• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Phillies eye series victory over Rockies

May 21, 2015 - 12:41 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Philadelphia Phillies eye a second straight series victory on Thursday afternoon when they conclude a four-game set with the Colorado Rockies.

The Phillies have won seven of their past eight games, taking two of three versus the Rockies. They rebounded from a loss on Tuesday with last night's 4-2 victory as Ryan Howard homered among his three hits.

Severino Gonzalez allowed a run on five hits in five innings. Gonzalez, who was making the start in place of the injured Chad Billingsley, threw 45 of his 65 pitches for strikes.

"He did a nice job. For a young kid, really handled the conditions well," said Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg.

Gonzalez did not allow a baserunner until the fourth inning, when Charlie Blackmon led off with a single to center. Blackmon stole second and scored on Carlos Gonzalez's RBI single, but that run only got the Rockies within 4-1.

Philadelphia did all of its damage against Eddie Butler in the first and third innings, pushing two runs across in each to account for its four runs. Butler's throwing error in the first inning helped the Phillies jump ahead early.

"As crazy as it sounds, a play in the first inning, that was a pivotal play," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said of the error. "Even though it was the first inning, it was a big play."

The Rockies were denied their first winning streak since April 22-24 and lost for the 15th time in 18 games.

Jerome Williams gets the start today for the Phillies after snapping a two- start losing streak last time out.

Williams lasted just five innings on Saturday versus Arizona, but won a 7-5 decision and yielded just three runs -- two earned -- on seven hits and no walks. He failed to last longer than five innings for a fourth consecutive start, but still improved to 3-3 with a 5.02 earned run average on the season.

The 33-year-old righty is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA in four previous meetings with the Rockies, all but one of those starts.

Despite a slight groin injury last time out, Colorado's Jorge De La Rosa will make his sixth start of the season this afternoon off his best outing of 2015.

Facing the Los Angeles Dodgers for a second straight start on Saturday, De La Rosa logged a season-high 7 1/3 scoreless innings of two-hit ball, striking out three and not walking a batter. It was his first win of the season as he moved to 1-2 with a 6.56 ERA.

Colorado then got an encouraging sign on Tuesday when De La Rosa was able to throw and field with no issues or setbacks.

The 34-year-old southpaw is just 2-4 lifetime against the Phillies with a 5.67 ERA over nine games, including seven starts.

The Rockies have won five of their past eight at home against the Phillies.