Jack Dempsey / AP

Colorado's Todd Helton, center, celebrates the Rockies' 2-1 victory over the Phillies on Saturday night.

Kaz Matsui, who had five RBIs in Game 2, broke a scoreless tie in the fifth with a triple that skipped past diving left fielder Pat Burrell, scoring Yorvit Torrealba from first base with two outs.

Colorado won the first two games in Philadelphia by holding the high-scoring Phillies to seven combined runs. Rollins, Utley and Howard went a combined 7-for-34 (.206) with 15 strikeouts in the series.

“We were a little tight. We were chasing balls out of the strike zone early in the game,” Manuel said. “Their bullpen in the series was outstanding. We have one of the best offenses in baseball and they shut us down.”

Howard said he’ll still look back on the season with pride.

“When you stop and actually look at the season we had as a team, you can’t really hold your head down,” he said. “We had injuries, a lot of stuff going against us, and for us to have the opportunity to get into the playoffs, you’ve got to hold your head up.”

The first playoff game in the Mile High City since 1995 was everything you’d expect from a baseball game in the Rocky Mountains in October.

A cold front hit the stadium just moments before the Rockies took the field, dropping the temperature 15 degrees into the upper 50s, with gusty winds stirring peanut dust and hot-dog wrappers around the stadium.

The night began with a poignant moment when the young sons of late minor league coach Mike Coolbaugh threw out the ceremonial first pitches.

Coolbaugh was a first base coach for the Rockies’ Double-A affiliate, the Tulsa Drillers. The former major leaguer was killed July 22, when a line drive struck him in the neck while he was coaching first base. He left behind a pregnant wife and two sons, 5-year-old Joseph and 3-year-old Jacob.

The Rockies voted a full playoff share for Amanda Coolbaugh, due to give birth to the couple’s third child later this month.

Coolbaugh’s No. 29 Drillers jersey hung in the Rockies’ dugout.

Notes: The only other playoff games in Colorado were Oct. 3-4, 1995, when the Rockies lost twice to Atlanta. ... The only teams that don’t have a playoff series win are Texas and Tampa Bay.

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