Gonzalez hits career homer No. 300 in defeat

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The way things have been going for the

Phillies, manager Charlie Manuel had to be pretty confident the

umpires would rule Mike Lieberthal's flyball to left was a home

run.

Did You Know?

This is the latest in a season an entire division of five or more teams has been at .500 or better since June 12, 1994 (AL East).

NL East Standings

1. Washington 31-26 --

2. Atlanta 30-26 ½

3. Philadelphia 30-27 1

4. NY Mets 29-27 1½

4. Florida 28-26 1½

-- ESPN Research

Lieberthal's disputed drive did end up a three-run homer and

Randy Wolf pitched seven solid innings to lead the Philadelphia

Phillies over the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-6 Sunday, their sixth

straight win.

"Luck counts a lot in this game and we've been getting the

breaks lately," Manuel said.

Arizona's Luis Gonzalez hit his 300th career home run -- a solo

shot in the eighth off reliever Rheal Cormier.

Pat Burrell also homered for the Phillies, who have won nine of

10 and improved to a season-high three games over .500 at 30-27.

The Diamondbacks lost their fifth straight and for the eighth time

in 10 games.

Lieberthal's home run came during a four-run second inning

against Brad Halsey (4-3).

With runners on second and third, Lieberthal hit a flyball that

appeared to hit the top of the left-field fence and bounce back

onto the field. Third base umpire Dale Scott ruled it a double.

Television replays clearly showed the ball hit the top of the

fence.

Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel came out to argue that the

ball had landed in the flower box just beyond the fence and should

have been a homer. The umpires then convened and awarded Lieberthal

the home run.

"If the ball hits the flowers, it's a homer," Manuel said.

Asked if he saw the replays, Manuel responded, "I don't need to

see them."

Lieberthal did see the replay and felt he got a break.

"I saw it on the video board and it wasn't a home run. It was

about two inches short. I'll take it though," he said.

Arizona manager Bob Melvin was ejected by second base umpire Dan

Iassogna for arguing the overturned call.

"The umpire [Scott] was right there and made the call and was

overruled," Melvin said. "Iassogna said he clearly saw it go into

the flowers. It's not going to hit the flowers and bounce back like

it hits the pad.

"They don't have the luxury of the replay, Melvin added."

Philadelphia also benefited from two calls in their series

against San Francisco last week. Two rulings on catches that might

have been trapped went in the Phillies favor in seperate victories.

Lieberthal had been struggling with runners on base, hitting

.129 (4-for-31) before the home run. In his last five at-bats with

runners on base, Lieberthal has three hits.

"Everything goes in cycles and we're all hitting with guys on

base right now," Lieberthal said.

Wolf (6-4) allowed two runs on five hits en route to his fifth

straight win. He has won his last for starts and hasn't lost since

May 4 -- a span of six starts. Wolf struck out four and walked four.

"I had better location in the strike zone," Wolf said. "The

more you go after guys, the deeper in games, you'll go. That's what

we need right now, we have to give the guys in the bullpen a

break."

Arizona cut the lead to 6-5 in the eighth with three runs -- two

unearned -- against Cormier. Billy Wagner earned his 14th save but

had some trouble doing so.

Wagner gave up an RBI single to pinch-hitter Alex Cintron to

make it 6-5, but got Craig Counsell to pop out with two runners on

base to end the eighth.

He then gave up an RBI single to Tony Clark in the ninth before

getting Shawn Green with runners on first and third to end it.

"As long as I get the save, I really don't care what happens to

that point," Wagner said.

Jason Michaels gave the Phillies a 1-0 in the second with an RBI

double that scored David Bell. Lieberthal then hit his sixth homer

of the season.

The Phillies extended the lead to 6-0 in the third. Bobby Abreu

doubled and later scored on a wild pitch. Bell followed with his

second homer -- a solo shot -- to left field.

Arizona pushed across a pair of runs in the fourth on Clark's

two-run double to make it 6-2. Clark went 3-for-5 with RBI.

Halsey gave up a season-high six runs on nine hits and struck

out two.

Despite the loss, Gonzalez said the milestone homer carried a

special feeling.

"It was very special because I had three of my roommates from

college flown in for the game," he said. "We picked the date

early in the year, but I really didn't know it would happen in this

game."Game notes
Gonzalez finished with three hits for the Diamondbacks. ...

The Phillies are 9-1 in their last 10 meetings with Arizona dating

back to 2003. ... Wolf has won four straight starts for the first

time since August 16-September 5, 2002. ... Jose Cruz Jr. had two

hits, snapping an 0-for-17 skid. ... Gonzalez has a club-record 193

career home runs for Arizona.