Rockies get upper hand
PHILADELPHIA – Bandbox or not, it was no day for hitters.
Jeff Francis held the league’s highest-scoring team in check, and the Colorado Rockies took advantage of one shaky inning by Cole Hamels to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 in Game 1 of their best-of-5 N.L. playoff series Wednesday.
“Who would’ve thought a good old-fashioned National League game would break out in this ballpark?” Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said.
Making just the second postseason appearance in their 15-year history, the Rockies played like October regulars. Colorado posted its second playoff victory, the other coming in 1995, and won for the 15th time in their last 16 games.
Matt Holliday, his chin still cut up from the face-first slide that won Monday’s wild-card tiebreaker over San Diego, hit a solo home run.
“Any time you expect a slugfest, you get a pitching duel,” Holliday said.
Francis pitched six effective innings and stayed out of big trouble, mostly by shutting down the Phillies’ top hitters.
Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins combined to go 0 for 11 with eight strikeouts. Utley, a .332 hitter, struck out four times for the second time in his career.
“Some of the hitters may have been uptight, but Francis was way better than the other times I’ve seen him,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.
Francis’ only problems came in the fifth inning when Aaron Rowand and Pat Burrell hit consecutive homers.
The left-hander gave up four hits and struck out eight. Once the 17-game winner departed, three relievers pitched three hitless innings, with Manny Corpas closing for a save.
With the two highest-scoring teams in the league playing in two of the most hitter-friendly parks in the majors, this series figured to see plenty of runs.
Not so, at least in the opener. Hitters expected the late- afternoon shadows to be a problem, and they struggled.
Francis used a mix of off-speed pitches to keep a potent lineup off-balance to improve to 9-0 in day games this season.
“I’m always aware of my success or nonsuccess I have against teams,” said Francis, who had a 15.12 ERA against the Phils this season. “Today, my execution was better.”
In Game 2 this afternoon, rookies Kyle Kendrick and Franklin Morales will pitch.
Kendrick (10-4) made the jump from Double-A to bail out Philly’s depleted staff in June. Morales (3-2) made eight starts for Colorado, which lost three starters to season-ending injuries.
Despite the support of a rally towel-waving sellout crowd of 45,655, the second-largest total in four-year old Citizens Bank Park, the N.L. East champion Phillies came out flat.
Rowand finally got them going crazy, lining an opposite-field shot to right to start the bottom of the fifth. Burrell followed with a towering drive that just cleared the left-field wall to cut it to 3-2.
But Francis worked out of a two-out jam to preserve the one-run lead, retiring Shane Victorino on a grounder with two runners on.
LaTroy Hawkins pitched a scoreless seventh, Brian Fuentes worked the eighth and Corpas finished.
Holliday, the MVP candidate, gave the Rockies an insurance run when he hit Tom Gordon’s pitch into the seats for a 4-2 lead in the eighth.
Hamels, the 23-year-old All-Star lefty, was outstanding except for one inning. Making his first career start against the Rockies, he allowed three runs and three hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Hamels uncharacteristically walked four and fanned seven. He kept his cool after walking Troy Tulowitzki on a 3-2 pitch to force in Colorado’s third run, and retired the next 13.
“You want to succeed in the spotlight,” Hamels said. “Nothing can prepare you for what this situation is like.”
Roughed up by the Phillies in two starts this season, Francis seemed like he was in for another tough day after falling behind leadoff hitter Rollins 3-0. But the 26-year-old lefty regrouped and ended up striking out the first four batters.
The Phillies’ first postseason game since Joe Carter’s homer clinched the World Series for Toronto in 1993 left this championship-starved city disappointed once again. At least, they don’t have to wait 14 years for another playoff game.
Colorado’s other playoff win was Oct. 6, 1995. The Rockies, then a third-year franchise, beat Atlanta 7-5 to temporarily avoid elimination.