Phillies Come Up Short in Nail-Biter

Cole Hamels isn't going to breeze through this postseason.

The Phillies tried to overcome a shaky start from Hamels to come back and beat the Rockies Thursday but the efforts came up short as Colorado rolled to a 5-4 victory.

Yorvit Torrealba hit a two-run homer, Aaron Cook pitched effectively into the sixth and the Colorado Rockies beat Hamels and the Phightins in Game 2 to even their NL division series at one.

Hamels, the World Series and NLCS MVP last year, looked nothing like the guy who was so dominant during Philadelphia's championship run last October. The left-hander allowed four runs and seven hits in five innings -- leaving the Phils in a 4-0 hole.

He didn't stick around to the Phillies fight back. He rushed out of the ballpark to be with his wife, Heidi Strobel, who was delivering the couple's first child.

Huston Street pitched out of trouble in the ninth to secure the win for Colorado. He retired Shane Victorino on a soft liner to second to leave the tying run -- Game 1 winner Cliff Lee -- at second base.

The Phillies used six relievers to try to keep the Rockies at bay in the later innings. Among the relievers were possible Game 3 starters Joe Blanton and J.A. Happ.

The best-of-five series shifts to Denver on Saturday. Jason Hammel (10-8) will start for the wild-card Rockies against a yet-to-be-announced pitcher. The Phillies could use Blanton, Happ or Pedro Martinez.

But, signs seemed to point to Pedro as the frontrunner.

Blanton pitched one inning in relief, allowing a run. Happ faced one batter and got knocked out of the game when Seth Smith hit a hard liner off the lower part of his left leg.

X-rays on Happ's leg were luckily negative. But, it would seem a long shot for Happ to toss Game 3 especially in the chilly Rocky Mountain air.

Jayson Werth's solo homer off Rafael Betancourt in the eighth got the Phillies within a run and whipped the fans into a frenzy. But, Franklin Morales came in and retired Raul Ibanez on a sharp grounder.

Street, who was 35 for 37 in save chances in the regular season, started the ninth.

He walked pinch-hitter Matt Stairs with one out. Lee, who became the first Phillies pitcher to steal a base in the postseason in Game 1, ran for the slow-footed Stairs. After Miguel Cairo flied to right, Jimmy Rollins singled to right. But, Street got Victorino to end it.

Making his third start since a shoulder strain sidelined him for most of September, Cook allowed three runs and seven hits in five-plus innings. The right-handed sinkerballer got 12 of his 15 outs on grounders or strikeouts as he beat the Phils.

Other big performers for the Rockies were Carlos Gonzales (three hits, a steal and scored a run) and Yorvit Torrealba (two-run homer).

For the Phillies Ryan Howard had two hits and an RBI while Ibanez added two hits and two RBI of his own.

For the second straight day, the Phillies had the largest crowd in the six-year history of Citizens Bank Park. There were 46,528 fans packed in the ballpark, waving their white-and-red “Fightin' Phils”' towels. Now, there's no guarantee they'll see another game this year.

Copyright Associated Press / NBC 10 Philadelphia

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