Major League Baseball
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Philadelphia 4, Colorado 3
When: 8:40 PM ET, Monday, May 18, 2015
Where: Coors Field, Denver, Colorado
Temperature: 49°
Umpires: Home - Jerry Layne, 1B - Hunter Wendelstedt, 2B - Bob Davidson, 3B - Ryan Blakney
Attendance: 24061

DENVER -- Philadelphia Phillies ace Cole Hamels always presents a daunting challenge for opposing hitters -- even more so when his teammates score at least three runs while he is in the game.

The Phillies did that Monday, beating the Colorado Rockies 4-3 thanks to a three-run rally with two outs in the sixth inning. Philadelphia earned its sixth consecutive win.

Philadelphia is weighing whether trading Hamels would hasten its rebuilding process. Meanwhile, Hamels (4-3) is 11-0 in 17 starts since 2014 when his teammates tally three runs with him on the mound. He won his third consecutive outing, worked a season-high 7 1/3 innings on 105 pitches and allowed one run on six hits and one walk while striking out seven.

"Early on, he was misfiring up with some fastballs," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "Some of that accounted for his pitch count going up to around 80 for five innings. But he made pitches when he had to."

That was the case in the fourth, when Phillies center fielder Odubel Herrera lost a ball in the darkening sky, putting runners on second and third with one out.

Hamels then struck out second baseman DJ LeMahieu on a high cutter, and he threw another cutter past pitcher Jordan Lyles to end the inning. He began the next inning with two strikeouts.

"Sometimes when you get ahead of guys, you're able to throw pitches out of the zone and guys are still going to be aggressive," Hamels said. "They want to put the ball in play. They don't want to sit back and walk. You're able to get away with more pitches out of the zone than probably what I'm accustomed to doing. But outs are outs."

With setup man Ken Giles unavailable after working five of the past six days, Luis Garcia relieved Hamels with one out and no one on base in the eighth. Garcia gave up a single to Nolan Arenado, and Troy Tulowitzki reached base when his bouncer popped out of third baseman Maikel Franco's glove. Right fielder Carlos Gonzalez followed with a run-scoring single.

Garcia quickly regrouped and struck out first baseman Wilin Rosario and got catcher Nick Hundley to fly out. Hundley jogged to first, where he argued with and was ejected by umpire Hunter Wendelstedt. Hundley had waved his hand in disagreement after Wendelstedt ruled that Hundley was unable to check his swing for the second strike of the at-bat.

After Jonathan Papelbon gave up a one-out triple to LeMahieu in the ninth, the Phillies closer struck out pinch hitter Corey Dickerson before center fielder Charlie Blackmon followed with a run-scoring single. Papelbon struck out Arenado to earn his 10th save in as many chances.

The Rockies struck out 11 times, setting a franchise record with their sixth consecutive game in double figures. They have struck out 87 times in that six-game span.

"I think we need to tighten up our approach with two strikes," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "You can't miss your pitch when you get it early in the count."

The resurgent Phillies are riding their longest winning streak since they won seven consecutive games from Sept. 5-12, 2012. Philadelphia (17-23) passed the Miami Marlins to climb out of last place in the National League East.

"When you do win," Hamels said, "it's kind of that more positive environment, and guys can tend to be themselves a little bit more instead of trying to crack down and be all serious 24/7."

The Rockies (13-22) lost for the 14th time in their past 16 games and the 20th time in their past 26. They opened an eight-game homestand Monday with an urgent need to begin playing better at Coors Field, where their record fell to 4-10.

The game was tied 1-1 when Lyles got the first two outs in the sixth. Franco then singled, and second baseman Chase Utley walked. Herrera lashed a two-run double toward the right field corner and took third on a throw to the plate. Catcher Carlos Ruiz flared a run-scoring, broken-bat single into short right field.

"The key was the walk to Utley," Lyles said. "I shouldn't have walked Utley. I was ahead 1-2 and couldn't finish him."

Lyles (2-4) gave up four runs on seven hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out three.

NOTES: Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki was back in the lineup after missing two games with left quad tightness. He went 1-for-4. ... Rockies RHP Brooks Brown (right shoulder inflammation) could be activated Wednesday. He made his second rehab appearance Monday for Triple-A Albuquerque but needed 26 pitches to get two outs while allowing three hits and three runs. ... Philadelphia RHP Severino Gonzalez will be recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to start Wednesday, taking the turn of RHP Chad Billinsgley, who was placed on the disabled list Sunday due to a strained right latissimus dorsi. Billingsley could rejoin the rotation in four to six weeks. To take his place on the roster, the Phillies recalled RHP Hector Neris from Lehigh Valley, where he went 1-3 with a 5.94 ERA in 13 relief appearances. ... 3B Maikel Franco hit his first career triple and home run Sunday, making him the first Phillie to reach both milestones in the same game since Rick Schu on Sept. 2, 1984.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Philadelphia   Colorado
Cole Hamels Player Jordan Lyles
Win W/L Loss
7.1 IP 6.0
7 Strikeouts 3
6 Hits 7
1.23 ERA 6.00
Hitting
Philadelphia   Colorado
Ben Revere Player Carlos Gonzalez
3 Hits 2
0 RBI 1
0 HR 0
3 TB 2
.750 Avg .500
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Philadelphia 10 0 12 .286 18 4 4 2 1 1
Colorado 10 0 13 .270 19 11 3 1 2 1