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  Monday, Aug. 28 7:35pm ET
Abreu homers in Phillies' 3-2 win
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Todd Helton probably wishes he took one more swing Monday night, even though he raised his average to .397.

Bobby Abreu hit his third homer in two games as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Colorado Rockies 3-2 despite three hits from Helton.

Helton's average went up three points. He singled in the first inning, flied out in the third, and doubled in the fifth and eighth innings.

But with Colorado trailing by a run in the seventh, Helton took a called strike on Robert Person's 3-1 pitch as Mike Lieberthal threw out Juan Pierre at second to end the inning.

"I was looking for a fastball in so I could drive the ball, but it was a fastball away," Helton said.

Lieberthal didn't expect Helton to take the pitch.

"I told Person to throw over there and keep him close," Lieberthal said. "It didn't matter how many times he threw over. When he wanted to go home, I wanted him to concentrate on Helton. I'm surprised he didn't swing."

Abreu, batting .389 (14-for-36) since moving to the leadoff spot nine games ago, gave the Phillies a 2-0 lead in the third with his 21st homer -- a liner off the facing of the upper deck in right field.

Abreu hit a pair of homers, including a winning, inside-the-park drive in the 10th in Sunday's 2-1 victory over San Francisco.

Rockies manager Buddy Bell began serving a two-game suspension for excessive arguing after his ejection following a bench-clearing brawl against Atlanta last Tuesday. Bench coach Toby Harrah managed the team in Bell's absence.

Person (7-4) allowed one run and six hits in seven innings. He struck out four and walked two.

"The key was to get the guy in front of Helton," Person said. "He's the best hitter I faced this year."

Person, a hard-luck pitcher with 11 no-decisions, lowered his ERA to 3.19, fourth in the league and fifth in the majors. He's allowed two runs or fewer in seven of his no-decisions.

Jeff Brantley pitched a scoreless ninth for his 21st save in 25 attempts.

"He's been streaky, but he looked terrific," Phillies manager Terry Francona said.

Lieberthal's broken-bat, bloop single gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead in the first. Doug Glanville singled, stole second and scored on Lieberthal's two-out hit.

Masato Yoshii (5-14) allowed two runs and six hits in six innings. He matched a season-high with seven strikeouts and walked one.

"When Yoshii pitches good, we don't usually score runs for him," Harrah said. "He was real sharp tonight."

Yoshii helped himself with an RBI single in the fourth that cut it to 2-1. Todd Walker led off with a double, moved to third on a single and scored on Yoshii's two-out liner to right.

The Phillies added an insurance run in the seventh when Tomas Perez led off with a triple and scored on an infield single by Glanville to make it 3-1.

Colorado came right back in the eighth off reliever Vicente Padilla. Helton led off with a double to left, and scored on a single by Jeffrey Hammonds.

Game notes
The Phillies have won four straight one-run games and are 23-22 overall. ... Lieberthal has nailed 40 percent of basestealers (29-of-72). He also has 25 RBI in his last 29 games. ... The Rockies were seeking a club record fourth straight victory to start a road trip.
 


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