But in his first four big-league seasons, he had laid down a total of four bunts for base hits, a number that is surprisingly low for a player who seems to have the tools to make it much more of a weapon.

This year, though, that has started to change. Through 100 games, Victorino has already bunted safely seven times, and as the season has worn on, he has appeared to become more comfortable with one of baseball's overlooked arts.

"I guess its become a confidence thing," Victorino said before last night's 6-3 loss to the Mets.

That's the way Phillies first-base coach Davey Lopes sees it. During a major league career that spanned 14 seasons, Lopes hit .263 and stole 557 bases, but never established the bunt as a viable way to take advantage of his speed. But he thinks Victorino could be that type of player.

"I'll bet you he could get 20-25 bunt [singles] a year, easily," Lopes said. "Things are starting to set in for him and sink in a little more."

According to baseball-reference.com, Victorino attempted to bunt for a base hit just four times last season (he was successful on two). This year, he has already tried it 11 times and has reached safely on all but four.

"Look at [Dodgers star Juan] Pierre, the guy gets 200 hits a year and he probably bunts 50 times a year," Victorino said. "I think sometimes it's a game where bunting is a lost art and it's kind of an 'I want to hit' kind of thing. But you look back in the day at guys like Maury Wills, Brett Butler, guys who had great careers, they were great bunters, too."

Said Lopes: "Everybody thinks that because you are small in stature, bunting is a part of your game . . . Not always."

Only in his third season as a regular major leaguer, Victorino's progression seems to be tied largely to his ability to harness his physical gifts. When he broke into the big leagues in 2003 with San Diego, he still hit strictly from the right side of the plate. Lopes was an assistant coach on the Padres when Victorino began trying to hit from both sides. He was so weak, said Lopes, "that I thought he would go back to being a righthanded hitter."

Going into last night, Victorino was hitting .293 from the left side of the plate and .250 from the right side.

Last night, he homered for his second straight game, and 2 nights ago he helped put the Phillies in position to stage a six-run comeback in the ninth inning by beating Mets shortstop Jose Reyes to second base on a ground ball by Carlos Ruiz.

"When his talent is working for him in the game, he is a great player," manager Charlie Manuel said. "He is a tremendous player. Sometimes when he's not getting on base and things, he starts trying to find ways to do it; at times it doesn't work or it doesn't come out good. But when this guy is on his game, he is a very exciting player."

A new lineup

How long will it last?

"It kind of depends on how we go and how we do," Manuel said. "I'd like to see us get hot and I might stick with it all the way. I don't know."

Rumor mill

Phillers

For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese.