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Phils try to break the brooms out at Coors

Aug 3, 2011 - 2:42 PM (Sports Network) - The Phillies haven't shown any signs of looking past the Rockies, even with a rematch with the defending World Series champions on the horizon.

Philadelphia aims to sweep its second straight three-game series as it closes out its set with Colorado this afternoon at Coors Field before heading further west to battle defending world champion San Francisco.

The Phillies were ousted by the Giants in last season's NL Championship Series and then lost the final two meetings of a three-game set with the club last week. They haven't lost since, taking all three games with the Pirates over the weekend before recording back-to-back wins against the Rockies.

After getting a game-tying homer with two outs in the ninth inning of Monday's opener that led to an extra-inning victory, Philadelphia took Tuesday's contest with relative ease. Kyle Kendrick hurled eight innings of four-hit ball, striking out a career-high seven, and Ryan Howard homered twice in a 5-0 victory.

Hunter Pence added a pair of doubles and a run driven in and is 5-for-17 at the plate with a pair of RBI and three runs scored in four games -- all wins -- since being acquired from Houston.

Kendrick, meanwhile, threw 117 pitches, 72 for strikes, and didn't allow a runner past second base.

"My changeup wasn't that good tonight, but my cutter and fastball were pretty good," Kendrick said.

Despite being solid since joining the rotation due to injury, Kendrick is likely headed to the bullpen with the pending return of Roy Oswalt. If that is the case, he left an impression on Colorado manager Jim Tracy.

"He used his cutter very, very effectively," Tracy said. "He was cutting the ball in on our left-handed hitters. He was back-dooring his cutter. He was throwing the front-door cutter to some of our right-handers."

Kendrick helped the Phillies become the first team in baseball to reach 70 wins this year in the club's 109th game. It is the fastest the franchise has reached the mark since doing so in 104 games in 1976.

Philadelphia has captured 11 of its past 13 over Colorado and goes for the sweep today behind Roy Halladay.

Denver-born Halladay is aiming for a third straight victory this afternoon, a win streak that followed an early exit on July 18 at the Cubs due to heat exhaustion.

Halladay rebounded to fire eight frames against the Padres six days later and then limited the Pirates to a single hit over seven innings on Friday, striking out five without a walk in a 10-3 triumph. The right-hander improved to 13-4 with a 2.44 earned run average and is tied for the league lead in victories, but his win was slightly overshadowed by the acquisition of Pence during the game.

The 34-year-old Halladay is a perfect 2-0 with a 0.77 ERA in three career starts against the Rockies, but got a no-decision in his hometown on May 12 of last year. He gave up two earned runs over 6 1/3 innings.

Colorado will need some innings out of Jason Hammel today after Aaron Cook left last night's start following four innings because of muscle spasms in his neck. He was charged with four runs prior to his exit as the Rockies dropped their third straight game and seventh in their last 10 contests.

Hammel will look to win back-to-back starts for the first time since April 23-30. The right-hander had given up 12 earned runs over a two-game skid, but found the win column on Friday at San Diego after he allowed just two runs on five hits and three walks over 6 1/3 innings of a 3-2 victory. Hammel felt control was key to his turnaround.

"Knowing that I was throwing strikes on the inside of the plate kept them honest out there," said Hammel. "It's all about placement in this game cause it's what you have to do in the league to stay successful."

The 28-year-old moved to 6-10 with a 4.65 ERA on the season and has split two career decisions versus the Phillies while posting a 5.40 ERA in three games.