updated 3:02 a.m. ET Oct. 7, 2007

DENVER - Manny Corpas shook his right arm as he dried off from a champagne bath.

“It’s tingling,” the Rockies closer said.

From overuse?

“Nah,” Corpas said with a grin. “I want them to use me.”

The Rockies will — quite often.

Colorado may be known for its big bats, but the bullpen has been superb so far in the playoffs.

Matt Herges, Brian Fuentes and Corpas combined to throw 2 2-3 shutout innings in relief of Ubaldo Jimenez on Saturday night, leading the Rockies to a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies that completed their three-game playoff sweep.

Colorado’s bullpen gave up only one earned run over 11 2-3 innings against Philadelphia.

“We want ourselves to be the backbone of the team,” Herges said. “We want the team to be reliant on us.”

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel praised Colorado’s relievers for shutting down his team’s potent lineup.

“Their bullpen in the series was absolutely fantastic,” Manuel said.

The Rockies boast a stable full of former closers. Herges and LaTroy Hawkins have had that role at one time in their careers. Same with Jorge Julio, who wasn’t on the postseason roster for the division series.

“It’s versatile, it’s got depth and a lot of good skill set out there,” Colorado manager Clint Hurdle said.

Corpas has been virtually untouchable since taking over as the Rockies’ closer in early July. He’s now converted 22 of 23 save opportunities.

“I feel comfortable,” said Corpas, who inherited the job after Fuentes struggled and then spent time on the disabled list with a strained muscle. “I’m not nervous, just relaxed.”

As Jimenez walked off the mound in the seventh with the game tied at 1, one thought ran through his mind — the Phillies aren’t scoring off the bullpen.

“I knew they’d put up zeros,” said Jimenez, who allowed three hits and one run in 6 1-3 innings. “I know they’re going to get the job done. They’re very good.”

They’re also focused on their roles. Fuentes made the All-Star team but doesn’t mind playing second fiddle to Corpas, especially with the team rolling along.

“I’ll do whatever they need me to do,” Fuentes said. “They need me to set up Manny, that’s what I’ll do. Do I want to close again? Yeah. But this is what they need now.”

Fuentes made one mistake Saturday night, hanging a pitch to Philadelphia’s Pat Burrell, who smashed a shot to deep left in the eighth that the wind took just foul.

“Long strike, wasn’t it?” Fuentes said with a grin. “I was like, ’Oh my, that’s not going foul.’ I was saying, ’Hurry up, go foul, go foul.’ I’m glad it did.”

Fuentes ended up striking out Burrell.

“That’s a good lineup,” Fuentes said. “All those guys can mash.”

Just not Saturday night. Not with pitching coach Bob Apodaca preparing a scouting report on the hitters.

“Bob breaks down swings as well as anybody,” Hurdle said. “To me, it’s his finest hour.”

It may have been Herges’ finest hour as well. The former San Francisco Giants closer came to the Rockies over the winter begging for a job.

Colorado took a chance on him and he repaid the faith.

“This is humbling, to say the least,” Herges said. “Clint giving me the ball? I can’t say enough.”

Herges bailed Jimenez and the Rockies out of a jam in the seventh. After Jimenez gave up a game-tying homer to Shane Victorino and a single to Carlos Ruiz, Herges was called in and got a groundout and a popout to end the inning.

“Our game plan is simple: Get us back in the dugout,” Herges said. “Our bullpen is a huge part of the postseason. We want them to depend on us.”

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