Phillies Rally to Beat Smoltz, Braves

Once the Philadelphia Phillies got a hit off Mike Hampton, they were ready for any pitcher -- even John Smoltz.

Held hitless into the eighth inning by Hampton, the Phillies rallied late and Jimmy Rollins’ RBI single with one out in the ninth inning beat Smoltz and the Atlanta Braves, 3-2, Thursday at Philadelphia.

“It’s good to beat Smoltz,” Rollins said. “That dude is tough. Today we proved he’s human.”

Marlon Byrd looped a single to right field to end Hampton’s no-hit bid after 7 1/3 innings. Placido Polanco’s two-run single off Smoltz tied it.

Then in the ninth, Pat Burrell opened with a double off Smoltz (0-1) and, after David Bell flied out, Rollins singled to right on the first pitch, scoring pinch-runner Jason Michaels.

Jose Mesa (2-4) pitched a scoreless ninth.

“To beat a guy who is untouchable like Smoltz, it’s quite a lift,” said Turk Wendell, who recorded the final two outs in the eighth for Philadelphia.

Phillie Manager Larry Bowa was ejected with one out in the top of the ninth for arguing balls and strikes with plate umpire Terry Craft. Bowa was tossed after a 1-and-2 pitch by Mesa on Javy Lopez.

“I’m tired of hearing every time we play the Braves that their ball is a strike and ours is just a bit outside,” Bowa said.

The blown save was only Smoltz’s second in 28 opportunities.

Arizona 4, Houston 2 -- Luis Gonzalez hit a two-run homer and Miguel Batista pitched into the ninth inning at Houston.

Batista (5-3) gave up seven hits, struck out seven and walked one, lowering his earned-run average to 2.60 -- second in the NL behind Dodger Kevin Brown (1.97).

Colorado 10, San Diego 5 -- Chris Stynes hit his first career grand slam and Brent Butler and Jay Payton added solo home runs to help Darren Oliver remain undefeated at Denver this year.

It was the 200th start for Oliver (4-5), who gave up three runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings. He improved to 4-0 with a 3.08 ERA in six starts at home. He is 0-5 with a 6.91 ERA in eight starts away from Coors Field.

Florida 5, New York 1 -- Tommy Phelps pitched seven shutout innings and Mike Lowell hit a three-run homer at Miami.

Lowell hit his 22nd home run, tying Toronto’s Carlos Delgado and Cincinnati’s Adam Dunn for the major league lead.

St. Louis 8, Milwaukee 4 -- Albert Pujols hit his 20th homer and Bo Hart doubled and tripled in his major league debut at Milwaukee.

Jason Isringhausen got the final out for his first save of the season.

Montreal 5, Pittsburgh 2 -- The Expos finished their rugged 3 1/2-week trip with a win at Pittsburgh.

The Expos stopped a season-worst six-game losing streak, winning for only the eighth time on a 22-game trip that covered 11,310 miles, 25 days and ranged from Seattle to San Juan, Puerto Rico, their part-time home.

They play in Montreal today for the first time since May 25.