . but we needed this win more for our confidence," Dobbs said. "We've worked too hard to chip away at their lead and we needed to get back on track."

The Phils, who took the league's worst ERA (4.92) into yesterday, start a three-game series in Houston tonight. Thirteen of their next 16 games are on the road.

"We just have to ride the momentum and take it on the road," said Utley, mindful that the weekend's rookie-dominated rotation will be replaced by Jamie Moyer, Adam Eaton and Hamels in Houston.

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