PHILADELPHIA -- Jimmy Rollins listened to his mother Wednesday.

Gigi Rollins expressed some angst after Monday's heart-stopping wait until her son's final at-bat to exhale, and jokingly requested for a quicker pace.

Rollins obliged in the bottom of the first inning, by slicing a double past Scott Rolen on the second pitch he saw from St. Louis starter Mark Mulder. That extended his franchise-best hitting streak to 38 games.

"It doesn't matter which at-bat it is, I'm trying to do something for the team," Rollins said. "I don't worry about when it comes, as long as I'm productive."

Rollins' production led the way to a first-inning run for Philadelphia, though the Phillies ended up dropping their second straight game, 4-3, to St. Louis.

Next on Rollins' hit list is Paul Molitor, who went 39 straight games in 1987. After that, it's Ty Cobb (40), George Sisler (41), Bill Dahlen (42), Pete Rose (44), Wee Willie Keeler (45) and finally Joe DiMaggio (56).

Getting a hit in the first inning was the 14th time he extended the streak in the opening frame, and moved him past Tommy Holmes for the eighth-longest streak in Major League history. He's batting .379 during the streak, which started Aug. 23, 2005, against San Francisco's Brian Cooper.

He waited until the eighth inning on Opening Day, before delivering a 3-0 Adam Wainwright fastball into the right-field corner for a double. When he grabbed hold of a Mulder fastball and sliced it past his former teammate at third, he was impressed.

"I was surprised the ball got by him," Rollins said. "I hit it [and was] like, 'Whoa, he must have been way off the line.' I found a hole."

Rolen was equally impressed with Rollins' ability to maintain his focus on Monday after a five-month layoff, and feels his former teammate fits the hitting streak profile: He's quick, an aggressive hitter, and will get plenty of opportunities as a leadoff hitter.

"He's built pretty well for a hitting streak," Rolen said. "He runs well. He can bunt. He can beat out some infield hits, and he switch-hits. That's a nice profile for a streak. It doesn't mean it's easy to do. He's got a good shot to continue it."

Rolen was with the Cardinals in 2003 when Albert Pujols came to Philadelphia with a 30-game hitting streak that was ended by Brett Myers, Rheal Cormier and Jose Mesa.

"Albert is a pure hitter, but he's not beating anything out," Rolen said. "He's not built for hitting streaks. Hopefully, [Rollins] can keep it up, and go 1-for-5 [Thursday] and not drive in or score any runs.

"Then, he can take off."