A look at the best-of-five National League division series between the Colorado Rockies and Philadelphia Phillies:
Schedule:@ (All times Eastern) Game 1, Wednesday, at Philadelphia (3:07 p.m.); Game 2, Thursday, at Philadelphia (3:07 p.m.); Game 3, Saturday, at Colorado (9:37 p.m.); x-Game 4, Sunday, at Colorado (10:07 p.m.); x-Game-5, Tuesday, at Philadelphia (6:37 p.m.). (All games on TBS).
x-if necessary.
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Season Series:@ Colorado won 4-3.
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Projected Lineups
Rockies:@ 2B Kaz Matsui (.288, 4, 37, 32 SB), SS Troy Tulowitzki (.291, 24, 99, 104 runs), LF Matt Holliday (.340, 36, 137, 50 doubles), 1B Todd Helton (.320, 17, 91, .434 OBP), 3B Garrett Atkins (.301, 25, 111), RF Brad Hawpe (.291, 29, 116), CF Ryan Spilborghs (.299, 11, 51), C Yorvit Torrealba (.255, 8, 47).
Phillies:@ SS Jimmy Rollins (.296, 30 HR, 94 RBIs, 139 runs, 41 SB, 20 triples), RF Shane Victorino (.281, 12, 46, 37 SB), 2B Chase Utley (.332, 22, 103, 48 doubles), 1B Ryan Howard (.268, 47, 136, major league-record 199 strikeouts, 107 BB), CF Aaron Rowand (.309, 27, 89), LF Pat Burrell (.256, 30, 97, 114 BB), 3B Greg Dobbs (.272, 10, 55 in 324 AB) or Wes Helms (.246, 5, 39 in 280 AB) or Abraham Nunez (.234, 0, 16 in 252 AB), C Carlos Ruiz (.259, 6, 54).
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Projected Rotations
Rockies:@ LH Jeff Francis (17-9, 4.22), LH Franklin Morales (3-2, 3.43), RH Ubaldo Jimenez (4-4, 4.28), RH Josh Fogg (10-9, 4.94).
Phillies:@ LH Cole Hamels (15-5, 3.39), RH Kyle Kendrick (10-4, 3.87), RH Kyle Lohse (9-12, 4.62 with Reds and Phillies), LH Jamie Moyer (14-12, 5.01).
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Relievers
Rockies:@ RH Manny Corpas (4-2, 2.08 19/20 saves since becoming closer in July), LH Brian Fuentes (3-5, 3.08, 20/26 saves), RH Matt Herges (5-1, 2.96), RH LaTroy Hawkins (2-5, 3.42), LH Jeremy Affeldt (4-3, 3.51), RH Taylor Buchholz (6-5, 4.23), RH Jorge Julio (0-5, 5.23).
Phillies:@ RH Brett Myers (5-7, 4.33, 21/24 saves), RH Tom Gordon (3-2, 4.73), LH J.C. Romero (1-2, 1.54 in 51 games with Phillies), RH Antonio Alfonseca (5-2, 5.44 in team-high 61 appearances), RH Geoff Geary (3-2, 4.41), RH Clay Condrey (5-0, 5.04).
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Matchups
This series could be quite a slugfest. The two highest-scoring offenses in the NL are squaring off in two of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in the majors. … The series pits two top contenders for NL MVP against each other: Holliday and Rollins. Rockies skipper Clint Hurdle and counterpart Charlie Manuel are both leading candidates for NL Manager of the Year as well. … Colorado took two of three from the Phillies at Coors Field in July, then the teams split a four-game series in Philly in September. … Howard hit .241 with 2 homers and 7 RBIs against the Rockies. Burrell batted .421, Rollins .344 and Utley .333. … Phillies pitchers had a 6.40 ERA against Colorado’s potent lineup. … Kendrick was 0-1 with a 7.00 ERA in two starts against the Rockies. He gave up 7 earned runs and 17 hits in 9 innings. … Helton batted .444 with 2 homers and 7 RBIs against Philadelphia this year. … Tulowitzki hit .423 with 2 homers and 5 RBIs. … Holliday had 5 homers and 9 RBIs with a .250 average. … Francis was tattooed in two starts against the Phillies, going 0-1 with a 15.12 ERA. He allowed 14 earned runs, 20 hits and 5 walks in 8 1-3 innings. … Rockies pitchers had a 5.04 ERA against Philadelphia. … The Phillies led the NL in runs scored for the second consecutive year with 892. They batted .274. … Phillies ranked 13th in the league in ERA (4.73). … Philadelphia had 48 come-from-behind victories. … Phillies were 78-5 when leading after eight innings. … Philly’s starters pitched at least six innings in only 61 games. Team was 43-18 in those games. … Phillies were 85-32 when scoring more than three runs. … Phillies had the best stolen-base percentage (88 percent) in major league history. They were 138-for-157 in steal attempts.
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Big Picture
Rockies:@ Colorado stumbled to a 17-25 start and spent most of the season looking up at the Diamondbacks, Padres and Dodgers in the NL West before going on a late surge that earned the young Rockies a surprising playoff berth. They won 14 of their final 15 games, all against division opponents—including a 9-8 victory over San Diego in a wild-card tiebreaker Monday night at Coors Field. Colorado rallied for three runs in the bottom of the 13th inning against career saves leader Trevor Hoffman. Holliday hit a tying triple and scored on Jamey Carroll’s shallow sacrifice fly, though it was unclear whether he actually touched home plate on his headfirst dive. The Rockies got the call—and their second trip to the postseason. They also took the wild card in 1995, the first year of baseball’s expanded playoffs. … Corpas inherited the closer’s role after Fuentes, an All-Star, blew four straight save chances in June and then went on the DL. Fuentes returned with a vengeance, becoming a solid eighth-inning setup man. … Helton was the subject of trade discussions in the offseason but the Boston Red Sox wouldn’t part with pitching prospects Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen, so Rockies owner Charlie Monfort pulled the plug on a deal that would have sent the franchise’s most accomplished player packing. Helton is heading to his first playoffs in his 11 year-career. … Holliday led the league in several important offensive categories. He’s just the fifth player since 1949 to lead the league in batting average and RBIs. … The Rockies turned things around and posted a franchise-best 90 wins in their first winning season since 2000 by focusing on defense. They committed only four errors over the last 15 games and finished with the highest fielding percentage in major league history. Colorado’s 68 errors were 11 fewer than the next closest team (Baltimore) and 15 fewer than the runner-up in the NL, Pittsburgh.
Phillies:@ A 4-11 start put the Phillies in an early hole. They spent the entire season chasing the Mets, finally passed them in game 160 and clinched their first NL East title in 14 years on the final day. Philadelphia went 13-4 in its last 17 games to overcome a seven-game deficit in mid-September. A 12-6 record against the Mets, including three sweeps and eight straight wins, helped the Phillies overtake their rival. They finished 89-73 for their highest win total since 1993. … Philadelphia is making its first trip to the playoffs since losing the ’93 World Series to Toronto on Joe Carter’s game-ending homer off Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams in Game 6. This is the Phillies’ 10th postseason appearance in their 125-year history. They’ve won one World Series title (1980). … Injuries took a heavy toll on the Phillies, especially the pitching staff. Overall, Philly used a team-record 28 pitchers, including 13 starters. Every member of the projected rotation plus Jon Lieber spent time on the disabled list except the 44-year-old Moyer. Lieber and Freddy Garcia won four games combined before sustaining season-ending injuries in June. … A much-maligned bullpen delivered down the stretch, led by Myers, Gordon and Romero. Myers was the opening-day starter, but moved to the ‘pen after two starts and eventually replaced Gordon, an All-Star last year, as the closer. Both spent two months on the disabled list, forcing Alfonseca into that role. Released by Boston, Romero might have been GM Pat Gillick’s best addition. … A potent offense made up for the pitching deficiencies. … Defensively, the Phillies are solid up the middle, particularly with Rollins and Rowand. Victorino has one of the strongest arms in the majors. … Philadelphia’s relief trio of Myers, Gordon and Romero was 4-2 with eight saves and a 2.40 ERA in September. When all three appeared in the final month, Phillies were 12-3.
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Watch For
— Rockin’ Rollins. Never one to shy away from the spotlight, Rollins has been waiting for an opportunity to play on the national stage since his rookie year in 2001. He put himself and his team under the microscope with his now well-known preseason prediction that Philadelphia was the team to beat in the NL East, and he backed it up with an MVP-caliber season. Rollins is the catalyst for the offense from the leadoff spot. He’s a run-producer who can drive one out or steal a base at any time. If Rollins shines, the Phillies could be on their way.
— Hammerin’ Helton. The slugger doesn’t hit homers at the pace he used to pre-humidor and pre-bad back but he’s still a solid run-producer with a great on-base percentage and has a clubhouse-leadership quality that is unrivaled. This will be his first taste of the postseason. His 1,577 games are third-most of any active player without a playoff appearance, trailing only Arizona’s Jeff Cirillo (1,617) and Damion Easley (1,593) of the New York Mets. Cirillo’s drought ends with the Diamondbacks’ division series against the Chicago Cubs.
— Mr. Intensity. A broken hand kept Utley sidelined for a month and might have cost him the MVP award. All Utley cares about is winning. He’s a throwback who goes all-out every inning no matter the score. You won’t see Utley show up an opponent or stand at the plate and admire a homer. He’s one of the best left-handed hitters in the majors and he comes through in the clutch. And if the Phillies win, Utley might actually crack a smile.
— Terrific Tulo. A leading contender for Rookie of the Year, Tulowitzki capped his sensational season with four hits Monday night against San Diego. He just missed becoming the first NL shortstop in more than 30 years with 100 runs and 100 RBIs. His 24 homers are the most ever for an NL rookie shortstop, second only to Nomar Garciaparra’s 30 for Boston in 1997. His 99 RBIs were the most by any shortstop in the majors this season and he led all shortstops in several defensive categories, including fielding percentage, total chances, assists, putouts and double plays. He had over 100 more total chances than the next-closest shortstop and 80-plus more assists.
— Lights Out Brett. For a while, Myers’ only problem was finding the right entrance song. He flipped when he got KC and the Sunshine Band’s “(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty,” and eventually settled on “Lights Out” by P.O.D. The enthusiastic Myers needs to live up to his song’s title to help the Phillies advance.
