Rollins goes 0-for-4 as streak ends

PHILADELPHIA --Jimmy Rollins was heading back to the clubhouse when Charlie Manuel put his arm around him and offered some encouraging words.

"I told him we'll start a new streak together," Manuel said.

Rollins was more disappointed about Philadelphia's third straight loss than the end of his 38-game hitting streak.

"We need to start a winning streak. That's what's most important," Rollins said after going 0-for-4 in the Phillies' 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.

After finishing with a 36-game hitting streak last year, Rollins kept up his pursuit of Joe DiMaggio's major league record 56-game streak with hits in his first two games this season.

But he was hitless in three tries against Jason Marquis -- he's 3-for-25 against him -- and one at-bat against Josh Hancock. Rollins flied out to right field (first inning), left field (fifth) and center field (seventh), and was retired while trying to bunt for a single in the third.

Rollins was the fifth batter due up in the ninth, but Jason Isringhausen retired the side in order, getting Mike Lieberthal to ground out to third base for the final out.

"I just wasn't getting good swings," Rollins said. "They came at me and I had bad results."

In other games, it was: San Francisco 6, Atlanta 4; New York Mets 10, Washington 5; Cincinnati 6, Pittsburgh 5; and Arizona 12, Colorado 5.

Rollins' season-ending 36-game hitting streak was the ninth-longest over one season in big league history, and the longest in the majors since 1987, when Paul Molitor hit safely in 39 consecutive games. The 38-game streak is the eighth-longest overall.

A three-time All-Star shortstop, Rollins' pursuit of DiMaggio's 65-year-old record had a catch. DiMaggio accomplished his feat in the same season in 1941. The major league marks for longest hitting streak in one season and longest hitting streak spanning two seasons are separate records.

DiMaggio holds both with his 56-game streak, but there is a difference in the NL records: Pete Rose (1978) and Willie Keeler (1897) share the NL mark at 44 games. However, Keeler got a hit in his final game of 1896, so his run of 45 games overall was the first record Rollins could've eclipsed.

The old Phillies franchise record of 31 was set by Ed Delahanty in 1899.

"I always said that was a large number," Rollins said of DiMaggio's streak. "I had a chance and came up short, but I still have another chance to do it. I have a lot of games left."

Marquis (1-0) pitched 5 1-3 effective innings and had an RBI double, Jim Edmonds singled in the go-ahead run in a four-run fifth inning and the Cardinals swept a three-game series in Philadelphia for the first time since 1986.

Cory Lidle (0-1) allowed four runs -- three earned -- and six hits in five innings for Philadelphia, which hadn't started 0-3 since losing the first three games in Arizona in 2000.

Giants 6, Braves 4

Pedro Feliz hit a three-run double in the Giants' six-run third and Ray Durham added a two-run single in the inning.

Barry Bonds drew his first two intentional walks of the season, struck out and grounded weakly to first.

Bonds, who made one catch in left field, stepped into the batter's box in the bottom of the first inning to roaring cheers and a standing ovation from his hometown fans in San Francisco.

Atlanta starter Jorge Sosa (0-1) gave up seven hits and six runs in 2 1-3 innings.

Giants starter Noah Lowry left in the second inning with a strained muscle in his lower back. Jeff Fassero (1-0) pitched 3 2-3 innings for the victory.

Reds 6, Pirates 5

Adam Dunn hit a 479-foot homer and followed with a disputed tiebreaking single in the eighth inning for the Reds.

Pittsburgh fell to 0-4 for the first time since 1994 and only the sixth time in franchise history.

Manager Jim Tracy was ejected by crew chief Gary Darling after arguing Dunn's RBI single, which was initially ruled an out.

Dunn's solo shot in the sixth off John Grabow landed on a concourse by the smokestacks in center field in Cincinnati.

Mike Gonzalez (0-1) allowed one run and three hits in one inning for Pittsburgh. Joe Randa and Ryan Doumit homered for the Pirates.

Former Pirate Rick White (1-0) got the win and David Weathers pitched the ninth for his second save in two chances.

Mets 10, Nationals 5

Carlos Beltran homered and drove in four runs, and Carlos Delgado also connected for the Mets to help Pedro Martinez win his first start of the season.

The game was interrupted by a near fight in the fifth inning. Jose Guillen pointed his bat at Martinez and charged halfway to the mound after getting hit by a pitch for the second time in the game.

Guillen was corralled by plate umpire Ted Barrett and Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca as the benches and bullpens emptied. Players ran onto the field quickly, but no punches were thrown.

Martinez (1-0) gave up four hits and five runs in six innings, and also had an RBI single.

Ramon Ortiz (0-1) allowed six runs and 10 hits in five innings to get the loss for the visiting Nationals.

Diamondbacks 12, Rockies 5

Arizona's Miguel Batista matched a career high with 11 strikeouts in seven strong innings to win his first start in almost two seasons.

Batista (1-0) was converted into a reliever by Toronto after a Sept. 16, 2004, start against Baltimore and served as Toronto's closer last season. He returned to being a starter when the Diamondbacks obtained him in a December trade with the Blue Jays.

The 35-year-old Batista walked two and allowed two runs and four hits.

Chris Snyder homered and tied a career high with five RBIs, and Chad Tracy had a home run and three hits for visiting Arizona.

Matt Holliday hit a two-run homer for Colorado. Jeff Francis (0-1) allowed five runs and five hits with six walks in 4 1-3 innings in the loss.