Phils Swept by Rockies

DENVER -- Clint Hurdle may have been just what the Colorado Rockies needed.

Jason Jennings threw seven scoreless innings and Todd Helton belted a two-run home run as the Rockies defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2, for their third straight victory under their new manager.

Jennings (2-2) allowed four hits and walked three in his 12th major league start. He struck out four batters while helping his own cause with a run-scoring double in the fifth inning.

"I maybe threw eight or nine sliders all day," Jennings said. "Other than that, I was fastball-changeup all day, which is good, especially here when the slider doesn't have as much bite as it usuallly does."

"They had some left-handed thump in their lineup and he busted out the changeup," Hurdle said. "He threw strikes and was efficient with his pitches. It was a heck of a day for the kid."

Colorado jumped on Phillies starter Randy Wolf early as Juan Pierre singled and moved to second on a groundout. Helton then knocked a 3-2 pitch over the right field wall to give the Rockies a 2-0 lead.

"It was a 3-2 curveball and obviously you're not looking for a slow curveball on a full count," Helton said. "He showed it to me earlier in the at-bat to get me off the plate, but I was ready."

"Helton's a pretty good hitter," Hurdle said. "He got us going early. Teams that score first win a lot more than teams that don't."

Philadelphia made it interesting in the ninth, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate. But closer Jose Jimenez got pinch hitter Jason Michaels to ground out and recorded his seventh save of the season and third of the series.

Bobby Abreu led off the frame with a double off lefthander Kent Mercker. Todd Jones relieved Mercker and promptly surrendered an RBI single to Scott Rolen. After striking out Mike Lieberthal and Travis Lee, Jones gave up a single to Pat Burrell and was lifted in favor of Jimenez.

Marlon Anderson plated Rolen with a single before Michaels grounded out to end the rally for Philadelphia, which dropped its season-high five straight game and ninth in its last 10.

"We've been getting our hits at very non-productive times," Philadelphia manager Larry Bowa said. "Late in the game, the score's 6-0 or 4-0. We can't break a game open right now."

Wolf (1-1) gave up nine hits and four runs in 6 2/3 innings. He walked five and struck out just one.

"I thought Randy threw a great game," Bowa said. "Four runs here at Coors Field is a gutty job."

"I'm not satisfied," Wolf said. "The only thing that would satisfy me right now would be winning. It's something that's hard to swallow. It's hard to take right now."

After Gary Bennett led off the fifth inning with an infield single, Jennings doubled to right center to open up a 3-0 lead for the Rockies, who recorded their first win against a lefthanded starter this season.

"I take a lot of pride in hitting and it's always good to add an extra run here or there," Jennings said. "Clint let me swing the bat with a guy on first base and no outs. It's kind of surprising that I didn't get to bunt, but I was able to take advantage of it."

Mark Little singled home Terry Shumpert in the sixth for his first RBI of the season. Little was the only position player on Colorado not to have driven in a run.

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