NL: COLORADO at PHILADELPHIA <div class="pre">COLORADO (4) VS PHILADELPHIA (2) - MID 9TH - IN PROGRESS COLORADO ab r h rbi bb so lob avg K Matsui 2b 4 0 0 0 1 2 3 .000 T Tulowitzki ss 3 0 0 1 1 2 0 .000 M Holliday lf 4 1 1 1 0 1 3 .250 T Helton 1b 4 1 1 0 0 1 0 .250 G Atkins 3b 4 1 1 1 0 1 0 .250 B Hawpe rf 4 0 0 0 0 3 1 .000 R Spilborghs cf 2 1 0 0 2 2 0 .000 Y Torrealba c 4 0 2 1 0 0 1 .500 J Francis p 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 L Hawkins p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 B Fuentes p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 a-C Sullivan ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.000 Totals 32 4 6 4 4 12 8 a-singled to center for B Fuentes in the 9th. BATTING: 2B - G Atkins (1, C Hamels). 3B - T Helton (1, C Hamels). HR - M Holliday (1, 8th inning off T Gordon 0 on, 1 Out). S - J Francis. RBI - G Atkins (1), Y Torrealba (1), T Tulowitzki (1), M Holliday (1). 2-out RBI - T Tulowitzki. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Holliday 2, K Matsui 2. Team LOB - 6. FIELDING: DP: 2 (G Atkins-K Matsui-T Helton, K Matsui-T Tulowitzki-T Helton). PHILADELPHIA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg J Rollins ss 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 .000 S Victorino rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .000 C Utley 2b 4 0 0 0 0 4 1 .000 R Howard 1b 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 .000 A Rowand cf 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 .333 P Burrell lf 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 .500 W Helms 3b 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 a-G Dobbs ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000 M Bourn pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 A Nunez 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 C Ruiz c 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 .333 C Hamels p 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 .500 T Gordon p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 J Romero p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 b-T Iguchi ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000 B Myers p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 26 2 4 2 4 9 9 a-walked for W Helms in the 7th; b-walked for J Romero in the 8th. BATTING: HR - A Rowand (1, 5th inning off J Francis 0 on, 0 Out), P Burrell (1, 5th inning off J Francis 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - A Rowand (1), P Burrell (1). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - S Victorino 1. GIDP - J Rollins, C Ruiz. Team LOB - 4. BASERUNNING: SB - C Ruiz (1, 2nd base off J Francis/Y Torrealba). ---------------------------------------------------- COLORADO - 030 000 010 -- 4 PHILADELPHIA - 000 020 00 -- 2 ---------------------------------------------------- COLORADO ip h r er bb so hr era J Francis 6 4 2 2 2 8 2 3.00 L Hawkins 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.00 B Fuentes 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0.00 PHILADELPHIA ip h r er bb so hr era C Hamels 6 2/3 3 3 3 4 7 0 4.05 T Gordon 2/3 1 1 1 0 2 1 13.50 J Romero 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 B Myers 1 2 0 0 0 3 0 0.00 Pitches-strikes: J Francis 94-62; L Hawkins 16-10; B Fuentes 18-10; C Hamels 115-72; T Gordon 9-7; J Romero 5-3; B Myers 21-15. Ground balls-fly balls: J Francis 5-5; L Hawkins 2-1; B Fuentes 1-1; C Hamels 7-6; T Gordon 0-0; J Romero 1-1; B Myers 0-0. Batters faced: J Francis 23; L Hawkins 3; B Fuentes 4; C Hamels 27; T Gordon 3; J Romero 2; B Myers 5. UMPIRES: HP--Dale Scott. 1B--Jim Reynolds. 2B--Chuck Meriwether. 3B--Jeff Kellogg. LF--Derryl Cousins. RF--Ed Hickox. Weather: 81 degrees, sunny. Wind: 7 mph, left to right.</div>
NL: COLORADO at PHILADELPHIA <div class="pre">NL AT PHILADELPHIA - PITCHING CHANGE COL: MANNY CORPAS (NO RECORD) STARTING THE 9TH CURRENT SCORE: COLORADO 4, PHILADELPHIA 2 DUE UP FOR PHILADELPH: R HOWARD (.000, 0-FOR-3)</div>
NL: COLORADO at PHILADELPHIA <div class="pre">NL AT PHILADELPHIA - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: M Corpas relieved B Fuentes. SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: COLORADO 4 PHILADELPHIA 2 BOTTOM, 9TH DUE UP FOR PHILADELPHIA: R Howard (.000, 0-FOR-3)</div>
NL: COLORADO at PHILADELPHIA <div class="pre">NL AT PHILADELPHIA - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: C Sullivan in center field. SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: COLORADO 4 PHILADELPHIA 2 BOTTOM, 9TH DUE UP FOR PHILADELPHIA: R Howard (.000, 0-FOR-3)</div>
NL: COLORADO at PHILADELPHIA <div class="pre">NL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - COLORADO 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 6 0 PHILADELPHIA 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 (FINAL) BATTERIES: COL - JEFF FRANCIS, LATROY HAWKINS (7TH), BRIAN FUENTES (8TH), MANNY CORPAS (9TH) AND YORVIT TORREALBA PHI - COLE HAMELS, TOM GORDON (7TH), J.C. ROMERO (8TH), BRETT MYERS (9TH) AND CARLOS RUIZ HOME RUNS: COL - MATT HOLLIDAY (1) OFF TOM GORDON IN THE 8TH, 0 ON PHI - AARON ROWAND (1) OFF JEFF FRANCIS IN THE 5TH, 0 ON PAT BURRELL (1) OFF JEFF FRANCIS IN THE 5TH, 0 ON</div>
NL: COLORADO at PHILADELPHIA <div class="pre">NL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - COLORADO 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 6 0 PHILADELPHIA 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 (FINAL) BATTERIES: COL - JEFF FRANCIS, LATROY HAWKINS (7TH), BRIAN FUENTES (8TH), MANNY CORPAS (9TH) AND YORVIT TORREALBA PHI - COLE HAMELS, TOM GORDON (7TH), J.C. ROMERO (8TH), BRETT MYERS (9TH) AND CARLOS RUIZ WP - JEFF FRANCIS (1-0) LP - COLE HAMELS (0-1) SAVE - MANNY CORPAS (1) HOME RUNS: COL - MATT HOLLIDAY (1) OFF TOM GORDON IN THE 8TH, 0 ON PHI - AARON ROWAND (1) OFF JEFF FRANCIS IN THE 5TH, 0 ON PAT BURRELL (1) OFF JEFF FRANCIS IN THE 5TH, 0 ON TIME: 2:52 ATT: 45,655 PROBABLES: COL - FRANKLIN MORALES (NR) PHI - KYLE KENDRICK (NR)</div>
NL: COLORADO at PHILADELPHIA <div class="pre">COLORADO (4) VS PHILADELPHIA (2) - FINAL COLORADO ab r h rbi bb so lob avg K Matsui 2b 4 0 0 0 1 2 3 .000 T Tulowitzki ss 3 0 0 1 1 2 0 .000 M Holliday lf 4 1 1 1 0 1 3 .250 T Helton 1b 4 1 1 0 0 1 0 .250 G Atkins 3b 4 1 1 1 0 1 0 .250 B Hawpe rf 4 0 0 0 0 3 1 .000 R Spilborghs cf 2 1 0 0 2 2 0 .000 M Corpas p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Y Torrealba c 4 0 2 1 0 0 1 .500 J Francis p 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 L Hawkins p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 B Fuentes p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 a-C Sullivan ph-cf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.000 Totals 32 4 6 4 4 12 8 a-singled to center for B Fuentes in the 9th. BATTING: 2B - G Atkins (1, C Hamels). 3B - T Helton (1, C Hamels). HR - M Holliday (1, 8th inning off T Gordon 0 on, 1 Out). S - J Francis. RBI - G Atkins (1), Y Torrealba (1), T Tulowitzki (1), M Holliday (1). 2-out RBI - T Tulowitzki. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Holliday 2, K Matsui 2. Team LOB - 6. FIELDING: DP: 2 (G Atkins-K Matsui-T Helton, K Matsui-T Tulowitzki-T Helton). PHILADELPHIA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg J Rollins ss 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 .000 S Victorino rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .000 C Utley 2b 4 0 0 0 0 4 1 .000 R Howard 1b 4 0 0 0 0 3 0 .000 A Rowand cf 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 .250 P Burrell lf 3 1 1 1 1 0 0 .333 W Helms 3b 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 a-G Dobbs ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000 M Bourn pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 A Nunez 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 C Ruiz c 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 .333 C Hamels p 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 .500 T Gordon p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 J Romero p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 b-T Iguchi ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000 B Myers p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 29 2 4 2 4 10 9 a-walked for W Helms in the 7th; b-walked for J Romero in the 8th. BATTING: HR - A Rowand (1, 5th inning off J Francis 0 on, 0 Out), P Burrell (1, 5th inning off J Francis 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - A Rowand (1), P Burrell (1). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - S Victorino 1. GIDP - J Rollins, C Ruiz. Team LOB - 4. BASERUNNING: SB - C Ruiz (1, 2nd base off J Francis/Y Torrealba). ---------------------------------------------------- COLORADO - 030 000 010 -- 4 PHILADELPHIA - 000 020 000 -- 2 ---------------------------------------------------- COLORADO ip h r er bb so hr era J Francis (W, 1-0) 6 4 2 2 2 8 2 3.00 L Hawkins (H, 1) 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.00 B Fuentes (H, 1) 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0.00 M Corpas (S, 1) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 PHILADELPHIA ip h r er bb so hr era C Hamels (L, 0-1) 6 2/3 3 3 3 4 7 0 4.05 T Gordon 2/3 1 1 1 0 2 1 13.50 J Romero 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 B Myers 1 2 0 0 0 3 0 0.00 Pitches-strikes: J Francis 94-62; L Hawkins 16-10; B Fuentes 18-10; M Corpas 13-10; C Hamels 115-72; T Gordon 9-7; J Romero 5-3; B Myers 21-15. Ground balls-fly balls: J Francis 5-5; L Hawkins 2-1; B Fuentes 1-1; M Corpas 1-1; C Hamels 7-6; T Gordon 0-0; J Romero 1-1; B Myers 0-0. Batters faced: J Francis 23; L Hawkins 3; B Fuentes 4; M Corpas 3; C Hamels 27; T Gordon 3; J Romero 2; B Myers 5. UMPIRES: HP--Dale Scott. 1B--Jim Reynolds. 2B--Chuck Meriwether. 3B--Jeff Kellogg. LF--Derryl Cousins. RF--Ed Hickox. T--2:52. Att--45,655. Weather: 81 degrees, sunny. Wind: 7 mph, left to right.</div>
NL: COLORADO at PHILADELPHIA <div class="pre">** CONFIRMED ** NL COLORADO 4 PHILADELPHIA 2 FINAL</div>
NL: COLORADO at PHILADELPHIA <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COLORADO (4) AT PHILADELPHIA (2) - HOW THEY SCORED ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COLORADO 2ND: T Helton tripled to deep center. G Atkins doubled to left, T Helton scored. B Hawpe struck out swinging. R Spilborghs walked. Y Torrealba singled to center, G Atkins scored, R Spilborghs to second. J Francis sacrificed to pitcher, R Spilborghs to third, Y Torrealba to second. K Matsui walked. T Tulowitzki walked, R Spilborghs scored, Y Torrealba to third, K Matsui to second. M Holliday struck out swinging. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 3, PHILADELPHIA 0. PHILADELPHIA 5TH: A Rowand homered to right. P Burrell homered to left. W Helms flied out to left. C Ruiz singled to left. C Hamels bunt popped out to third. C Ruiz stole second. J Rollins walked. S Victorino grounded out to second. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 3, PHILADELPHIA 2. COLORADO 8TH: A Nunez at third base. T Tulowitzki struck out swinging. M Holliday homered to left center. J Romero relieved T Gordon. T Helton popped out to shortstop. G Atkins grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 4, PHILADELPHIA 2.</div>
Francis turns tables on Phils; Rockies take Game One <h3>COLORADO 4, PHILADELPHIA 2</h3>PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- It was the same venue, but a muchdifferent outcome for Jeff Francis. Francis tossed six solid innings in outdueling Cole Hamels andMatt Holliday added a solo home run as the Colorado Rockiesdefeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2, in Game One of theNational League Division Series. Yorvit Torrealba had two hits and an RBI for the Rockies, whohave won 15 of their last 16 games and play Game Two hereThursday. Francis (1-0), who was hammered in two starts vs. Philadelphiathis season, allowed two runs on four hits with two walks andeight strikeouts. He struck out Chase Utley three times andRyan Howard twice. In Francis' last appearance at Citizens Bank Park inmid-September, he lasted only 3 1/3 innings and surrenderedeight runs in a 12-4 loss. Colorado was leading when Holliday hit a first-pitch, solo homerun in the eighth inning off Tom Gordon that made it 4-2. LaTroy Hawkins and Brian Fuentes each pitched a scoreless inningbefore Manny Corpas pitched a perfect ninth for the save. Cole Hamels (0-1) was the tough-luck loser for Philadelphia.The lefthander went 6 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on justthree hits. He walked four and struck out seven. Both pitchers were dominant in retiring the side in order in thefirst inning. Hamels struck out one batter, while Francisstruck out the side with nine straight strikes after fallingbehind leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins, 3-0. However, the Rockies batted around in the second and scoredthree runs to take a 3-0 lead. Todd Helton led off and hit Hamels' first pitch to deepleft-center for a triple, then scored on a RBI double down theleft field line by Garrett Atkins. Hamels began to struggle with his command. He walked RyanSpilborghs on four pitches with one out before Torrealbafollowed with a bloop single to center that scored Atkins tomake it 2-0. After Francis sacrificed the runners over to second and third,Hamels walked Kaz Matsui, then Troy Tulowitzki to force in thethird run. Philadelphia struck quickly with back-to-back home runs in thefifth inning. Aaron Rowand hit a 2-1 pitch into theright-center field seats for an opposite field homer. PatBurrell then hit a 2-1 offering just over the fence in left tocut the deficit to 3-2. Hamels left the game with a runner on second and two outs in theseventh. Gordon came in and struck out Matsui swinging to endthe inning.
NL: COLORADO at PHILADELPHIA <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COLORADO (4) AT PHILADELPHIA (2) - EVENT LOG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Colorado Starting Lineups -- K Matsui 2B, T Tulowitzki SS, M Holliday LF, T Helton 1B, G Atkins 3B, B Hawpe RF, R Spilborghs CF, Y Torrealba C, J Francis LHP. Philadelphia Starting Lineups -- J Rollins SS, S Victorino RF, C Utley 2B, R Howard 1B, A Rowand CF, P Burrell LF, W Helms 3B, C Ruiz C, C Hamels LHP. Umpires -- Dale Scott (HP), Jim Reynolds (1B), Chuck Meriwether (2B), Jeff Kellogg (3B), Derryl Cousins (LF), Ed Hickox (RF). Gametime Weather: 81 degrees, Sunny, wind left to right at 7 mph. COLORADO 1ST: K Matsui grounded out to shortstop. T Tulowitzki struck out swinging. M Holliday grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 0, PHILADELPHIA 0. PHILADELPHIA 1ST: J Rollins struck out swinging. S Victorino struck out swinging. C Utley struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 0, PHILADELPHIA 0. COLORADO 2ND: T Helton tripled to deep center. G Atkins doubled to left, T Helton scored. B Hawpe struck out swinging. R Spilborghs walked. Y Torrealba singled to center, G Atkins scored, R Spilborghs to second. J Francis sacrificed to pitcher, R Spilborghs to third, Y Torrealba to second. K Matsui walked. T Tulowitzki walked, R Spilborghs scored, Y Torrealba to third, K Matsui to second. M Holliday struck out swinging. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 3, PHILADELPHIA 0. PHILADELPHIA 2ND: R Howard struck out swinging. A Rowand grounded out to shortstop. P Burrell walked. W Helms popped out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 3, PHILADELPHIA 0. COLORADO 3RD: T Helton flied out to center. G Atkins struck out looking. B Hawpe flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 3, PHILADELPHIA 0. PHILADELPHIA 3RD: C Ruiz struck out looking. C Hamels singled to left. J Rollins grounded into double play, third to second to first, C Hamels out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 3, PHILADELPHIA 0. COLORADO 4TH: R Spilborghs struck out looking. Y Torrealba lined out to pitcher. J Francis grounded out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 3, PHILADELPHIA 0. PHILADELPHIA 4TH: S Victorino grounded out to third. C Utley struck out swinging. R Howard struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 3, PHILADELPHIA 0. COLORADO 5TH: K Matsui fouled out to catcher. T Tulowitzki grounded out to shortstop. M Holliday grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 3, PHILADELPHIA 0. PHILADELPHIA 5TH: A Rowand homered to right. P Burrell homered to left. W Helms flied out to left. C Ruiz singled to left. C Hamels bunt popped out to third. C Ruiz stole second. J Rollins walked. S Victorino grounded out to second. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 3, PHILADELPHIA 2. COLORADO 6TH: T Helton struck out swinging. G Atkins flied out to center. B Hawpe struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 3, PHILADELPHIA 2. PHILADELPHIA 6TH: C Utley struck out swinging. R Howard flied out to right. A Rowand flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 3, PHILADELPHIA 2. COLORADO 7TH: R Spilborghs walked. Y Torrealba flied out to right. J Francis grounded out to second, R Spilborghs to second. T Gordon relieved C Hamels. K Matsui struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 3, PHILADELPHIA 2. PHILADELPHIA 7TH: L Hawkins relieved J Francis. P Burrell popped out to third. G Dobbs hit for W Helms. G Dobbs walked. M Bourn ran for G Dobbs. C Ruiz grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, M Bourn out at second.(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 3, PHILADELPHIA 2. COLORADO 8TH: A Nunez at third base. T Tulowitzki struck out swinging. M Holliday homered to left center. J Romero relieved T Gordon. T Helton popped out to shortstop. G Atkins grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 4, PHILADELPHIA 2. PHILADELPHIA 8TH: B Fuentes relieved L Hawkins. T Iguchi hit for J Romero. T Iguchi walked. J Rollins popped out to shortstop. S Victorino grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, T Iguchi out at second. C Utley struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 4, PHILADELPHIA 2. COLORADO 9TH: B Myers relieved J Romero. B Hawpe struck out looking. R Spilborghs struck out looking. Y Torrealba reached on infield single to third. C Sullivan hit for B Fuentes. C Sullivan singled to center, Y Torrealba to second. K Matsui struck out looking. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 4, PHILADELPHIA 2. PHILADELPHIA 9TH: M Corpas relieved B Fuentes. C Sullivan in center field. R Howard struck out looking. A Rowand grounded out to second. P Burrell flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 4, PHILADELPHIA 2.</div>
Francis turns tables on Phillies; Rockies take Game One <h3>COLORADO 4, PHILADELPHIA 2</h3>By Vince DiGregorio Special to PA SportsTicker PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- It was the same venue, but a muchdifferent outcome for Jeff Francis. Francis tossed six solid innings in outdueling Cole Hamels andMatt Holliday added a solo home run as the Colorado Rockiesdefeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2, in Game One of theNational League Division Series on Wednesday. Yorvit Torrealba had two hits and an RBI for the Rockies, whohave won 15 of their last 16 games and play Game Two hereThursday. Colorado and Philadelphia (89-73) put on two of the mostmemorable playoff pushes in history to make it to this point.The Phillies won 13 of their last 17 games but were aidedtremendously by the New York Mets' historic collapse. The Metslost 12 of their final 17 games, including five of their lastsix. Colorado, meanwhile, won 13 of their final 14 games, including afranchise-record 11 straight, to force a one-game playoff withthe San Diego Padres on Monday. After blowing 3-0 and 6-5leads, the Rockies scored three times in the bottom of the 13thfor a 9-8 triumph and a ticket across the country. The Rockies' rotation was set up for Francis, who tied thefranchise single-season record for wins with 17, and the26-year-old Canadian delivered. Francis (1-0), who was hammered in two starts vs. Philadelphiathis season, allowed two runs and four hits with two walks andeight strikeouts. He struck out Chase Utley three times andRyan Howard twice. In Francis' last appearance at Citizens Bank Park on September13, he lasted only 3 1/3 innings and surrendered eight runs in a12-4 loss. Francis struck out the first four batters in this one andallowed just a third-inning single by Hamels until Aaron Rowandand Pat Burrell hit back-to-back homers in the fifth to cut thePhillies' deficit to 3-2. Holliday, who scored the winning run Monday against San Diegoand led the league in batting (.340) and RBI (137), hit afirst-pitch, solo home run in the eighth inning off Tom Gordonthat provided Colorado a 4-2 lead. LaTroy Hawkins and Brian Fuentes each pitched a scoreless inningfor Colorado before Manny Corpas worked a perfect ninth for thesave. Hamels went 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs and just threehits. He walked four and struck out seven. The Rockies sent nine batters to the plate against Hamels, whowas coming off his most dominant performance of the season, inthe second and scored three runs to take a 3-0 lead. Todd Helton led off and hit Hamels' first pitch to deepleft-center for a triple, then scored on a double down the leftfield line by Garrett Atkins. Hamels walked Ryan Spilborghs on four pitches with one outbefore Torrealba followed with a bloop single to center thatscored Atkins to make it 2-0. After Francis advanced therunners with a sacrifice, Hamels walked Kaz Matsui and TroyTulowitzki to force in the third run. The Phillies got on the board in the fifth, when Rowand hit a2-1 pitch into the right-center field seats for anopposite-field homer and Burrell drilled a 2-1 offering justover the wall in left to make it a one-run game. Hamels left the game with a runner on second and two outs in theseventh. Gordon came in and struck out Matsui swinging to endthe inning. On Friday against the Washington Nationals, Hamels pitched eightscoreless innings, allowing just a walk and six hits with 13strikeouts.
Francis turns tables on Phillies; Rockies take Game One <h3>COLORADO 4, PHILADELPHIA 2</h3>By Vince DiGregorio Special to PA SportsTicker PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- It was the same venue, but a much differentoutcome for Jeff Francis. Francis tossed six solid innings in outdueling Cole Hamels andMatt Holliday added a solo home run as the Colorado Rockiesdefeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2, in Game One of theNational League Division Series on Wednesday. Yorvit Torrealba had two hits and an RBI for the Rockies, whohave won 15 of their last 16 games to earn a ticket across thecountry. "I (heard) more questions today about were we fatigued, wedidn't have a turnaround, we didn't have a rest," Rockiesmanager Clint Hurdle said. "All I know is, we got time to catchour breath, we got ready to play a game and we felt comfortablewith Francis on the mound." Game Two will be here Thursday. Colorado (90-73) and Philadelphia (89-73) put on two of the mostmemorable playoff pushes in history to make it to this point.The Phillies won 13 of their last 17 games but were aidedtremendously by the New York Mets' historic collapse. The Metslost 12 of their final 17 games, including five of their lastsix. Colorado, meanwhile, won 13 of their final 14 games, including afranchise-record 11 straight, to force a one-game playoff withthe San Diego Padres on Monday. After blowing 3-0 and 6-5leads, the Rockies scored three times in the bottom of the 13thfor a 9-8 triumph and their first trip to the postseason since1995. The Rockies' rotation was set up for Francis, who tied thefranchise single-season record for wins with 17, and the26-year-old Canadian delivered. "I felt very confident he would go out there and would take theballgame to them," Hurdle said. Francis (1-0), who was hammered in two starts vs. Philadelphiathis season, allowed two runs and four hits with two walks andeight strikeouts. "(Francis) had two rough outings against these guys and he's asgood as anybody to right a wrong," Hurdle said. Francis struck out Chase Utley three times and Ryan Howardtwice. Utley would eventually strike out in all four of hisat-bats and Howard finished with three. "(Utley and Howard) are the key hitters in that lineup," Francissaid. "You want to be able to put them away quickly. Youdon't want to mess around and fortunately, they were swingingand missing." In Francis' last appearance at Citizens Bank Park on September13, he lasted only 3 1/3 innings and surrendered eight runs in a12-4 loss. "In that game I pitched in September, I didn't execute pitchesvery well," Francis said. "I was behind in the count a lot." Francis struck out the first four batters in this one andallowed just a third-inning single by Hamels until Aaron Rowandand Pat Burrell hit back-to-back homers in the fifth to cut thePhillies' deficit to 3-2. Holliday, who scored the winning run Monday against San Diegoand led the league in batting (.340) and RBI (137), hit afirst-pitch, solo home run in the eighth inning off Tom Gordonthat provided Colorado a 4-2 lead. "I think the biggest part of (the homer) is, it gives (ourbullpen) an extra little bit of room for error," Holliday said."With (the Phillies) bats and their lineup, one extra run isvery crucial." Holliday was booed vociferously during the pregame introductionsand throughout the game because he and Phillies shortstop JimmyRollins are the frontrunners for the MVP award in the NL. Hedenied taking any extra pleasure in the home run that silencedthe Philadelphia crowd. "Not at all, I take satisfaction in trying to help my team wingames," Holliday said. "When I'm able to do that, that's where Iget my satisfaction." LaTroy Hawkins and Brian Fuentes each pitched a scoreless inningfor Colorado before Manny Corpas worked a perfect ninth for thesave. "Our bullpen was very efficient again today," Hurdle said. "Theyhave been on a very impressive run. They have just found a wayto complement each other out there very, very well." Hamels went 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs and just threehits. He walked four and struck out seven. The Rockies sent nine batters to the plate against Hamels, whowas coming off his most dominant performance of the season, inthe second and scored three runs to take a 3-0 lead. Todd Helton led off and hit Hamels' first pitch to deepleft-center for a triple. "My main focus was to throw strikes (in the second inning),"Hamels said. "Helton likes the first pitch and I fell into thetrap. I didn't locate it well and he hit it." Helton scored on a double down the left field line by GarrettAtkins. "With Atkins, I threw too many changeups and left one changeupup," Hamels said. "I definitely just put it out there on aplatter for him." "He left it out over the plate," Atkins said. "At that point,I'm trying to hit it somewhere and it was a double." Hamels walked Ryan Spilborghs on four pitches with one outbefore Torrealba followed with a bloop single to center thatscored Atkins to make it 2-0. After Francis advanced therunners with a sacrifice, Hamels walked Kaz Matsui and TroyTulowitzki to force in the third run. "Nothing can really prepare you for what this situation islike," Hamels said. "Especially with that second inning that Ihad. It's just something that now I understand and just put inmy memory bank and just have to go after them some other time." The Phillies got on the board in the fifth, when Rowand hit a2-1 pitch into the right-center field seats for anopposite-field homer and Burrell drilled a 2-1 offering justover the wall in left to make it a one-run game. "I felt (like) we didn't hit," Phillies manager Charlie Manuelsaid. "We hit a couple of home runs, but outside of that, I feltlike Francis did a heck of a job." Hamels left the game with a runner on second and two outs in theseventh. Gordon came in and struck out Kaz Matsui swinging toend the inning. On Friday against the Washington Nationals, Hamels pitched eightscoreless innings, allowing just a walk and six hits with 13strikeouts. The teams combined for just 10 hits at hitter-friendly CitizensBank Park. "Who would have thought that an old-fashioned National Leaguegame would break out at this ballpark?" Hurdle asked.
