Tim Hummel singled home the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and the Reds rallied past Philadelphia 4-3 Sunday, preventing the Phillies from taking over the NL wild-card lead.

"Teams like Cincinnati come in here and this is their season," Thome said. "It's unfortunate. But we've got to keep the momentum, the enthusiasm and the energy level up."

The struggling Reds won two of three at Veterans Stadium. The Fan Appreciation Day crowd of 57,883 saw the Phillies stay a half-game behind Florida, which lost 8-0 at Atlanta.

The Marlins and Braves finish their four-game series on Monday while the Phillies are off. Then, the Phillies start a three-game series at Florida on Tuesday. The Phillies won two of three when the teams played last week.

"We've got to win two out of three," manager Larry Bowa said. "We would have needed to win two out of three if we won or not."

Thome hit his 44th homer, a three-run shot that put the Phillies ahead 3-1 in the fourth. But Philadelphia starter Vicente Padilla couldn't keep the lead.  The Phillies led 3-2 when Padilla (14-11) walked Corky Miller leading off the seventh. After an out, pinch-hitter Dernell Stenson doubled down the left-field line, tying the score.  Ryan Freel reached on an infield single and Hummel blooped a hit to right, scoring Stenson for a 4-3 lead and chasing Padilla.

Turk Wendell faced one batter, allowing a single to D'Angelo Jimenez to load the bases. Dan Plesac ended the threat, getting Sean Casey to hit into a double play.  Casey had two hits and two RBI.

Dan Serafini (1-3) pitched a scoreless sixth for the win.  Chris Reitsma pitched the ninth for his 11th save in 17 chances. He struck out Tomas Perez with runners on first and second to end it.  Four Reds relievers combined to hold the Phillies to one hit over the last four innings. Cincinnati's staff held the Phillies to four hits Sunday and only 10 hits in the last two games.

"These guys should be proud of themselves to win two out of three in this environment," said Reds manager Dave Miley.

Padilla struck out nine, walked four and gave up seven hits in 6 1-3 innings. He lost for the second time in three starts.

Thome gave Padilla an early lead in the fourth. Placido Polanco and Bobby Abreu singled to lead off the inning.  That brought up Thome, given a huge ovation when he was first introduced. It was just a throaty warmup for what was to come.  On a 1-0 count, Thome hit a liner off Aaron Harang over the right-field scoreboard and the crowd went wild. It gave him a career-high 126 RBI, topping the 124 he had in 2001 with Cleveland.

"We're probably fortunate that's the only damage he did," Miley said. "We're lucky to shut him down."

The 44 homers also are the most by a lefty in team history, breaking Chuck Klein's record set in 1929. His 378 homers tied him with former Indians teammate Matt Williams for 51st on the career list.  Thome, called by Bowa the most important free-agent signing in team history, continued to deliver in the clutch. He has 24 RBI in September.

This time, however, it would be wasted, as the Reds started to rally against Padilla in the sixth.

Padilla gave up consecutive doubles to Jimenez and Casey, making it 3-2. But Padilla struck out Russell Branyan swinging and Wily Mo Pena tapped back to the mound to end the inning.

Game notes
Harang gave up five hits, struck out three and walked none in five innings. ... It was the fifth sellout this year at Veterans Stadium. ... The Reds used a different lineup for the 32nd straight game.
 

This picture appeared on the Eagles website the day after I visited camp.  That's the top half of my head!  Hehehe. 

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Brian Westbrook watched practice yesterday morning, wearing his No. 36 jersey and black shorts, an elastic bandage covering his right knee.  "I'm not healthy right now, but I'm getting better,'' Westbrook said later.  The Eagles said it was possible Westbrook would play in tomorrow's preseason game at Pittsburgh, but, given that he was limping yesterday from the bone bruise he suffered on his right knee in Wednesday's practice, that would seem unlikely.

� Reno Mahe took a swing pass from Koy Detmer and made Carlos Emmons miss one-on-one in the open field, causing Emmons to take a lot of razzing.  The next time Mahe caught a swing pass on Emmons' side, the linebacker, who looks to be about twice Mahe's size, drilled him.

� Minutes later, in the same live red-zone drill, Mahe fumbled the ball away in a pile at the goal line. Overall, Mahe got plenty of reps, with Westbrook sidelined.

� Detmer scrambled and threw back across his body to Billy McMullen, who reached high for the ball, only to succeed in tipping it to Mark Simoneau. The middle linebacker made a lovely diving interception.

� James Thrash made a nice catch in the corner of the end zone on a Donovan McNabb pass during a seven-on-seven drill.

� That quick, precise slant that critics say the Eagles' offense can't execute? Detmer drilled one to Freddie Mitchell in the end zone, during seven-on-seven play.

� Sheldon Brown stepped in front of a receiver and Ronde Barbered Tim Hasselbeck.

HIT OF THE DAY: Safety Jamal Wallace, out of Temple and Millville High in South Jersey, flattened running back Chris Downs, out of Malvern Prep and Valley Forge Military Academy, with a solid hit during a red-zone drill matching the third-team offense against the third-team defense.

PLAY OF THE DAY: Rookie running back Reno Mahe picked up 14 yards with some nice moves after catching a short pass from quarterback Koy Detmer.

HURTS OF THE DAY: Running back Brian Westbrook sat out of practice because of a bone bruise in his right knee. His status is day-to-day... . Wide receiver Kenny Christian (lower abdominal strain) and tight end Brandon Davis (sprained medial collateral ligament in his knee) missed practice.

QUOTES OF THE DAY: "Clinton Hart. He probably stands out more than anyone else. I think he's come so far, and we're very happy with him." - Defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, when asked which player has made the greatest strides since the Eagles' last minicamp, in June.

"What was that???'' - Eagles defensive tackle Hollis Thomas, watching one of several punts Kyle Richardson didn't hit very well in yesterday morning's practice.

Bobby Abreu drove in two runs and Pat Burrell hit an RBI double for Philadelphia, which took three of four in the series. The Phillies have eight wins in their last 10 games.

Myers had allowed just five hits heading into the ninth, but Orlando Cabrera singled to extend his hitting streak to 15 games. Two outs later, Brad Wilkerson connected for his 11th home run to cut it to 3-2.  "I wanted the shutout, but a win is a win," Myers said. "I wanted to soak up some innings and I was able to do that."

Jose Mesa came in to get the final out for his 19th save in 22 chances, sending the Expos to their 10th loss in 13 games.

"The starters have been doing their jobs and Brett has been a big part of that," Phillies catcher Todd Pratt said. "Those guys are showing experience and talent and that makes the bullpen even nastier."

Myers' effort gave Philadelphia's overworked bullpen a breather.  "That was huge," manager Larry Bowa said. "The bullpen has been tired without (Carlos) Silva down there."  Silva is serving a five-game suspension for his role in a bench-clearing brawl with Cincinnati on June 13. The bullpen will get another boost Monday when newly acquired reliever Mike Williams is added to the roster. The Phillies acquired Williams on Sunday in a trade with Pittsburgh for minor leaguer Frank Brooks.  "It's an extra bullet for us down there," Pratt said.

Myers (10-6) walked none and improved to 5-0 in his last six starts. He retired 10 straight batters from the third to the sixth inning.  "He's 22 but he pitches sometimes like he's 32," Bowa said. "Ten strikeouts and no walks -- that's a pretty good day."

Montreal scored just eight runs in the four-game series.  "You're not going to win many games that way," manager Frank Robinson said. "The starters did their jobs. We just couldn't get it done offensively."

Philadelphia took a 1-0 lead in the first off Claudio Vargas (6-6) as Abreu lined an RBI single off the first base bag that caromed into short right field. Jim Thome, who reached on a two-out double, scored.

The Phillies made it 2-0 in the sixth on Burrell's RBI double.

Vargas escaped further damage when he struck out Nick Punto with the bases loaded to end the inning.

In the seventh, Abreu blooped a ground-rule double down the left-field line against reliever Joey Eischen, scoring Marlon Byrd for a 3-0 lead. Tim Drew replaced Eischen and retired Tomas Perez on a bunt attempt with the bases loaded.

Vargas pitched 6 1/3 innings en route to his third consecutive loss. He allowed two runs on six hits, striking out five and walking two.

Game notes
Before the game, the Phillies honored players from their 1993 NL championship squad. ... Myers' only shutout was a three-hitter June 22 against the Boston Red Sox. ... Expos 2B Jose Vidro extended his hitting streak to 13 games. ... Myers has issued one walk in his last 33 1-3 innings. ... Abreu is hitting .571 (8-for-14) on the current homestand. ... The Phillies are 37-6 when scoring first and 22-5 when they score in the first inning. ... Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins missed his third straight game with a strained hamstring. He is expected back in the lineup Monday when the Phillies host the New York Mets.
 

PHILADELPHIA -- The starting pitcher woke up Sunday morning feeling sick and the left fielder had a batting average that made him ill.

Both got healthy in a hurry in the first game of a double-header, contributing mightily to a 7-1 win. Kevin Millwood allowed one run in seven innings and Pat Burrell slammed a crucial three-run homer to put the game out of reach.

Millwood woke up with a touch of the flu, the kind that tends to make one want to stay in bed -- unless you're the ace of a team in the midst of a four-game losing streak.

"Who else can go today?" said Millwood. "We have a double-header and I felt like once I got out there and started working a little bit, it wouldn't bother me that much. That's kind of what happened."

The right-hander spent the morning relaxing and consumed plenty of fluids. He arrived at the park and proclaimed himself ready to go.

"I just felt tired. My whole body ached, like I got beat up last night or something."

So he took it out on the A's, which is good since -- due to the ace's will to pitch -- his manager had no backup plan. Carlos Silva could have started in an emergency, but Millwood would have none of it.

"He was adamant about going out there," said Bowa. "He's a warrior. He was dehydrated. He was drinking liquids. After six innings, he said he could go one more. And he did."

Now for Burrell, who may have gotten a severe confidence boost, delivering a back-breaking homer in the seventh inning. The moment couldn't have come at a better time.

A two-out intentional walk to Bobby Abreu set the stage for Burrell, who entered the game hitting .193, but had doubled earlier in the game. A's manager Ken Macha acknowledged that he walked Abreu to get to Burrell.

"You guy hitting .190 vs. a career .315 hitter (Abreu)," said Burrell. "Who would you rather face?"

The fans in Pat's Penthouse -- a section over from Burrell's Babes and three removed from Burrell's Bunch -- came prepared. For every Burrell at-bat the group placed bags over their heads and read the newspaper. How they could see through the brown paper isn't the point.

They tore off the bags immediately after the exclamation point homer off Mike Neu and joined the cheers. The crowd demanded a curtain call in support of Burrell's first homer since May 24. He didn't come out, probably feeling that his .199 didn't deserve one.

"It all happened so fast," said Burrell. "I didn't know what to do, and it was over. And (the score) was 7-1. You don't want to show up anybody and I really shouldn't be doing anything hitting .200 anyways."

"That was big for Pat," said Bowa. "He understands the gig. If you don't do well you get booed. That's part of the program, not just in Philly, everywhere."

Burrell's teammates were extra supportive, practically mobbing him in the dugout.

"If you know baseball players, they rally around that," said Bowa. "If you see a guy getting abused by fans, writers, anything, it's a rallying point. I think they were just as happy for Pat as he was. It does a lot for your psyche, but I don't think one hit gets you on track. At least he feels good about himself after he hit a couple of balls hard."

The Phillies haven't scored many runs for Millwood (8-3) lately. OK, fact is, they've scored none in his past two starts, having been shut out by the Expos and Mets. As a result the ace right-hander was on the verge of losing three straight starts for the first time in his career.

"I guess a losing streak is three, so you want to stay away from those," Millwood said. "More important today than me, was that the team needed a big win."

So Philadelphia's offense pelted Oakland starter Mark Mulder (8-4), who has won 40 games over the past two seasons, and Neu, giving Millwood enough runs.

The right-hander was fine after the Phillies scored two runs in the second. Marlon Byrd laced the first of his three hits to begin the inning. After Millwood struck out attempting to sacrifice, Jimmy Rollins singled Byrd to third, and he scored on a single on Placido Polanco. Jim Thome delivered Rollins with a groundout to first.

Philadelphia added two more runs in the sixth inning when David Bell doubled in Bobby Abreu, who had singled, then scored on a single by Byrd.

Millwood allowed one run on six hits and a walk, while striking out six. Rheal Cormier pitched the final two innings.

"Today was a big day for a lot of people," said Millwood. "We definitely needed a win. It felt like our offense played well. We beat a very good pitcher. Our defense played great. It was a team effort and that's what it's going to take."

And two Phillies cured what ailed them.

Fielding
DP: 1 (C Singleton-E Chavez).
Outfield Assist: C Singleton (J Rollins at 3rd base).