Phillies rout Reds, 22-1

FOR THE PREVIOUS few days, Pinatubo had worn Phillies red, spitting intermittent clouds of steam into the sky above Citizens Bank Park. Seven runs against Livan Hernandez, then four against Fernando Nieve, then two solo home runs against Mets ace Johan Santana, each performance aided by the resurgent star in the leadoff spot.

Last night, without warning or provocation, the crater blew, sending a pyroclastic flow of offense over a shellshocked ace named Johnny Cueto and the rest of the Cincinnati Reds.

When the ash had cleared, all but one batter had scored a run, including leadoff man Jimmy Rollins, who doubled and drew a walk, and scored two of the team's 10 runs. And remember, this was just the first inning.

By the time the whole ordeal mercifully ended, three players had at least four RBI, six had at least two runs, and the Phillies had their fourth straight victory, this one a 22-1 eruption against the Reds that improved their record to 43-37 and gave Cole Hamels his fifth win of the season.

"It's good to do it at home and get on a roll and head into the All-Star break the way we are," said Shane Victorino, who went 4-for-5 with five runs scored and four RBI. "We've got a whole lot of games ahead of us. So we chalk up tonight's win - a big win and a great performance by our offense and another great job by Cole."

When Charlie Manuel strode to the podium for his customary postgame news conference, the Phillies manager did not seem to know where to begin.

And could you blame him?

The Phillies scored nine runs against Cueto in the first inning before he left with two outs and 49 pitches, sending his ERA soaring from 2.69 to 3.45.

Rollins, who only Friday broke a careerlong 0-for-28 slump, reached base five times, scored four runs, and improved his average to .224.

Greg Dobbs, starting in leftfield on the same day normal starter Raul Ibanez made his first rehab start, went 4-for-6 with two RBI and two runs scored.

Chase Utley hit his 19th home run and tied a season-high with four RBI . . . and was on the bench by the end of the fourth inning.

Oh, and then there was Hamels, who drove in one more run than he allowed, and outhit every member of the Reds' lineup. Hamels allowed one run on three hits in seven innings and went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI.

"That gives our hitters a lot of morale, a lot of confidence, makes them feel good about their performance and their selves," Manuel said. "It's a pick-me-up. But at the same time, during the course of a season, you have one, two or three of those games where you score quite a bit of runs. And tonight was one of those nights."

Victorino's performance provided the most compelling individual plot line. The diminuitive centerfielder began the day walking door-to-door in South Philadelphia with Mayor Nutter, encouraging residents to log on to the Internet and vote for him in the online balloting that will decide the final member of the National League All-Star team.

The campaigning was the first step in a multidimensional marketing effort by the Phillies in an attempt to make Victorino the fourth member of the team to go to the game next Tuesday in St. Louis. As night descended on Citizens Bank Park, the Amtrak building at the far left of the skyline framed above centerfield was illuminated with Victorino's number eight.

"I definitely didn't go out there with that intention on my mind," he said. "I just want to go out there and help this team win. Hey, individual things are good and great, but ultimately it is about the team, and what we are doing right now is fun. And it's good to do it at home."

The Phillies are suddenly 4-0 on this homestand, which comes 2 weeks after a dreadful 1-8 campaign at Citizens Bank Park.

The 22 runs they scored were their most since a 26-7 win over the Mets on June 11, 1985. The 10 runs they scored in the first inning tied a club record for runs in the first, marking the fourth time they had done so, the last coming in June 2002.

The Phillies scored four or more runs in three of their eight offensive innings, including six off Reds infielder Paul Janish, who pitched the eighth inning in order to save the Reds' bullpen. In that final frame, Jayson Werth hit a grand slam that gave him five RBI, 50 for the seaason.

"It was one of those nights where everything we hit was falling," Manuel said, "but we also hit balls hard. It was a good game for us."

But, as Hamels pointed out to reporters later, it only counts as one loss for the Reds, and one win for the Phillies. Tonight, they'll face Aaron Harang, who dominated them for seven innings in May.

"There's no such thing as saving runs," Manuel said. "If we could do that, I would definitely save some of them. I'd wait until the ninth inning and I'd reach up and save, what, 20 of them?" *