The Phillies have put the Rockies’ back against the wall as they could finish them off later today in Denver. The Phillies are going with Cliff Lee who won game #1 with a complete game in which he allowed six hits and 1 earned run. Lee didn’t walk anyone while striking out 5. He even got a hit and stole a base. The Rockies were supposed to have trouble hitting lefties but Cole Hamels, J.A. Happ and Scott Eyre are a combined 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA and a 1.82 WHIP in this series. Ubaldo Jimenez will start against Lee in a rematch of game #1. He was solid four the first four innings before losing it in the 5th. He worked the first five innings in Game #1 and he allowed 9 hits and 5 earned runs in that game as he earned the loss. Look for the Rockies to use the bullpen early in this game at the first sign of difficulty for Jimenez.

Chase Utley exploded last night cranking a homer in the first inning and he finished with 3 hits in this game. When Utley is hitting well the Phillies’ lineup in virtually unstoppable. Last season he didn’t do much in the playoffs but this year appears to be different and the Phillies have to love that. He is 5 for 12 (.417 avg, 1.129 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer, 1 RBI and 1 stolen base. Starting catcher Carlos Ruiz appears to save all of his hits for key spots just like he did last October. He is 3 for 9 (.333 avg) with 3 RBIs against the Rockies in this series. The Phillies expect Ruiz to hit well in the post season but he needs to bring his same bat from April through September in 2010.

The bullpen and Ryan Howard bailed out the Rockies last night in Denver. Starting pitcher J.A. Happ just didn’t have it last night working only the first three innings last night while allowing 5 hits and 3 earned runs. Lucky for the Phillies and Happ that the bullpen had his back. In the 7th inning, Charlie Manuel surprisingly brought in Ryan Madson who was supposed to be the closer for the playoffs. He threw a scoreless, hitless inning while whiffing 2 batters. Chad Durbin was brought in by Manuel in the 8th inning in a tie game and he worked a scoreless, hitless inning to earn the win. Brad Lidge pitched a scoreless, hitless inning in the 9th to save the game but he made things interesting by walking two batters. Manuel’s confidence in Lidge should benefit the Phillies down the road in the post season as he looked good when he was throwing strikes last night. The big hit was delivered in the top of the 9th when Ryan Howard knocked in Jimmy Rollins with a sacrifice fly. For the game Howard was 1 for 4 with 2 RBIs. Chase Utley was outstanding last night as he was 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and a solo homer. Catcher Carlos Ruiz continued his solid career in the post season as he was 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs. The Phillies are now up 2-1 in this series with Game #4 later today.

The Phillies have decided to go with lefty J.A. Happ instead of Pedro Martinez in this game. Happ pitched in 35 games (23 starts) for the Phillies this season and he was 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He has been kryptonite to Rockies’ hitters this season. He has pitched in 2 games (1 start) against them and he is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.62 WHIP. He has only allowed 5 hits to the Rockies in 11 innings while whiffing 11 batters and walking only 2. Rockies’ hitters have a .139 batting average against Happ this season. It appears that the Rockies will have their work cut out for them today.

Game #3 of the Rockies/Phillies playoff series has been postponed due to rain. They will play tomorrow with the Phillies likely to change starting pitchers going with J.A. Happ over Pedro Martinez. That could be a good thing for the Phillies due to the problems the Phillies have had with lefty starting pitchers.

This is the pivotal game in this series as it’s tied at 1 game apiece. The Phillies have to like the pitching matchup in this game as they have Pedro Martinez against Jason Hammel of the Rockies. Martinez has started 9 games this season for the Phillies and he is 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He has not pitched against the Rockies this season. Only two players on the Rockies have had success hitting against him in his career and one of them is starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez who is 2 for 3 against him. The other hitters with success against Pedro is the Rockies’ starting RF Brad Hawpe who is 2 for 4 with a solo homer against him. Joe Blanton will be ready in the bullpen if Martinez can’t go too deep in this game. Jason Hammel pitched in 34 games (30 starts) this season for the Rockies and he was 10-8 with a 4.33 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. He has pitched in 2 games (1 start) against the Phillies this season and he was 1-0 with a 4.82 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. A few Phillies’ hitters have had a lot of success against Hammel. Jimmy Rollins is 2 for 5 with a homer and 2 RBIs and Shane Victorino is 3 for 5 with a double against Hammel so the Phillies have to think the table setters of the offense will have good games tonight. Raul Ibanez is already having a great series for the Phillies and he was 3 for 4 with a solo homer against Hammel this season. Pedro Feliz also has had success against Hammel as he is 2 for 4 with 1 RBI. Things look good for the Phillies in this game which is a “must win” for both teams.

The Philadelphia Phillies have a few hitters swinging hot sticks right now against the Rockies. Jayson Werth was really good in the Phillies’ run to the World Championship last season and he is at it again. He is 3 for 7 (.429 avg, 1.643 OPS) with a triple, homer, 3 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Raul Ibanez has also been off to a hot start for the Phillies as he is 4 for 8 (.500 avg, 1.125 OPS) with a double, 1 run scored and 4 RBIs. Ryan Howard has been solid as usual with the bat in this series as he is 4 for 8 (.500 avg, 1.250 OPS) with 2 doubles, 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Shane Victorino has been a sparkplug at the top of the lineup for the Phillies as he is 4 for 9 (.444 avg, 1.000 OPS) with a double and a run scored. The Phillies need to keep hitting the baseball well as the Rockies appear to be up to the challenge so far.

The Phillies lost a heartbreaker earlier today to the Rockies. Cole Hamels continued to have issues with the Colorado Rockies. He worked the first five innings of this game and he allowed 7 hits and 4 earned runs as the Rockies dealt him the loss. Joe Blanton followed Hamels in the game and he worked a inning and allowed a earned run. Lefty J.A. Happ followed Blanton and the first batter hit the ball off of his body forcing him to leave the game. With Blanton having worked in this game and Happ getting injured it appears as if veteran righty Pedro Martinez might get the start in Game #3 at Coors Field. The Phillies hit the ball well but they just couldn’t get enough runs to cross the plate to win this game. Shane Victorino was 3 for 5 with a run scored. Ryan Howard (double, run, RBI) and Raul Ibanez (2 RBIs) were each 2 for 4 in this game. Jayson Werth was only 1 for 4 but his hit was a homer in the 8th inning off of Rafael Betancourt. This series is now tied 1-1 as it heads to Coors Field.

A lot of the reporters in the Philadelphia press were grilling Charlie Manuel about why he was using Cliff Lee over Cole Hamels in Game #1 in this series. Well, they are all dingbats. Cole Hamels has started 1 game (this year) in his career against the Rockies and he was the losing pitcher as he gave up 11 hits and 7 earned runs in only 3 2/3 innings. Something has to give here as either the Rockies will beat him up again or he could pitch a game like Cliff Lee. Aaron Cook will be starting for the Rockies in this game. He started 2 games against the Phillies this season and he was 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. If he can keep his sinking fastball down in the strike zone he could be a load for the Phillies tomorrow. Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley have had a lot of success in their careers so far against Cook. Rollins is 11 for 29 (.379 avg, .897 OPS) with 2 RBIs while Utley is 8 for 21 (.381 avg, 1.010 OPS) with a homer and 11 RBIs.

Cliff Lee was a 1-man gang against the Rockies in this game. He pitched a complete game allowing only six hits, 1 earned run and he didn’t walk any batters while whiffing 5. Lee also was good with the bat going 1 for 2 with a stolen base. Ubaldo Jimenez breezed through the first four innings before the Phillies started getting to him. Jayson Werth had a outstanding all around game for the Phillies as he was 2 for 3 with a triple, 2 runs scored and a RBI. He also threw out Yorvit Torrealba at 3B for a double play to end a Rockies’ threat early in the game. Ryan Howard also had a good game with the stick going 2 for 4 with a double, 1 run scored and 1 RBI. Raul Ibanez pitched in too on offense as he was 2 for 4 with a double, 1 run scored and 2 RBIs. The Phillies are now up 1-0 in this series.