DENVER – The Phillies battled back to tie Tuesday night’s game twice, but ended up losing, 6-5, to the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.
The loss snapped the Phillies’ six-game win streak.
Rockies catcher Nick Hundley broke a 5-5 tie with a two-out home run against Justin De Fratus in the bottom of the eighth inning to provide the margin of victory.
Maikel Franco had a big night with two game-tying hits and three RBIs, but his first-inning error led to three unearned runs.
Starting pitching report
Aaron Harang delivered another strong start and lowered his ERA to 1.82. He was charged with three runs over six innings, but all were unearned because of a throwing error by Franco in the first inning. Harang allowed just three hits. Two of them were in the first inning. Harang walked three and struck out seven.
Harang has made nine starts and eight of them have been quality starts, tying him with the Dodgers’ Zack Greinke for most in the majors.
Colorado right-hander Chad Bettis gave up eight hits and three runs over six innings. Five of the hits were doubles.
Bullpen report
Jake Diekman allowed two runs in the seventh and De Fratus one in the eighth to take the loss.
Colorado’s Scott Oberg retired Carlos Ruiz on a 4-6-3 double play with the bases loaded to preserve a 5-5 tie in the eighth after Boone Logan gave up two runs.
John Axford got the save for Colorado.
At the plate
After falling behind, 3-0, in the first inning, the Phils scored two in the second on doubles by Franco, Chase Utley and Ruiz. The Phils tied the game at 3-3 in the third inning on a double by Grady Sizemore and a single by Franco.
Utley has five hits, including four doubles, in his four games in the No. 6 spot in the batting order.
The Phils fell behind, 5-3, in the seventh but came back to tie the game in the eighth inning on Franco’s two-run single up the middle.
The Rockies scored three unearned runs in the first inning, two on a triple by Wilin Rosario. They opened a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the seventh on a two-run bloop double down the right-field line by Troy Tulowitzki.
Hundley’s third homer of the season put Colorado up for good.
Up next
Severino Gonzalez (1-1, 10.57) returns from the minors to pitch for the Phillies against Colorado right-hander Eddie Butler (2-4, 4.24) on Wednesday night.
The Phillies sent reliever Hector Neris to Triple A to make room for Gonzalez.