• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Matsui drives in five as Rockies open commanding NLDS lead

Oct 5, 2007 - 1:02 AM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- The greenest pitching matchup in postseason history took place here on Thursday. And a slew of hitters took advantage.

Kaz Matsui played the unlikely hero, clubbing a grand slam and driving in five runs to lead the Colorado Rockies to a 10-5 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game Two of the National League Division Series.

Yorvit Torrealba drove in two runs for the Rockies, who opened up a two games to none lead in the best-of-five NLDS.

"We know how good (the Phillies) play at home," Torrealba said. "To be able to win two games here is huge. In our mind, all we wanted to do was just win at least one out of two. It's great."

Game Three is Saturday at Coors Field in Colorado.

Matsui finished the game a single short of the cycle, flying out to center field in his final at-bat in the eighth inning. Not known for his power, the Japanese leadoff hitter had just four homers in the regular season, but gave the Rockies a 6-3 lead in the fourth when he greeted righthanded reliever Kyle Lohse with a grand slam over the wall in right field.

"I didn't think about a grand slam at all," Matsui said through an interpreter. "(The pitch) was inside and after I hit it, I knew it was gone."

The 31-year-old Matsui then tripled in a run during Colorado's four-run sixth inning that opened a 10-3 bulge.

Franklin Morales started for the Rockies and combined with Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick to mark the first time in history that two opposing pitchers with less than 20 career starts each matched up in the postseason.

It did not take long for either starter to show his youth.

Rookie Troy Tulowitzki was the second man up in the first for the Rockies, and he turned on the first pitch he saw from Kendrick, knocking the ball into the flower pots beyond the left-center field fence.

The ball caromed back on to the field as Tulowitzki slid into third base.

There was a brief delay as the umpires got together to determine whether the ball had cleared the fence, but Tulowitzki was correctly awarded the plate, giving Colorado an early 1-0 edge.

"It was a fastball," Tulowitzki said of the home run pitch. "I put a decent swing on it. I was definitely running hard. I slid into third and I got a home run, but you never know, so you might as well run hard."

The Rockies' MVP candidate, Matt Holliday, was up next. He made it back-to-back blasts, again turning on Kendrick's initial offering for a solo blast to deep left field, extending the advantage to 2-0.

"(The pitch) was a sinking, two-seam fastball inside and basically my approach was looking for a good pitch to hit," Holliday said. "I was lucky enough to get the barrel of the bat on it."

The homer marked Holliday's sixth in six total games at Citizens Bank Park this season, including a solo homer in the eighth inning of Game One on Wednesday.

Not to be outdone, Philadelphia's MVP candidate, Jimmy Rollins, cut the deficit in half with a solo blast in the bottom of the first and gave his team a 3-2 lead with a two-run triple in the second. He added his fourth RBI on a grounder in the seventh.

But the Rockies, who had to win 14 of their last 15 games in the regular season just to advance to the NLDS, kept the pressure on Kendrick (0-1).

Garrett Atkins led off the fourth with a double to left field before Kendrick retired Brad Hawpe and Ryan Spilborghs. Torrealba followed with an intentional walk before rookie Seth Smith - pinch hitting for Morales - beat out an infield single to load the bases.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel turned to his bullpen, calling on Lohse to get out of the jam. The righthander, who Philadelphia acquired at the trade deadline in order to shore up its suspect starting rotation, hung a 1-2 pitch, which Matsui deposited over the fence to give Colorado the lead for good.

Manuel defended his decision to call on Lohse.

"I made the decision and I was the guy that made it," Manuel said. "I don't think it was a mistake. I liked Lohse against Matsui because of his stuff - breaking ball, changeup and fastball - and when I put him in, he was going to go to the sixth inning."

That closed the line on Kendrick, who was charged with five runs and five hits in 3 2/3 frames while walking two and striking out a pair.

"It's (Manuel's) call," Kendrick said of being pulled from the game. "I felt OK, but you know, I'm just out there to pitch when I'm called on."

The 23-year-old righthander, who was not on the Phillies' 40-man roster to begin the season, got knocked around by the Rockies on September 12 as well, surrendering four runs and seven hits in three innings to suffer his only loss in the final 1 1/2 months of the season.

Morales did not fare much better, surrendering three runs and three hits in three innings while walking two and striking three. The 21-year-old lefthander set a club record for consecutive scoreless innings by a starting pitcher with 20 1/3 that ended in late September.

"I felt it was a very pivotal point in the game and I think Franklin was trying to give us everything he had," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "(His) command was a little spotty for me at the time, (so) I just thought it would be better served maybe getting somebody in with a little more experience."

He ended the season going 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA over his last four starts and entered Thursday's game as one of only five opposing pitchers to through at least five scoreless innings at Citizens Bank Park when he earned a win here September 11.

Josh Fogg (1-0) was the first of five pitchers out of the bullpen for Colorado, and earned the win with two scoreless frames. Manny Corpas pitched the final 1 1/3 innings to record his second save in the series.

Corpas replaced Brian Fuentes with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth and got out of the jam when he retired Carlos Ruiz on a groundout.

"It was a big out and it was something I wanted to do to get (Fuentes) out of trouble," Corpas said through an interpreter.

Ryan Howard belted a solo home run in the sixth inning for the Phillies, his first hit of the series.