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‘Phil’-ling in: NL champions starting strong Paul Sokoloski Opinion

Tuesday April 13, 2010 | 01:00 AM

Paul Sokoloski psokoloski@timesleader.com

A couple of minutes before the Philadelphia Phillies took the field at Citizens Bank Park for the first time in 2010, Juan Castro found out he would be their first batter.

Shortstop Jimmy Rollins pulled up lame with a strained calf during pregame warmups Monday and couldn’t play in Philadelphia’s home opener.

Castro was quickly called to take his place, in the field and in the leadoff spot in the Phillies batting order. Then he delivered a run-scoring double during a five-run fifth inning that erased a four-run deficit and sent the Phillies to a 7-4 victory over Washington.

So after an offseason of change, nothing really changed for the Phillies.

They’re still a group of comeback kids, ready to rally back from unexpected injuries or demoralizing deficits.

“That’s what we’ve done through the years,” center fielder Shane Victorino said. “We always feel we’re in games, no matter how much we’re down.”

Or how many people go down.

Rollins wasn’t the only casualty in a day when the Phillies raised their 2009 National League championship flag.

Phillies right fielder Jayson Werth left the game with a sore left hip after hitting a single in that fifth inning. Nobody knows the seriousness of either injury. Heck, the Phillies didn’t even realize Rollins was limping until after they handed in their starting lineup card – leaving Castro scrambling to change into his spikes.

“Probably about two minutes before the game,” Castro said of his timeframe to get himself ready to play.

In football, they’d call this the two-minute warning.

Philadelphia quickly fell behind 4-0, thanks to another shaky outing by their once-promising ace, Cole Hamels, and a solid start by Nationals starter Jason Marquis – who held the Phillies hitless into the fourth inning.

Then they launched a couple bombs.

Castro hit one, blasting an RBI double into the gap in left-center, pulling within 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth.

“I probably closed my eyes on that one,” Castro joked. “It’s a good feeling.”

It felt even better for the Phillies when Placido Polanco smoked a two-run single to center field and Chase Utley launched a two-run homer high off the right field foul pole for a 7-4 Phillies lead.

Facing the fear of losing, and while losing two starters from their lineup, the Phillies didn’t flinch.

It seems like they never do, after all the late-inning comebacks that led them to the 2008 world championship and into the 2009 World Series.

“I think we do a good job of picking a player up,” Utley said. “Whether guys are injured or struggling, we do a good job of picking each other up.”

The Phillies can pick their greatest concern from a number of areas.

They’ll find out the extent of the injuries Rollins and Werth suffered when both players undergo MRIs today. The late-inning relief they were expecting may be turning into indigestion, because closer Brad Lidge – recovering from offseason surgery – got hammered in a minor-league game the other day.

And maybe worst of all, Hamels – the MVP of that National League Championship Series and World Series in 2008 – has now allowed six earned runs in just over 10 innings in two starts this year.

But he’s 2-0 right now as the Phillies won their first home opener since 2005. And at 6-1, they’re off to their best start to a season since the 1993 National League champions ripped off seven victories in eight games to begin that year.

“They have a chance to be very good,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “Our team has a chance to be very exciting.”

In a heart-pounding start to another season promising drama, the Phillies proved they already are.