Todd Helton

DENVER - For a person of his stature, first baseman Todd Helton has had what many describe as a borderline Hall of Fame career well under the radar. Not that the 6-foot-2 Helton is the type who seeks publicity, but as he and the Rockies begin a three-game series on Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park against the Phillies, his efforts these days are receiving even less attention. Both Helton and the Rockies have been struggling. Colorado is 25-40 and has lost 10 of its last 11. Helton, meanwhile, is batting .242 with seven home runs and 32 RBIs.

DENVER - Todd Helton wandered amid the champagne and beer sprays with the look of an accident victim, dazed and a little bit unbelieving. You could not help but wonder about the emotions he was experiencing. For 10 years, Helton arguably has been the best hitter in baseball - but he never had played on a Colorado Rockies team as good as he was. He never had played in October, when everyone is watching. He never had felt the sting of champagne in his eyes. A long time. "Yeah," Helton said, understanding where the conversation was going, although it wasn't so much a conversation as it was a shouting match from only about a foot apart, necessitated by the music and the yelling and the pandemonium in the Rockies' clubhouse on Monday night.

Jim Thome has scored a run in each of the Chicago White Sox' first 17 games - the longest streak ever to start a season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The former Phillie scored in the fifth inning on a double by Jermaine Dye, then ripped a two-run home run (his ninth) in the eighth inning last night against Minnesota. The designated hitter hit only seven homers last season for the Phillies in an injury-marred season. The Toronto Blue Jays placed starter A.J. Burnett on the 15-day disabled list with a right elbow injury.

Who's hot   PHILLIES: Jayson Werth. In 17 postseason games with the Phillies, Werth has hit .295 (18-for-61) with five RBI, four doubles and two triples. He went 2-for-3 with a triple in Game 1. ROCKIES: Jim Tracy. Yeah, his Rockies lost the opener, but Tracy is the front-runner for the National League Manager of the Year after the Rockies went 74-42 after he replaced Clint Hurdle on May 29.   Who's not   PHILLIES: Pedro Feliz. It is a stretch, but Feliz was the last Phillies starter to get a hit in Game 1. Fine, it's a huge stretch.

A strong outing by Shawn Chacon and the first tripleplay in their history couldn't get the Colorado Rockies over the hump. But clutch homers by Todd Helton and Jose Hernandez did. Helton hit a solo homer and Hernandez added a two-run shot in the eighth inning, rallying the Rockies to a 7-6 win over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals yesterday. The Rockies overcame deficits of 2-0 and 6-4 to win for the sixth time in seven games. Colorado manager Clint Hurdle described his team as "resilient.

Phillies vs. Rockies (Phils lost series, 4-3) at Colorado (July 7-9) Rockies 7, Phillies 6 WP: Manny Corpas; LP: J.D. Durbin; GWH: Yorvit Torrealba Top hitters: Phillies - Wes Helms (2 hits, 2 RBI), Aaron Rowand (3 hits); Rockies - Brad Hawpe (4 hits), Cory Sullivan (3 hits, 2 RBI). What happened: Phils blew leads of 4-0 and 6-1 when Hawpe hit a two-out, two-strike HR in the ninth off Antonio Alfonseca to tie the game and Torrealba won it with a two-out RBI single in the 11th.

Phillies vs. Rockies, 7:05 Citizens Bank Park. TV: Comcast SportsNet. Radio: WPHT (1210-AM); WUBA (1480-AM) Spanish. Ticket info: The Phillies have sold more than 37,000 tickets for the game. Rockies RHP Greg Reynolds (0-1, 4.08) vs. Phillies RHP Adam Eaton (0-3, 5.37. Rockies update: Reynolds is a 21-year-old rookie who was called up on May 11 to replace struggling lefthander Mark Redman. He hasn't thrown more than 91 pitches in any of his first three starts. In 17 2/3 innings, he has allowed eight runs on 13 hits and has struck out eight ... Todd Helton is 22-for-58 (.379)

The Phillies have now completed a streak of 13 straight games against National League East teams. On Friday, they go to Shea Stadium to open an important weekend series against the first-place Mets. Under the circumstances, it would be understandable if they overlooked the Rockies, their opponents for the next 4 nights at Citizens Bank Park. It would also be a mistake. If there's one team that holds the key to the postseason, it might just be Colorado. After finishing a weekend series against the Padres yesterday at Coors Field, they have 20 games left, and 17 of them are against teams still in contention for a postseason spot: Phillies (four)

Aaron Cook pitched a four-hit shutout and Todd Helton's grand slam ended Colorado's power slump as the visiting Rockies beat the Atlanta Braves, 9-0, last night. Cook (3-1) retired the final 16 batters for his second career shutout. He had 20 groundouts and did not allow a baserunner to advance past second for his first win in eight career starts against Atlanta. Jeff Francoeur singled with two outs in the fourth and then Cook retired everyone else. The only other hits that Cook gave up were a single to Chipper Jones in the first, and back-to-back singles by Francoeur and Jordan Schafer in the second.

The Colorado Rockies signed former AL MVP Jason Giambi to a minor league contract yesterday. Giambi, 38, will report to Triple A Colorado Springs, hoping for a September call-up to help the Rockies with their pennant push. Colorado went into last night's game against San Francisco with a three-game lead in the NL wild-card race. "He's a veteran guy that understands this point and time of the season, that's been there and done that," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. "To add him to your clubhouse with the character and makeup he brings, that's a tremendous plus for us. " Tracy said Giambi could also fill in at first base if Todd Helton, who was limited to a career-low 83 games last year with a back injury, needs a breather.

By the time Hunter Pence crushed a fastball to left in the ninth inning Wednesday, much of the smallest announced crowd of the season at Citizens Bank Park - 43,729 - had departed. So there was a noticeable hush as the ball hung in the hazy air. Once it thudded off the green wall, there was a hint of magic again. Then Carlos Ruiz drew an intentional walk, Shane Victorino hustled for an infield single, and Placido Polanco ran so hard after tapping a bouncer that a discombobulated Todd Helton could not step on first base before the 36-year-old Dominican.

The smallest announced crowd of the season watched baseball Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park, and by the time Hunter Pence laced a fastball to left in the ninth inning, many had left. So there was a noticeable hush as the ball hung in the hazy air. Once it thudded off the green wall, there was a little bit of magic again. Finally, the Phillies have a comeback victory. They did it in dramatic fashion, beating the Colorado Rockies, 7-6, while down to their final out in the ninth after Jonathan Papelbon turned a tie game into a sure defeat.

DENVER - For a person of his stature, first baseman Todd Helton has had what many describe as a borderline Hall of Fame career well under the radar. Not that the 6-foot-2 Helton is the type who seeks publicity, but as he and the Rockies begin a three-game series on Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park against the Phillies, his efforts these days are receiving even less attention. Both Helton and the Rockies have been struggling. Colorado is 25-40 and has lost 10 of its last 11. Helton, meanwhile, is batting .242 with seven home runs and 32 RBIs.

Before last week's NFL draft, the league expanded the offseason roster by 10 to 90 positions. So teams were on the phones immediately after Saturday's seventh round speaking to players who had gone undrafted. Seven Temple Owls signed rookie free-agent contracts on Sunday, bringing the Owls' total NFL signees for 2012 to 10, tying for the largest class in school history. (Ten former Owls also inked NFL deals a year ago) Linebacker Stephen Johnson (Norristown) signed with New Orleans, and receiver Rod Streater (Burlington)

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 - True story: Once upon a time, Kyle Kendrick ranked high enough in the Phillies' pitching pecking order that manager Charlie Manuel used him as his second starter in a postseason series. That one and only playoff appearance, against Colorado, did not go well for Kendrick. And it seems like ages ago that the Phillies left this city after being swept by a freakishly hot Rockies team in the 2007 National League division series. These days, Kendrick is the swing man on the best pitching staff in baseball, alternating between the bullpen and rotation depending on the health of the other guys in the rotation.

ATLANTA - Freddie Freeman hit a three-run homer, his fourth of the series, and the Atlanta Braves beat Colorado, 6-3, Thursday to complete their first four-game sweep of the Rockies in 18 years. Jason Heyward also homered for the streaking Braves, who have won nine of 10 and 14 of 17 as they head into a series with the NL East-leading Phillies trailing by just 21/2 games. Freeman, the rookie first baseman, hit four homers and drove in seven runs in the series. His third-inning homer was the highlight of a five-run inning that knocked Juan Nicasio (3-2)

NEW YORK - CC Sabathia tossed eight stingy innings to win for the seventh time in his last eight starts, Alex Rodriguez drove in three runs and the New York Yankees, finally beat the Colorado Rockies, 8-3, on Saturday. A dozen pitchers began the day with nine wins, but Sabathia (10-4) won the race to double digits. The big lefthander allowed one run while striking out nine, improving to 19-7 all-time in interleague play. That win total makes him baseball's active leader. He threw just 103 pitches, but manager Joe Girardi decided against letting him finish the game.

NEW YORK - Jason Giambi hit a long homer against his former team and Ubaldo Jimenez overcame early wildness to pitch seven impressive innings, leading the Colorado Rockies to a 4-2 victory Friday night over New York in a rare trip to the Bronx. Troy Tulowitzki homered again in New York City and Todd Helton hit an RBI single for Colorado. No. 9 batter Chris Iannetta walked three times and scored a run. The Rockies were swept by the Yankees in a three-game series in 2004, their only other trip to the borough.