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CHC@PHI: Colvin scores go-ahead run on Howard's error

PHILADELPHIA -- Tyler Colvin finally got a hit and some revenge for the homer he lost.

Colvin had what he thought was a game-winning home run overturned in the ninth inning, but he scored on Placido Polanco's throwing error with two outs in the 11th inning Thursday night to power the Cubs to a 4-3 victory over the Phillies.

With the game tied at 3 in the 11th, Colvin reached on an infield hit against David Herndon. Colvin moved up on a passed ball charged to Carlos Ruiz, and two outs later, Darwin Barney hit a grounder to Polanco at third, but his throw short-hopped Ryan Howard. Colvin tallied, giving the Cubs their second consecutive win after eight straight losses.

"It's one of those things, with two outs, all you have to do is keep running," Colvin said.

Said Howard: "Had the ball stayed down, I probably would have had a better shot, but it kind of shot up. ... It just kind of bounced up a little bit higher and it kind of got me. I wanted to try to keep it in front at the very least, and it shot up and just got me in the chest. I wasn't able to contain it."

The Phillies had the bases loaded with two outs in the 10th against Sean Marshall, but he got Herndon to strike out and end the threat. Chicago's bullpen combined for 8 2/3 shutout innings. Marshall (3-0) credited preparation and a little luck with his string of 20 road outings without giving up a run. The Cubs can use some good karma.

"What a night for the bullpen," manager Mike Quade said.

The Cubs had some bad luck in the ninth. Geovany Soto and Colvin hit back-to-back home runs with one out -- or at least they thought so. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel challenged Colvin's shot, saying a fan interfered. After reviewing video of the hit, the umpires gave Colvin a ground-rule double, which snapped an 0-for-34 skid and was his first hit since April 28 in Arizona. That wasn't good enough for Quade, who argued otherwise.

"I'm not allowed to argue that [call]," Quade said. "You go up and take a look and see it hit the guy, but did it hit him above the fence and is that a debatable point? If it hits his arms or wrist above the fence line and he's reaching out, does that constitute a home run or whatever?

"Plus, I needed a few minutes to cool down," Quade said. "I wasn't looking to get thrown out. We knew it was dicey. We were wondering what they would decide, too. We were a little biased in our interpretation."

Colvin saw the video, too. He had no problems with the umpires' call.

"I agree. I think it's a double," Colvin said. "We've got the replay, they got it right and that's the way it is."

"The replay showed [the fan] was leaning over the fence and the ball got him on the wrist," crew chief Gary Cederstrom said.

All that mattered for Colvin was that it was a hit. He belted 20 homers last year and has scuffled this year. How appropriate was that he scored the game-winner.

"Is that irony? I can't even spell it," Quade said.

His teammates have stuck with Colvin.

"It's been a tough stretch for him there -- and it was even tougher that he had the home run called back by the replay," Marshall said. "He's a good kid, has a good head on his shoulders and works very hard. He's had a run of bad luck, and hopefully it'll change."

Soto did tie the game with his fourth home run, hitting a 2-0 pitch from Ryan Madson to left before Colvin's at-bat.

If there was an "easy" game out of the four for the Cubs against the Phillies in this series, it was this one, because it was the only one not featuring a former 20-game winner.

"You realize you better play good baseball and not give up extra outs against pitching like this," Quade said of the high-powered Phillies, who boast the second-best ERA in the National League.

The Phillies had two on and two outs in the second after Raul Ibanez singled and Dane Sardinha walked to set up Jimmy Rollins' fourth homer off a 3-2 pitch from starter Randy Wells.

Wells, who was making his third start since coming off the 15-day disabled list, needed 46 pitches to get through the first two innings. He got Chase Utley to fly out to open the third and fell behind Howard, 3-0, before strong winds and rain stopped play for one hour and 17 minutes. Rodrigo Lopez, who warmed up Wednesday in case Ryan Dempster couldn't start, took over for Wells in the third.

Chicago finally got on the scoreboard with two outs in the sixth, when Barney was hit by a pitch, stole second and scored on Starlin Castro's single off Danys Baez. Castro doubled with two outs in the eighth off Jose Contreras and scored on Carlos Pena's double to close the gap to 3-2.

The Cubs now have won two in a row for the first time since May 18-19. Friday will be their 62nd game of the year; there are 100 more to go.

"Nobody here is hanging their heads," Marshall said. "We've got an entire summer left -- summer, early fall, September and, hopefully, October. You never know. We all pick each other up, and today worked out real well. We've got each others' backs. Hopefully that's what we can do the rest of the year."

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