May 31, 2015
DJ LeMahieu homered and had three hits, Nolan Arenado also went deep and the surging Colorado Rockies beat Philadelphia 4-1 on Sunday to hand the Phillies their season-worst seventh consecutive defeat.
Chris Rusin (1-0) replaced injured starter Jordan Lyles with one out in the second and pitched 4 2-3 scoreless innings to help the Rockies win their fourth straight and seventh in eight games.
The Phillies' losing streak is their longest since dropping eight in a row in July 2013. Philadelphia was swept at home by Colorado for the first time in club history.
Offense continued to be a problem for the Phillies, who have scored 12 runs during their skid. They finished with seven hits.
Lyles re-aggravated an injury to his left big toe, which he sprained in his previous start, when he tried to avoid Cody Asche's line-drive single up the middle.
Rockies manager Walt Weiss and a trainer came to the mound, and Lyles threw one warmup toss before Weiss patted him on the back and took the ball. It was the third start in the last four that Lyles left due to injury. He exited May 13 with a bruised pitching hand.
Rusin came in and shut down Philadelphia. The left-hander was recalled from Triple-A on Tuesday to fill in for injured Jorge De La Rosa and pitched well, allowing one run and four hits in seven innings. Rusin stayed around as a potential emergency starter for either De La Rosa, who missed his second straight start Saturday with a cut on the middle finger of his pitching hand, or Lyles.
Colorado rookie Scott Oberg pitched a scoreless ninth for his first career save.
Phillies starter Jerome Williams (3-5) capped a forgettable month, allowing four runs and eight hits in five innings. He finished 1-4 in May with a 6.62 ERA in seven starts.
The Rockies took a 2-0 lead in the first when Arenado followed LeMahieu's single with a drive to deep left-center. It was the fifth homer in the last seven games for Arenado. During that stretch, he is batting .429 with 14 RBIs.
Philadelphia got its lone run in the second on Cameron Rupp's RBI double.
LeMahieu's two-run homer to left in the fifth made it 4-1.
Rusin allowed only two doubles until loading the bases with none out in the seventh on a walk and two singles. But right-hander Brooks Brown kept the Phillies off the scoreboard, striking out Rupp, pinch-hitter Darin Ruf and Ben Revere in order on 11 pitches.
Philadelphia entered in an 0-for-21 slide with runners in scoring position and went 1 for 7 on Sunday.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rockies: LF Ben Paulsen was replaced in the bottom of the third after suffering a migraine. Brandon Barnes took his place.
Phillies: Manager Ryne Sandberg rested healthy SS Freddy Galvis, who entered with three hits in his last 31 at-bats.
UP NEXT
Rockies: RHP Kyle Kendrick (2-6, 6.38 ERA) opposes LHP Clayton Kershaw (3-3, 3.86) when the Rockies open a series at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. Kendrick is 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA in two starts against the Dodgers this season.
Phillies: After an off day, RHP Sean O'Sullivan (1-4, 4.81) takes the mound for Philadelphia in the first of a three-game series against the Reds on Tuesday night. O'Sullivan, who will face RHP Johnny Cueto (3-4, 3.03), has a 6.94 ERA in his last two outings.
