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Colorado's Matt Holliday celebrates with teammates after hitting a home run against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.

Rowand finally got them going crazy, lining an opposite-field shot to right to start the bottom of the fifth. Burrell followed with a towering drive that just cleared the left-field wall to cut it to 3-2.

But Francis worked out of a two-out jam to preserve the one-run lead, retiring Shane Victorino on a grounder with two runners on.

LaTroy Hawkins pitched a scoreless seventh, Brian Fuentes worked the eighth and Corpas finished.

Holliday, the MVP candidate, gave the Rockies an insurance run when he hit Tom Gordon’s pitch into the seats for a 4-2 lead in the eighth.

Hamels, the 23-year-old All-Star lefty, was outstanding except for one inning. Making his first career start against the Rockies, he allowed three runs and three hits in 6 2-3 innings.

Hamels uncharacteristically walked four and fanned seven. He kept his cool after walking Troy Tulowitzki on a 3-2 pitch to force in Colorado’s third run, and retired the next 13 batters.

“You want to succeed in the spotlight,” Hamels said. “Nothing can prepare you for what this situation is like.”

Roughed up by the Phillies in two starts this season, Francis seemed like he was in for another tough day after falling behind leadoff hitter Rollins 3-0. But the 26-year-old lefty regrouped and ended up striking out the first four batters.

The Phillies’ first postseason game since Joe Carter’s homer clinched the World Series for Toronto in 1993 left this championship-starved city disappointed once again. At least, they don’t have to wait 14 years for another playoff game.

Todd Helton lined a triple to start the second and Garrett Atkins doubled. Yorvit Torrealba’s one-out single drove in Atkins for a 2-0 lead.

With two outs and the bases loaded, Hamels got ahead of Tulowitzki 0-2 before walking him to force in another run. But he struck out Holliday swinging on a changeup to leave the bases full. Holliday nearly hit a slam, just hooking a long foul down the left-field line.

Slideshow   The Week in Sports Pictures A kayaker flips out, a racehorse eyes the Triple Crown and more. more photos

Both of these teams needed strong finishes just to get here.

Aided by the Mets’ historic collapse, the resilient Phillies went 13-4 to finally overtake New York for good on the final day. Their remarkable comeback made the Mets the first team ever to blow a seven-game lead with 17 games to play.

The Rockies were even better down the stretch, going 14-1 to erase a 4½-game deficit in the wild-card race and beating San Diego in a one-game playoff in 13 innings after rallying from two runs down against closer Trevor Hoffman.

Notes: Colorado’s only other playoff win was on Oct. 6, 1995. The Rockies, then a third-year franchise, beat Atlanta 7-5 to temporarily avoid elimination. ... Torrealba was the only Colorado starter with postseason experience.

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