Rockies second baseman Aaron Miles was just one off-balance throw from making the highlight reel and playing hero Thursday night.
“He almost made a spectacular play,” said reliever Mike DeJean.
Almost being the operative word.
Instead, the Philadelphia Phillies scored three runs in the ninth, won 8-5 and snapped their three-game losing streak. For the Rockies, a once-promising seven-game homestand turned sour as they lost their second straight game after opening with two impressive victories over the New York Mets.
With two out in the ninth and the game tied at 5, Phillies pinch-hitter Tomas Perez drove the ball into the hole to Miles’ left. The second baseman made a diving stop, spun around, and from the seat of his pants tried to get enough oomph on the ball to throw out Perez. He couldn’t, and Perez’s single knocked in Matt Kata with the winning run.
Phillies second baseman Chase Utley, who went 3-for-5 and drove in a career-high five runs, then hit a double to deep right field off the glove of Dustan Mohr to drive in two more runs and seal the Rockies’ defeat. DeJean was charged with all three runs and saddled with his first defeat since joining the Rockies two weeks ago.
“It’s disappointing because I knew we couldn’t afford to give anything up in the ninth, because I didn’t figure we could get anything off Wagner,” DeJean.
That would be Billy Wagner, the Phillies’ super closer. He set the Rockies down in order in the bottom of the ninth and notched his 22nd save of the season. Dating to last season, the Phillies are 49-6 (.891) in games in which he appears.
The Phillies came into Coors Field a downtrodden team after being swept by the Astros in a three-game series in Houston. But they had the right stuff at the right times Thursday night.
The Rockies didn’t, even though they had many early opportunities.
“We didn’t complete the equation tonight,” is how manager Clint Hurdle put it.
Rockies starter Byung-Hyun Kim was proof of that. Spotted a 2-1 lead after four innings, Kim came out wild in the fifth and it cost him.
He walked David Bell to open the inning, then uncorked a wild pitch. Jimmy Rollins then singled and moved to second on another wild pitch. That set up center fielder Kenny Lofton, who drove in Bell and Rollins with a single. Next, Utley hit a two-run homer into the second deck in right field. What had been a 2-1 Rockies lead was suddenly a 5-2 deficit. Kim threw 6 2/3 innings, giving up five earned runs on nine hits.
Colorado scratched back with a run in the fifth to make it 5-3 when Aaron Miles scored on Garrett Atkins ground out to second. The Rockies closed the gap to 5-4 in the sixth on Luis Gonzalez’s two-out solo home run to left. It was his fifth homer of the season.
The Rockies tied the game 5-5 in the eighth on Jorge Piedra’s RBI single, but the comeback didn’t stand up.
“It was a nice comeback effort,” Hurdle said, “but these are the kind of games we have to find a way to win.”
Helton update
The Rockies will make a decision Saturday on whether to place Todd Helton on the disabled list for the first time in his career.
The star first baseman is making slow but steady progress rehabilitating his strained left calf muscle. He hurt his leg running the bases Monday night against the New York Mets.
Helton can swing a bat – he took about 25 practice cuts Thursday – but still can’t run.
“It feels a lot better today,” Helton said. “We’ll just have to see how it goes.”
Trainer Keith Dugger said Helton has made good progress since Monday, but wasn’t making any predictions.
“It’s still a day-by-day thing,” Dugger said. “We’re just doing the basic treatments.”
Footnotes
Gonzalez’s homer was his first in 63 at-bats.
Rockies recap
Rockies starter Byung-Hyun Kim entered Thursday night’s game with the dubious distinction of having thrown eight wild pitches this season, second-most in the National League. He threw two more against the Phillies in the fifth inning, tying him with Arizona’s Brandon Webb for No. 1 in the league. Kim is tied with Washington’s Livan Hernandez for the most hit batsmen, with 11.
ROCKET ARM: Strong-armed Rockies catcher Danny Ardoin had a good night behind the plate. In the third, he picked Jimmy Rollins off first base. The next inning, Ardoin picked off Bobby Abreu trying to steal second.
AT LONG LAST: Outfielder Eric Byrnes, who snapped an 0-for-10 streak and got his first hit at Coors Field on Wednesday night, got his first extra-base hit at Coors on Thursday night, driving in Garrett Atkins with an RBI double in the fourth to give the Rockies a short-lived 2-1 lead.
Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-820-5459 or at psaunders@denverpost.com.
