PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A.J. Ellis had plenty of room to catch Chase Utley’s foul pop and didn’t squeeze it into his catcher’s mitt.
Utley made the Dodgers pay for the catcher’s blunder.
Utley hit a two-run homer one pitch after Ellis’ error in the first inning and the Philadelphia Phillies beat Los Angeles 5-3 on Saturday.
“I just missed it,” Ellis said. “It was a bad play by me and it cost us the game. It gave a top-caliber hitter an extra swing.”
Dodgers starter Dan Haren (5-3) gave up five runs - two earned - and six hits, striking out seven in six innings.
“The pitch to Utley wasn’t in enough,” Haren said. “And I walked two guys.”
Filling in for injured ace Cliff Lee, David Buchanan (1-0) gave the struggling Phillies a lift in his major league debut. The 25-year-old righty allowed two runs and five hits, striking out two.
Ben Revere went 4 for 4 in his first game leading off since May 14 and Jimmy Rollins drove in two runs to help the Phillies snap a three-game losing streak.
Jonathan Papelbon tossed a scoreless ninth for his 13th save in 14 tries.
Haren settled down after two shaky innings, but fell to 1-5 against the Phillies.
“They kept fouling him off early,” manager Don Mattingly said. “He got in a good groove and kept us in the game. He was hitting his spots and corners.”
Buchanan retired the first three batters he faced on grounders before the Phillies gave him a quick lead in the bottom half.
Utley gave the Phillies a 2-0 lead by ending a homerless drought of 127 at-bats, dating to April 13
Revere started Philadelphia’s first with his first double since last July 8. One out later, Utley connected. Revere and Rollins hit consecutive RBI singles with two outs in the second to make it 4-0.
Rollins hit .308 with two homers and had a .438 on-base percentage in eight games batting first, which used to be his spot throughout his career. But manager Ryne Sandberg put Revere back atop the order after benching him a couple games.
Carl Crawford’s RBI groundout in the fourth cut it to 4-1. Dee Gordon hit an RBI single with two outs in the fifth to get the Dodgers within 4-2.
Revere reached on an infield single and went to third when Haren’s throw to first sailed down the right field line. He scored on Rollins’ groundout to extend the lead to 5-2 in the fifth.
Mattingly argued that Revere was in the way of the throw, but the umpires didn’t call it.
“I didn’t have anywhere to throw,” Haren said. “I should’ve hit him. When that happens, the umps usually call something. He was definitely in the lane.”
Yasiel Puig led off the sixth with a triple off Jake Diekman. Two outs later, he scored on Carlos Ruiz’s passed ball.
NOTES: Ruiz hit a foul ball that landed in a vendor’s bin that he was carrying over his head while walking up steps in the right field stands. Fans cheered the unsuspecting vendor, who gave the ball to a young boy. … Haren struck out the side on 11 pitches in the third. … The Phillies are 12-3 on weekends, 9-22 the other five days. … A.J. Burnett (3-3) faces Josh Beckett (2-1) in the series finale Sunday afternoon.
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