Cards sweep Phils, end Rollins' streak

~ St. Louis posted a 4-2 win to open the season with a 3-0 record.

PHILADELPHIA -- Jimmy Rollins watched the final out with his bat in his hands, turned and walked down the steps of the dugout.

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

Rollins went 0-for-4, snapping a hitting streak that stretched over two seasons, and the Phillies lost 4-2 to the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.

"I said I'd trade a hit for a win," Rollins said. "Unfortunately, it didn't happen."

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 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.

"The thing I like best is we went after him every time the whole series," said Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, who signaled for a strike before Rollins doubled against Adam Wainwright on a 3-0 pitch with the streak on the line in the eighth inning of Monday's opener. "He didn't walk one time."

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 National League records: Pete Rose (1978) and Willie Keeler (1897) share the NL mark at 44 games. However, Keeler had a hit in his final game of 1896 before hitting in 44 straight to open 1897, so his run of 45 games overall was the first record Rollins could have eclipsed.

"I appreciated it from the time I knew about it," Rollins said of DiMaggio's record. "That's a large number."

Marquis (1-0) pitched 5 1/3 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.

Philadelphia hadn't started 0-3 since losing the first three games in Arizona in 2000. The Phillies' last 0-3 start at home came in 1982 with one loss to the New York Mets and two against Montreal.

"Every day you lose is disappointing," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "When you start the season and lose the first three, you have to regroup and play better."

Marquis gave up two runs and five hits. An NL Silver Slugger Award winner last year, Marquis got the Cardinals going in the fifth with a run-scoring double off Cory Lidle that cut the deficit to 2-1.

After David Eckstein popped up a bunt, Juan Encarnacion reached on third baseman David Bell's fielding error. Albert Pujols, Edmonds and Scott Rolen followed with consecutive RBI singles to give the Cardinals a 4-2 lead.

"I enjoy hitting and anything I can do to help win the game helps the team," Marquis said.

Lidle (0-1) escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third by striking out Edmonds to end the inning. He retired the side in order with two strikeouts in the fourth, but ran into trouble when he hit Aaron Miles to start the fifth and Marquis followed with his hit.

Lidle allowed four runs -- three earned -- and six hits in five innings. None of Philadelphia's starters -- Jon Lieber, Brett Myers and Lidle -- have pitched more than five innings and they have a 9.45 ERA in the first three games.

Marquis left after Pat Burrell walked with one out to put two runners on in the sixth. Ricardo Rincon came in and struck out Ryan Howard. Hancock then entered and retired Bell on a grounder to shortstop. Hancock pitched a scoreless seventh, Randy Flores worked a perfect eighth and Isringhausen finished for his second save in two tries.

The Cardinals relievers pitched 3 2/3 hitless innings.

Lieberthal's RBI double in the third gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead. Bobby Abreu and Chase Utley hit consecutive two-out doubles to left field to make it 2-0 in the fourth.