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(Sports Network) - With a little extra rest, the Philadelphia Phillies and Colorado Rockies play the crucial third game of their best-of-five National League Division Series this evening at frigid Coors Field.
Snow and record-low temperatures in Denver on Saturday led to a postponement, meaning that Game 4 will now be played on Monday, which had been a scheduled travel day.
The extra day of rest also allows Philadelphia to throw lefty J.A. Happ tonight instead of veteran righty Pedro Martinez, who would have started had the game gone off as scheduled on Saturday.
Happ, who took a ball off the leg in a brief relief appearance Thursday and suffered a bruised shin, had a brilliant regular season for the Phils. He was 12-4 with a 2.93 earned run average in 35 games, including 23 starts.
"I think I've had a lot of anticipation kind of throughout the year hoping that we'd be in this position and hoping that I could help us in any way possible," admitted Happ. Obviously getting a start is going to be a great opportunity. And I'm definitely looking forward to it."
Happ, though, will be facing a Colorado team who evened this series up at a game apiece on Thursday, as Yorvit Torrealba belted a two-run homer, while Carlos Gonzalez provided a spark atop the Rockies' lineup with three hits in the 5-4 victory.
Torrealba, who hit only two home runs in the regular season, went deep for the first time since May 6, helping the Rockies snap a five-game postseason losing streak.
Prior to losing Game 1, Colorado had been swept in the 2007 World Series against Boston.
Aaron Cook (1-0) earned his first career postseason victory after allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks in five-plus innings. Huston Street earned the third career postseason save of his career after throwing a scoreless ninth inning.
"It's a big win today," said Cook. "Whenever you can go back to your home field with the series tied or possibly in the lead, it's always huge. The crowd was really into it today and that is something we're going to have on our side going back home on Saturday."
Raul Ibanez went 2-for-4 with a two-run single, while Jayson Werth hit a solo homer for the Phillies, who lost at home for the first time in nine postseason games. It was their first home loss in the playoffs since falling to the Rockies in the 2007 NLDS.
Werth has now hit safely in 11 consecutive postseason games
Cole Hamels (0-1), the reigning NLCS and World Series MVP, was not as sharp as he was in the 2008 playoffs, allowing four runs on seven hits in five innings.
The southpaw may have had other things on his mind, however, as he left the stadium after being pulled from the game after learning that his wife had gone into labor with the couple's first child.
"It might have," said Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel about whether Hamels' wife going into labor had any effect on him. "I was taking him out of the game cause I wanted to hit for him. We had a guy on and I felt like it was a chance to get back in the game. Frank Coppenbarger (Philadelphia director of team travel and clubhouse services) came into the dugout and told him that his wife was in labor. He was out of the game so he left. It could have bothered him."
Colorado, meanwhile, will counter with righty Jason Hammel, who was 10-8 this season with a 4.33 ERA after being acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays right at the start of the season.
"This guy was as consistent as any of the guys in our rotation that you would want to talk about," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. "And it didn't matter if it was at Coors Field or on the road.
Hammel won his only other start against the Phils, holding them to three runs and nine hits in 6 2/3 innings back on August 4.
Philadelphia won four of six from the Rockies this season.
Game 4 of this series will be played on Monday at Coors Field.
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