Laugher, the Best Medicine

Typically, there are ripple effects whenever a ball club loses a significant player.

For the Phillies, Monday was the first of at least 15 days without shortstop, leadoff hitter, and occasional prophet Jimmy Rollins. He's on the disabled list with a groin pull.

Yet, the ripple effects from Rollins' absence swelled into waves that drowned the Mets as the Phillies strolled to a 10-0 rout at Citizens Bank Park.

A less serious injury, this one to Raul Ibanez, also worked against the Mets: The guy starting in his place, John Mayberry Jr., hit a two-run homer.

"We just look forward to the opportunities to come in and give guys a breather, or whatever the case may be," said Mayberry, who has 20 extra-base hits among his last 31. "You just try to come in and put your best foot forward, contribute, and kind of deal with the situation."

With Rollins unable to play, Wilson Valdez was at short and Shane Victorino moved up one spot to bat leadoff. Victorino ran his hitting streak to 10 games with a two-run triple and is batting .372 during that stretch. Valdez, who has seven RBIs in his last eight games, jump-started the blowout with a two-out, run-scoring single that accounted for the first run.

Of course, the Phillies have a starting rotation that can alleviate the pain that comes with most injuries, and it was Cliff Lee who anesthetized the Mets, limiting them to three hits over seven innings for his 14th win.

The quick-working lefthander is currently the hottest of the Four Aces. He has won each of his last five starts and has allowed two runs and 17 hits in his last 31 innings, covering four starts. His earned run average in that stretch is 0.58. Lee has two five-start win streaks this season.

When Lee is in this kind of zone, he seems darn near unhittable.

"In this game, guys get in streaks, whether it's hitters, pitchers, whatever," he said. "The guys who are successful ride out the good streaks and limit the bad ones. That's what I try to do."

Lee struck out seven and now has 191 this year, a career high for a season. He has struck out 32 batters in his last 31 innings.

"I was throwing a lot of strikes early, working ahead in the count," he said. "I was able to keep them from touching home plate, and that's really what it's all about."

Meantime, Hunter Pence hit his 16th home run, scored four runs, and reached base in four of his five at-bats. Carlos Ruiz ran his hitting streak to six games and has multiple hits in four of them. It was the kind of offensive outburst manager Charlie Manuel lives for.

"That's the kind of offense we like, of course," he said. "I mean, I'm an offensive manager, I would say. At the same time we have ups and downs."

The Mets rookie righthander, Dillon Gee, has had a fine season, yet things began falling apart for him at what seemed to be an unlikely point in the game. With two out in the second, Valdez, batting eighth, singled home Pence for the game's first run. Lee followed with a single, and Victorino blasted a triple to make it 3-0.

This may come as a surprise, but Valdez has been one of the Phillies' top hitters with runners in scoring position. His RBI single raised his average with runners in scoring position to .392 (22 for 56).

Mayberry doesn't get many starts against righthanders, but Manuel subbed him for Ibanez, who the manager said has a mild groin pull. There was nothing mild about the line drive Mayberry hit into the left-field seats that made it 5-0 in the third.

The homer was Mayberry's 11th. He has reached base safely in 33 of his 42 starts and has become such a capable replacement in the outfield it's reasonable to assume it's becoming more and more difficult for Manuel to leave him out of the lineup.

"He's swinging the bat good. He's been getting some big hits, and that's what it takes to play," Manuel said.

Manuel was encouraged by the return of Placido Polanco, who was activated from the DL. The third baseman, who is playing with a sports hernia, had two hits in his first game since Aug. 6.

"Polly swung the bat good," Manuel said. "He was on the ball."