Aaron Harang's strong outing for naught as Phillies lose

DENVER - Ryan Howard couldn't hold on to a high throw from third baseman Maikel Franco, and it led to the Colorado Rockies' scoring three runs in the first inning of Tuesday night's game at Coors Field.

But Aaron Harang was unbowed, unbent and unbroken.

The 37-year-old righthander continued his startling start to the season, following a first inning that saw three unearned runs come across the plate by tossing five zeros on the home half of the scoreboard in the next five. Harang lowered his ERA to 1.82, fifth in the National League and lower than the likes of Matt Harvey, Gerrit Cole and Madison Bumgarner, among others.

With Cole Hamels also hitting his stride in the last month, the Phillies have formed a foundation atop their rotation that has helped them emerge out of the National League East basement.

"The starting pitching has been a key," manager Ryne Sandberg said before the game. "They've set a good tone. They've shown improvements with their outings. I think, in some regards, Cole and Harang are the anchors to that, and the others have kind of joined in."

Since May 13, Phillies starters have a 1.39 ERA, best in the NL and second-best in baseball over that seven-game span.

The Phillies won the first six of those games. They couldn't continue their win streak in Game No. 7. Despite rallying back from two runs down in the eighth - thanks to a two-run single from Franco, the rookie's third hit of the night - the Phillies' bullpen came unglued in a 6-5 defeat in Denver.

Colorado catcher Nick Hundley launched a solo home run off Justin De Fratus with two outs in the eighth inning to end the Phillies' streak.

"Too good of a pitch with a 1-2 count," Sandberg said. "Slider up . . . Right there."

Although Ken Giles had been getting loose in the bullpen, Sandberg said he planned to stay away from the reliever, since he had pitched in five of the previous seven games.

"Contemplating if we would have busted it there in the eighth using him," Sandberg said. "But only in a plus, but even that was questionable."

Just like Jake Diekman an inning earlier, De Fratus had recorded the first two outs of the inning before failing to keep the score tied.

In the seventh, with the game tied 3-3, Diekman struck out each of the first two batters before giving up a single to nine-hole hitter D.J. LeMahieu and a walk to Charlie Blackmon. Troy Tulowitzki followed with a blooping, two-run double just inside the rightfield foul line to give the Rockies the lead.

The Phillies rallied back in the next half inning, when Freddy Galvis and Jeff Francouer led off with back-to-back hits, setting up Franco's game-tying hit. But Hundley answered back in the eighth and the Phillies went down quietly in the ninth.

Colorado closer John Axford pitched a perfect ninth to record his fifth save.

"It was a hard-fought game," Sandberg said. "We kept coming back, especially after the first inning, kept bouncing back. And Harang really settled in - a solid job."

The loss ended the Phillies' longest winning streak in three years and also overshadowed a career night for Franco.

Although he was charged with his second error in two nights - the official scorer originally gave the error to Howard - the rookie third baseman brought his bat to the ballpark. He finished the game 3-for-4 with three RBI; the three hits and three RBI were both career highs.

After Colorade scored three in the first, it was Franco who helped answer back, leading off the second inning with a double. Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz also doubled in the inning, helping the Phillies cut the lead to 3-2.

In the third, Grady Sizemore hit a one-out double and came around with the game-tying run two batters later when Franco laced a single into centerfield.

Franco capped his night in the eighth, jumping on a first-pitch fastball from Rockies reliever Boone Logan and dumping it into center, bringing in two runs to tie the game. The Phillies left the bases loaded in the inning, however, when Ruiz grounded into a doubleplay.

"We missed an opportunity to break it open," Sandberg said.

Although Ruiz has grounded into 28 doubleplays in the last three seasons, Sandberg said he didn't think about pinch-hitting for his starting catcher in that spot.

"I have a lot of confidence in him coming through there," Sandberg said. "He can drive the ball to the outfield. You know he's going to put the bat on the ball."

Franco, meanwhile, is hitting .350 (7-for-20) with a home run, a triple, a double and five RBI in five games since being promoted from Triple A Lehigh Valley on Friday. Franco was hitting .355 in 33 games with the IronPigs.

It appears his bat hasn't skipped a beat, jumping from the minor to the major leagues.

"It's good to see what he's doing with the bat," Sandberg said. "This was a big game for him. It's something he can feel comfortable with. He's a righthanded bat for us, so a needed guy in the lineup. So far, so good."

The Phillies optioned righthander Hector Neris to Triple A following the game to open a roster spot for Severino Gonzalez, who will start Wednesday night's game at Coors Field.

Blog: ph.ly/HighCheese