Dexter Fowler

DENVER - It all worked out, somehow. But Phillies manager Charlie Manuel seemed to make a pretzel out of what could have been a doughnut. Why? Why? Why? Why lefty specialist Scott Eyre to start the ninth with a one-run lead, and not resurrected closer Brad Lidge right away? Lidge had to enter with two outs and two of Eyre's runners on base. Eyre injured his right ankle badly enough to leave Game 3 the night before. He told Manuel he was fit before last night's game, and Eyre certainly looked fit, getting pinch-hitter Eric Young Jr., pitching unearthly hot lefty Carlos Gonzalez (10-for-17)

DENVER - Charlie Manuel's offense delivered a well-deserved I.O.U. to Roy Halladay today, pacing the Phillies to an 8-6 victory over Colorado in which their veteran ace allowed his most runs since April 19. Although the Rockies scored five runs in seven innings off of Halladay, they did not exactly crush him. Just two of their eight hits went for extra bases, and they struck out seven times while walking once. Colorado scored two runs in the first inning despite managing one hit: a popped up bunt by Eric Young that fell into the infield for a single.

DENVER - For all the uncertainties of the Phillies' bullpen, May has been a glimpse into what sort of potential the relief corps offers. Entering Monday's game, the Phillies' bullpen had a 1.47 ERA and allowed two hits in 11 innings. The bullpen blew a lead Monday but kept the Rockies from going ahead. Ultimately, the Phils won, 9-5. In the seventh inning, with Kyle Kendrick gassed after six innings, manager Charlie Manuel turned to J.C. Romero. Manuel had been looking for the right spot to use his lone lefthanded reliever.

First Inning Phillies: Jimmy Rollins grounded out to second. Shane Victorino grounded out to pitcher. Chase Utley grounded out to second. Rockies: Dexter Fowler grounded out to second. Ryan Spilborghs singled to shallow left. Brad Hawpe doubled to deep right center, Spilborghs scored. Hawpe to third on passed ball by Chris Coste. Garrett Atkins singled to center, Hawpe scored. Ian Stewart singled to right, Atkins to second. Troy Tulowitzki walked, Atkins to third, Stewart to second.

Wrigley a Cubs problem? In what must sound like blasphemy to Chicago Cubs fans, Gerry Fraley wrote on Foxsports.com that Wrigley Field had contributed to the club's problems this season. "This is no time for sentiment. Wrigley embodies everything that is wrong with the Cubs," Fraley wrote. "The place is a dump, but for some reason it has been turned into a mecca. . . . There are other drawbacks to Wrigley. The irregular starting times prevent players from getting into a routine.

Huston Street had some anxious moments, but the Colorado Rockies closer got the job done by pitching a scoreless ninth inning in yesterday's 5-4 win over the Phillies, which evened the National League division series at one game apiece. Game 3 takes place tomorrow at Coors Field. Street needed 23 pitches before getting Shane Victorino to end the game by lining out to second base with runners on first and second. "It's obviously big to be going back to Colorado with this series tied," Street said.

After yesterday's 5-1 opening loss to the Phillies in the National League division series, the Colorado Rockies were making no excuses. The players weren't blaming the 24-m.p.h. wind, or the shadows created by the afternoon start. Actually, they were blaming one person for the loss - Phillies lefthander Cliff Lee, who pitched a complete game six-hitter. "I don't see any team today with what Cliff Lee had, coming out of here with a win today," said Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who went 2 for 4 with an RBI double in the ninth inning.

Like Chad Billingsley of the Los Angeles Dodgers a year ago, Colorado's Rafael Betancourt did not respond to a knock-down pitch from Brett Myers of the Phillies in a postseason game. Unlike the Dodgers, the Rockies were happy that Betancourt did not retaliate. In the eighth inning of Thursday's second game of the National League division series, Myers hit Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki in the right elbow. On the previous pitch, Tulowitzki had what would have been an epic homer hook foul.

Many times, a managerial switch is made just to shake things up, to provide a different voice to hear, and turns out to be nothing more than window dressing. In the case of the Colorado Rockies, naming Jim Tracy to replace the fired Clint Hurdle saved the season. Under Tracy, who replaced Hurdle on May 29, the Rockies were 74-42, won the National League's wild-card berth, and begin their division series against the Phillies this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. "We wouldn't be here without him, and he's turned my career around personally - just the opportunities he has given me, and believing and trusting in me," second baseman Clint Barmes said yesterday.

NO WIN FOR the ages. Or, for that matter, the aged. At 49, Jamie Moyer failed in his second attempt to become the oldest pitcher to win a major league game when Madison Bumgarner took a no-hit bid into the sixth and scattered four hits over 7 1/3 innings in visiting San Francisco's 4-2 win over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday. Moyer's shot at history was thwarted not only by Bumgarner, another crafty lefthander who in many ways is a younger version of Moyer, but also by teammate Dexter Fowler, whose sixth-inning error on a routine fly ball to center led to two unearned runs.

Taken simply for what it was, a 9-1 road trip is impressive enough. Account for the fact that it was a journey through the lefthanded time zones and it takes on added luster. Factor in that it was 10 uninterrupted days of hotel-and-suitcase living that followed 10 straight days at home without a break in between and the accomplishment moves to an even higher level. And that might not even be the most winsome part of the Phillies' triumphant junket through Colorado, San Francisco and Los Angeles that ended Wednesday.

DENVER - Roy Halladay's work day at Coors Field on Wednesday afternoon will not be etched in the memories of Phillies fans alongside the perfect game in Florida or the postseason no-hitter against Cincinnati. And yet you got the impression the Phillies ace felt a real sense of satisfaction about leaving the town where he grew up with an 8-6 victory that allowed his team to complete a three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies. "You know, a lot of times here it's going to be that way," Halladay said after he navigated his way through seven turbulent innings and picked up his league-leading 14th win of the season.

DENVER - Charlie Manuel's offense delivered a well-deserved I.O.U. to Roy Halladay today, pacing the Phillies to an 8-6 victory over Colorado in which their veteran ace allowed his most runs since April 19. Although the Rockies scored five runs in seven innings off of Halladay, they did not exactly crush him. Just two of their eight hits went for extra bases, and they struck out seven times while walking once. Colorado scored two runs in the first inning despite managing one hit: a popped up bunt by Eric Young that fell into the infield for a single.

DENVER - Kyle Lohse pitched six solid innings to match a major-league high with his seventh win and Jon Jay hit a two-run homer, helping the St. Louis Cardinals hold off the Colorado Rockies, 4-3, on Sunday. Colby Rasmus added a solo shot and Yadier Molina chipped in a run-scoring single as the Cardinals finished up a nine-game road trip with a 6-3 mark. The Rockies struggled to get anything going early against Lohse (7-2) a night after scoring a season-high 15 runs. The righty scattered six hits and struck out six before running out of steam in the seventh.

DENVER - Shortly after the credits rolled, leaving the audience staring in stunned contemplation at the 4-hour epic they had just witnessed, Ben Francisco dressed quietly at his locker in preparation for the late-night flight back to Philadelphia. On a night when the stars took center stage, where the Chase Utleys and Ryan Howards and Jayson Werths of the world stole the show with their prodigious seventh-inning home runs, it was easy to forget the little pinch-hit at-bat that occurred with runners at the corners and one out in a tie ballgame.

For all the uncertainties of the Phillies' bullpen, May has been a glimpse into what sort of potential the relief corps offers. Entering Monday's game, the Phillies' bullpen had a 1.47 ERA and allowed two hits in 11 innings. The bullpen blew a lead Monday but kept the Rockies from going ahead. Ultimately, the Phils won, 9-5. In the seventh inning, with Kyle Kendrick gassed after six innings, manager Charlie Manuel turned to J.C. Romero. Manuel had been looking for the right spot to use his lone lefthanded reliever.

Colorado Rockies closer Huston Street was standing at his locker, being very forthright about a very painful ninth inning. General manager Dan O'Dowd interrupted the give-and-take, hugged Street and said, "We wouldn't have been here without you. You did a hell of a job. " The Rockies, and in particular Street, weren't expecting words of solace. Not after a stunning three-run rally in the eighth gave the Rockies a 4-2 lead in Game 4 of the National League Division Series. Not with Street, who went 35-for-37 in save opportunities during the regular season, taking the mound and this NLDS seemingly headed back to Citizens Bank Park for a winner-take-all fifth game.

DENVER - It all worked out, somehow. But Phillies manager Charlie Manuel seemed to make a pretzel out of what could have been a doughnut. Why? Why? Why? Why lefty specialist Scott Eyre to start the ninth with a one-run lead, and not resurrected closer Brad Lidge right away? Lidge had to enter with two outs and two of Eyre's runners on base. Eyre injured his right ankle badly enough to leave Game 3 the night before. He told Manuel he was fit before last night's game, and Eyre certainly looked fit, getting pinch-hitter Eric Young Jr., pitching unearthly hot lefty Carlos Gonzalez (10-for-17)