Phillies win and take over first place

For 100 days, the Atlanta Braves occupied first place in the National League East. In that span, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel aligned his eight position players in 68 different batting orders.

"I'll put my lineup however I want it," Manuel said before Tuesday's game. "That's all I got to say. I'll do whatever I want to do. That's the bottom line."

The newest lineup Manuel settled upon Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park had 13 hits and overcame numerous pitching and defensive mistakes. The Phillies beat the Florida Marlins, 8-7, and, coupled with the Braves' 5-0 loss in Pittsburgh, the Phils moved into first by a half-game with 22 games remaining.

The last time they sat atop the division was May 30.

"It's always good to be in first place," Manuel said. "That's the only way to live."

The Phillies lived dangerously for much of the night.

After extending their lead to 7-4 in the bottom of the seventh, a comedy of errors ensued in the following half-inning as the Marlins tied the game. The tying run scored via a single, a Jayson Werth throwing error, a balk, and finally, a wild pitch.

But Manuel's pregame decisions in constructing his lineup paid off. Defying common sense, he crafted a lineup that had the two players with the highest on-base percentages on the team batting seventh and eighth in the order.

Werth batted seventh, the lowest he has hit since Aug. 28, 2008. Manuel kept Jimmy Rollins, normally his leadoff hitter, in the five hole for the second straight game (despite issuing the edict before the game that Rollins is still his leadoff batter).

Instead, Shane Victorino, who was hitting .231 against righties entering the game, led off. He did exactly what he was supposed to do at the top of the order: start something. After the bullpen blew the lead, Victorino blooped a single with two outs in the eighth against righty Jose Veras. He stole second, his 30th swipe of the season. Then, he scored when Placido Polanco singled to right.

The offense bailed everyone else out - namely, Werth, Antonio Bastardo, Jose Contreras, and J.C. Romero. The Phils hit three home runs. Rollins drove home two runners in scoring position. Raul Ibanez was a double shy of the cycle and drove in three runs.

So many times this season, the once-reliable part of Manuel's Phillies teams has failed the offensive-minded manager. More than once he has been at a loss for words when attempting to describe its inconsistency.

Manuel reached Tuesday's lineup purely by accident. Rookie Domonic Brown was supposed to play right and bat seventh, but tightness in his quadriceps prompted a scratch two hours before the first pitch. Manuel decided to stick Werth where Brown was supposed to be, seventh.

Werth, who has batted mostly fifth this season, was 0 for 4. In Werth's usual spot, Manuel inserted Rollins.

After the Phillies were one-hit last week in Los Angeles, the manager was asked if he would consider moving Rollins down in the order because of his proficiency with runners in scoring position. He brushed the idea aside.

"I know that," Manuel said Aug. 31. "I have all the stats on that."

Between games Monday, Manuel did just that, shifting Rollins to the fifth spot in the lineup.

In the second inning Tuesday, Rollins came to the plate with Ryan Howard on second. He singled the slugger home for a 1-0 Phillies lead. Rollins drove in another with a sacrifice fly in the seventh.

Ibanez batted sixth, another spot where Werth could have landed. He singled home Rollins from second in the fifth with two outs. In the seventh, he tripled to score Howard with two outs.

"We've kind of had a set lineup," Manuel said. "But I've never said what the batting order is going to be."

On Tuesday, Manuel picked the right one.