The Phils took the series from the Rockies, their first series win in about a month, as they defeat Colorado by the scores of 8-5 and 5-1.

On Saturday, the Phils took the lead in the first as, with a runner on second, and with one man  out, Chase Utley hits an RBI single, knocking in Shane Victorino, who had just doubled, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, after a walk to Ryan Howard, moving Utley up to second base, and with still one man out, the Phils took a 4-0 lead as Carlos Ruiz hits a three-run home run, his fourteenth home run of the season, scoring both Utley and Howard. The Rockies got a run back in the third as, with a man on second, and with one man out, Dexter Fowler hits an RBI single, knocking in Josh Rutledge, who had started the inning off with a walk, then moved up to second base on Jeremy Guthrie’s sacrifice bunt, 1-4, making it a 4-1 Phils’ lead. The Rockies cut the Phils’ lead down to 4-2 two batters later as, with a runner on second, as Fowler moved up to second base on Marco Scutaro’s ground out, 5-3, and now with two men out, Carlos Gonzalez hits an RBI double, scoring Fowler. The Phils added to their lead in the sixth as, with two men on, and with two men out, Vance Worley helped his own cause with a two-run double, knocking in Juan Pierre, who had earlier singled, then stole second base, and Mark Fontenot, who had been intentionally walked, giving the Phils a 6-2 lead. The Rockies would cut the Phils’ lead down to 6-5 in the eighth as, with two men on, and with one man out, Wilin Rosario hits a three-run home run, his fifteenth home run of the season, scoring Tyler Colvin, who had been hit by a pitch, and Jordan Pacheco, who had just walked, moving Colvin up to second base. The Phils got a run back in the ninth as, with a man on second, and with one man out, Victorino hits an RBI triple, knocking in Jimmy Rollins, who had just reached base with a ground-rule double, giving the Phils a 7-5 lead. The Phils then made it an 8-5 lead as Utley hits an RBI single, scoring Victorino. That would end up being the final score as Jonathan Papelbon collected his nineteenth save of the season by completing a five-out save, getting Gonzalez to strike out, swinging, for the game’s final out.

Vance Worley (5-5, 3.47) got the win as he pitched six and two-thirds innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and two walks, while striking out two. Jake Diekman pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up two runs on a walk and a hit batter. Brian Sanches pitched to a batter, giving up a hit and a run. Jonathan Papelbon received his nineteenth save of the year as he pitched an inning and two-thirds, striking out two batters. Jeremy Guthrie (3-9, 6.14) took the lost as he pitched four and two-thirds innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out three. Matt Reynolds pitched a third of an inning, getting out the only man that he would face. Adam Ottavino pitched two innings, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk, while striking out three. Mike Ekstrom pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit. Matt Belisle pitched a third of an inning, giving up two runs on two hits. Rex Brothers pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up a hit, while striking out one.

The Phils had thirteen hits in the game, with Chase Utley (Singles, 2 RBIs) and Juan Pierre (Singles) both leading the team with three hits apiece, followed by Jimmy Rollins (Single, Double),  Shane Victorino (Single, Triple, RBI) and Vance Worley (Single, Double, 2 RBIs) with two hits each. Carlos Ruiz (Home Run, 3 RBIs) had the final Phil’s hit and RBIs, as the offense was able to keep scoring enough runs to win the game. The Phils also had three walks and a stolen base (Pierre (21)) in the game.

On Sunday, the Phils took the lead in the first as, with a man on third, and with two men out, Carlos Ruiz hits an RBI single, knocking in Shane Victorino, who had earlier tripled, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead. The Phils then took a 2-0 lead in the fourth as, with a man on third, and with one man out, Placido Polanco hits a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Ruiz, who had started the inning off with a double, then moving up to third base on Ty Wigginton’s ground out, 3-1. The Phils then made it a 5-0 lead in the fifth as, with two men on, and with two men out, Hunter Pence hits a three-run home run, his seventeenth home run of the season, knocking in Jimmy Rollins, who had earlier singled, then went to second base on pitcher Drew Pomeranz’s throwing error on a pick-off attempt, and Victorino, who had just walked. The Rockies would get on the scoreboard in the sixth as, with one man on, and with one man out, Carlos Gonzalez hits an RBI triple, scoring Marco Scutaro, who had just walked, making it a 5-1 Phils’ lead. That would end up being the final score as Antonio Bastardo pitched a 1-2-3 ninth.

Cole Hamels (11-4, 3.07) got the win as he pitched eight strong innings, giving up a run on six hits and a walk, while striking out seven. Antonio Bastardo threw a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a batter. Drew Pomeranz (1-4, 3.79) took the lost as he pitched five innings, giving up five runs on five hits and two walks, while striking out five. Carlos Torres, Mike Ekstrom and Rafael Betancourt combined for four scoreless innings, giving up just a hit (Betancourt) between them, while striking out two (Torres (1), Ekstrom (1)).

The Phils had just six hits in the game, with Carlos Ruiz leading the ballclub with two hits, a single and a double, knocking in a run. Jimmy Rollins (Single), Shane Victorino (Triple), Hunter Pence (Home Run, 3 RBIs) and Mike Fontenot (Single) had the other four Phils’ hits. Placido Polanco knocked in the other Phil’s run with a sacrifice fly. The Phils also had four walks in the game.

The Phils (39-51, 5th East) will start a three games series with the Dodgers (48-42, 2nd West) with a night game tonight. The game will be played at Dodgers Stadium and will start at 10:10 pm EDT (7:10 pm PDT). The Phils will send to the mound Joe Blanton (7-8, 4.98), who is coming off a lost to the Braves on July 7, as he pitched six and one-thirds innings, giving up five runs on nine hits and a walk, while striking out six, in the Phils’ 6-3 lost. He will be trying to lead the Phils to their third straight win. The Dodgers will counter with Nathan Eovaldi (1-5, 4.21), who is coming off a win against the D-backs on July 5, as he pitched six innings, giving up a run on five hits and three walks, while striking out three, in the Dodgers’ 4-1 win. He will be shooting for his second straight win. The Phils will be trying to increase their winning streak to three games.