"There's a room in the tunnel behind the visiting dugout at Wrigley Field that is used for storage. In the postseason, it has been used as an interview room. On Wednesday, it became Lourdes for Phillies pitcher Vance Worley.

You might have heard that a heat wave has engulfed the Midwest this week. It's headed to the East Coast just in time for the Phillies to open a 10-game homestand Friday night. Triple-digit temperatures, they say.

The Chicago heat got the best of Roy Halladay on Monday night and with the temperature soaring to 97 degrees on Wednesday, Cubs officials decided to open the storage room behind the visiting dugout, flip on the air conditioner and give Phillies players a spot to seek relief.

The retreat came in especially handy for Worley, who visited it between innings of the Phillies' 9-1 win over the Cubs.

"I was fortunate enough to have the room to sit in," said Worley, who pitched a career-high eight innings. "It definitely helped."

You didn't need to know the secret pitchers' handshake to get into the room. Jimmy Rollins visited it a few times between innings. He homered twice in the game – once from each side of the plate – and doubled in a run as he raised his batting average to .406 over the last 14 games. (The salary drive has begun.)

"It's excellent," Rollins said of the cool room. "Roy could have used that. There's air conditioning and a TV in there. I heard one of the doctors suggested they open it."

Wrigley Field is 97 years old and lacks the amenities of modern parks. The dugouts are tiny and they feel like pizza ovens on hot days.

"In heat like this in that dugout there's no relief," Rollins said. "You need a place to go cool off. It worked out well."

Wednesday's victory, led by Worley and Rollins, gave the Phils eight straight series wins as they improved to a majors-best 61-36. The Phils haven't lost a series in a month."