NEW YORK — When Jimmy Rollins saw New York reliever Duaner Sanchez come out to pitch the ninth inning instead of starter Johan Santana or closer Billy Wagner, he went straight to the batting tee to stay loose.

It didn't matter that he was due up sixth and the Philadelphia Phillies trailed by three runs. He thought they had a chance.

The ever optimistic NL MVP was right.

Philadelphia feasted on New York's makeshift bullpen for six runs with Wagner unavailable because of an injury, and Rollins hit a go-ahead two-run double to help the Phillies to an 8-6 victory last night and into sole possession of first place in the NL East.

"It started last year," Rollins said, referring to the Phillies' rally from seven games behind the Mets with 17 to play to win the division. "You never give up."

The teams entered the three-game series tied for first after the Mets trailed the Phillies by 5 1/2 games on July 4. The Florida Marlins are tied with New York, one game back.

After Santana pitched eight dominant innings, the Mets had to make do without Wagner, who has muscle spasms around his left shoulder joint.

Manager Jerry Manuel said Wagner's availability would be a midgame decision based on how the left-hander felt. But after batting practice he was told it would be better if Wagner took another day off.

"After seeing that, you can't help feeling that you want to be out there," said Wagner, who has 24 saves in 30 chances. "A lot of different things might have happened if I was out there. I'd rather be the guy standing here taking the blame instead of letting my teammates suck on this one."

Manuel turned to Sanchez, a setup man, and he gave up three straight hits to start the ninth. Joe Smith (1-2) relieved and Carlos Ruiz drove in a run with a high bouncer that shortstop Jose Reyes fielded but missed stepping on second base instead of flipping to Damion Easley.

Shane Victorino, a St. Anthony alum from Maui, who had homered in the seventh inning, hustled into second to prevent the first out of the inning.

"Big play of the game was Victorino beating the ball down to second base," said Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, who was ejected in the third inning. "That's why we talk about hustle."

Pedro Feliciano relieved and pinch-hitter So Taguchi, who was 0 for 16 coming in, stroked a two-run double to tie it.

Rollins followed with a double that made it 7-5. After an intentional walk to Pat Burrell, Ryan Howard hit a ball back to Feliciano but he had trouble fielding it and could only get one out as another run scored.

Chad Durbin (3-2) pitched a perfect eighth, and Brad Lidge gave up a run in the ninth but finished for his 22nd save in as many chances.

The Mets took a 5-1 lead against Joe Blanton behind two-run homers by Carlos Delgado (his 450th career homer) and Raul Castro, and Wright's RBI double in the second.

Brewers 4, Cardinals 3: Bill Hall homered with one in the top of ninth off Kyle McClellan (2-5) to snap a 3-all tie as Milwaukee won its sixth straight, while handing St. Louis its second straight loss.

Marlins 4, Braves 0: Hawai'i Winter Baseball product Rick VandenHurk (1-1), who pitched for the Waikiki BeachBoys, teamed with three relievers on a one-hitter, and Mike Jacobs hit a three-run homer to lead host Florida over Atlanta.

Reds 4, Padres 3: Jay Bruce had a one-out single off Bryan Corey (1-3) and scored on Jeff Keppinger's double in the bottom of the 11th, sending Cincinnati to its majors' best 10th walkoff win.

Pirates 8, Astros 2: Paul Maholm (7-6) allowed a run and five singles in eight innings, Freddy Sanchez homered for the second straight game, Ryan Doumit hit a three-run homer and Nate McLouth added a solo shot to lead visiting Pittsburgh.

Rockies 10, Dodgers 1: Ubaldo Jimenez (6-9) threw a four-hitter in his first career complete game and Ian Stewart homered and drove in four runs to power host Colorado over Los Angeles.

Giants 6, Nationals 3: Bengie Molina hit a two-run homer and a solo shot, and Barry Zito (5-12) allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings to win his second straight decision as host San Francisco beat Washington.

Diamondbacks 9, Cubs 2: Conor Jackson drove in three runs with a solo homer and two-run double, Orlando Hudson added a solo shot and Yusmeiro Petit (1-1) gave up a run and three his in five inning to lead host Arizona past Chicago.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

ATHLETICS 8, RAYS 1: Dallas Braden (2-0) allowed one run over five innings, Jack Hannahan hit a three-run homer, and Kurt Suzuki had an RBI double as visiting Oakland beat Tampa Bay to end a six-game losing streak.

Yankees 8, Twins 2: Bobby Abreu hit a two-run homer for a 3-2 lead in a three-run sixth and New York added four more runs in the seventh to beat Minnesota for its ninth consecutive victory at home.

White Sox 10, Rangers 2: Mark Buehrle (8-8) gave up a run on six hits in 7 1/3 innings, Alexei Ramirez hit the first grand slam of his career and Nick Swisher contributed a three-run shot as host Chicago pounded Texas.

Blue Jays 10, Orioles 8: Adam Lind had a career-high four hits, including a three-run homer, and light-hitting John McDonald had four RBIs as visiting Toronto rallied from 4-0 and 7-6 deficits to beat Baltimore.

Red Sox 4, Mariners 2: Daisuke Matsuzaka (11-1) spaced three hits through seven shutout innings before giving up two runs on two hits in the eighth, and J.D. Drew had a solo homer and sacrifice fly to lead visiting Boston over Seattle.

Angels 3, Indians 2: Jeff Mathis led off the bottom of the fifth with a homer off Matt Ginter (1-1) to break a 2-all tie, and Francisco Rodriguez pitched a hitless ninth for his 41st save to lead Los Angeles over Cleveland.

Tigers 7, Royals 1: Kenny Rogers (8-6), who gave up a run and four hits, did not come back after a 2-hour, 20-minute rain delay in the bottom of the seventh, and Placido Polanco homered and drove in two runs to help visiting Detroit beat Kansas City.