PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- 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 NL records: Pete Rose (1978) and Willie Keeler

(1897) share the NL mark at 44 games. However, Keeler got a hit in

his final game of 1896, so his run of 45 games overall was the

first record Rollins could've eclipsed.

The old Phillies franchise record of 31 was set by Ed Delahanty

in 1899.

"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 effective 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.

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.Game notes
Marquis batted .310 (27-for-87) with one homer and 10 RBI

last season. ... Abreu was 1-for-19 against Marquis before he

doubled. ... Bell had two errors. ... The Cardinals' relievers

pitched 3 2-3 hitless innings.