Rockies were ready for Hamels

The big difference between winning Game 1 and losing Game 2?

Starting pitching.

Cliff Lee chewed up the Colorado Rockies in a 5-1 win Wednesday. Cole Hamels struggled against them in a 5-4 loss yesterday.

And so the Phillies and Rockies head to Denver tied at a game apiece in the National League division series.

Manager Charlie Manuel's decision to use potential Game 3 starters Joe Blanton and J.A. Happ in relief is covered elsewhere. Here's a look at some other fine points from yesterday's game.

After getting manhandled by Lee, the Rockies needed a quick run to know that this was a new day. They went small ball right out of the chute. Carlos Gonzalez - nice player, really nice player - singled, stole second on a Hamels pickoff attempt and moved to third on Dexter Fowler's bunt. Gonzalez scored on a fielder's choice with Hamels unwisely throwing home instead of taking an easy out at first.

Hamels wasn't the only Phillies pitcher to throw to a wrong base. Blanton should have taken an easy out at first instead of trying to cut down a runner at third on a bunt in the seventh inning. That proved to be a big miscue, because the Rockies' fifth run came on a sacrifice fly. Had Blanton taken the out at first, there would have been two outs on Fowler's fly ball to right.

There was something missing from Hamels all day. His seemed to lack electricity.

He showed some briefly in the second inning when he used all three of his pitches - fastball, changeup, curveball - in striking out Ryan Spilborghs and Clint Barmes. He got Barmes on his best fastball of the day, a 93 m.p.h. dart that he let loose with some extra push off the rubber.

Other than that, Hamels just seemed to be missing an intangible. Turns out, his wife went into labor during the game. That might have been it.

Hamels has always faced a dilemma when it comes to his curveball. He knows he needs the pitch to complement his mostly fastball-changeup repertoire. When Hamels can throw an occasional curveball for a quality strike he becomes a more effective pitcher. Hitters are not prone to guess against him when he has three pitches working.

But the curveball has always been Hamels' third pitch, and there are times when he has trouble getting it down in the zone and other times when he just doesn't like to use it.

Hamels threw a couple good curveballs in setting up strikeouts of Spilborghs and Barmes. He threw just one in the third inning, a hanger that Gonzalez stroked for a single. At that point, Hamels began to shy away from the pitch. He didn't throw another one until facing Yorvit Torrealba, the fourth hitter in the fourth inning. Hamels started Torrealba with a curveball strike, then missed with a fastball. With a 1-1 count, Hamels went back to the curveball, just his sixth of the game. It had no bite, hung high in the "hit me" zone and Torrealba sent it into the left-field seats for a two-run homer.

Hamels needs a third pitch. But his struggles with the curveball make you wonder if he might need to look at developing a slider or cutter in spring training.

The Rockies traded slugger Matt Holliday, one of their marquee players, to Oakland last off-season. They got closer Huston Street and Gonzalez in return. Both came up big yesterday.

Street retired Shane Victorino with two men on base for the save.

Gonzalez, who had two of the Rockies' six hits off Lee on Wednesday, had three more yesterday. All five of his hits have come off lefthanded pitching. No wonder the lefthanded Gonzalez plays every day.

At 23, Gonzalez is one of the game's rising talents. He came to the majors in June and hit .316 with 12 homers and 25 RBIs from July 7 to the end of the season.

After allowing three stolen bases in Game 1, the Rockies were cognizant of the Phillies' running game yesterday.

Victorino singled in the first and third innings and Colorado pitcher Aaron Cook threw over to first a total of eight times as Victorino led off the base. Cook also pitched-out once with Victorino at third. The Phils did not steal a base.

The Phils will continue to look to run, however. Colorado catcher Yorvit Torrealba threw out just 4 of 53 would-be base stealers this season and the Phils, who stole 119 bases, led the majors with an 81 percent success rate.

Jayson Werth was one of the stars of Wednesday's win. Yesterday was a mixed bag for the Phils' rightfielder. Werth has a great ability to be patient and drive up pitch counts, but he swung away and popped out on a 3-0 pitch leading off the second. No doubt Werth was looking for a fat one and it appeared he got one, but why risk making Cook's life so easy there?

In the sixth, Werth struck out with two men in scoring position. Raul Ibanez picked him up with a two-run single. In the eighth, Werth homered to pull the Phils within a run.

Lefty reliever Antonio Bastardo has a terrific arm. His weakness has been his inability to consistently throw his breaking ball for strikes. Bastardo threw two terrific sliders in striking out Jason Giambi with the bases loaded in the eighth. If he can throw that pitch consistently, the Phils might have something.

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