Major League Baseball

Phillies 5, Rockies 4

Published Aug. 23, 2013 4:39 a.m. ET

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The Phillies' chances of making the playoffs are nearly impossible, but they haven't given up on the season.

Domonic Brown hit a game-ending RBI single to give Philadelphia a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday night.

The Phillies scored two runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth for their second come-from-behind win in as many days. They have won four of five to improve to 4-3 under Ryne Sandberg, who became the interim manager when Charlie Manuel was fired last Friday.

''We're just out there having lots of fun, feeding off the energy we have in the clubhouse,'' Brown said. ''We're trying to make a statement going into next year.''

Colorado carried a 4-3 lead into the ninth, but Rafael Betancourt (2-5) blew a save opportunity for the second straight game and the third time in 19 chances.

''That was a tough loss,'' Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. ''The Phillies kept fighting.''

Jimmy Rollins started the winning rally with a two-out double. He then stole third and scored on Michael Young's slow roller to third that went for a hit. Young had the game-winning hit off Betancourt in Philadelphia's 4-3 win on Wednesday night.

''We're deep back in the standings, but five weeks is a ton of time to play good baseball,'' Young said. ''Everybody looks forward to the opportunity to show what they are made of.''

Betancourt departed after Young's at-bat with an elbow injury, heading to the dugout after a visit from Weiss and a trainer. The right-hander had lunged for Young's grounder that went just out of his reach. After the game the team said he sprained his right elbow.

Jeff Francis came in and walked Chase Utley before Brown's grounder to right scored Young. Brown was mobbed by the Phillies, who took three of four games from the Rockies for just their second series win since the All-Star break.

''There's a sense in the games,'' Sandberg said, ''that good things can happen with the positive energy and the guys pulling for each other.''

Before its recent winning stretch that began with Sunday's victory over the Dodgers, Philadelphia had lost 21 of 25 games.

''It was a very difficult stretch,'' Young said, ''but we flat-out knew we were better than that and we look forward to showing that.''

Cesar Jimenez (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth for the victory.

Wilin Rosario homered for Colorado, which has dropped five of six. The Rockies have won nine of 39 games against Philadelphia since the start of the 2008 season.

Darin Ruf homered and Carlos Ruiz had three hits for the Phillies.

Colorado rookie Chad Bettis allowed one run and six hits over 5 1-3 innings in his fifth career start. He was in line for his first win before Philadelphia's late rally.

''The first one is never easy and you can never count the other team out,'' Bettis said. ''I felt real good tonight. Everything was working pretty well. I had better location than my last start. I had the same stuff but my command and location were better.''

Cody Asche doubled home a run in the second for Philadelphia, but Dexter Fowler had a tying sacrifice fly in the fifth. The Rockies then scored three runs in the sixth on four straight hits, chasing right-hander Kyle Kendrick.

Rosario had the big blow, a line drive to left for a three-run shot. It was the third homer in the last four games for Rosario, who extended his hitting streak to 13 games.

''He's been swinging the bat well for a few weeks,'' Weiss said. ''He's an impact offensive player.''

The Phillies pulled within one on Ruf's two-out, two-run homer off Matt Belisle in the eighth.

Kendrick continued his recent struggles. The right-hander avoided his third straight loss, but he gave up four runs and eight hits in five-plus innings, raising his ERA to 8.14 in his last six starts.

NOTES: Michael Cuddyer and Troy Tulowitzki each had a pair of hits for the Rockies. ... Ruiz is batting .625 (10 for 16) in his last five games. ... Colorado opens a three-game series at Miami on Friday night, with Rockies RHP Jhoulys Chacin (11-7, 3.24 ERA) opposing RHP Tom Koehler (3-8, 4.66 ERA). ... The Phillies open a three-game set at home versus Arizona on Friday night. LHP Cole Hamels (5-13, 3.61 ERA) gets the ball for the Phillies, with LHP Wade Miley (9-8, 3.56 ERA) going for the Diamondbacks.

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