Lyles runs Phillies into ground

ROCKIES 3, PHILLIES 1 Right-hander, backed byMorneau homer, improves to 3-0 with seven solid innings

The squirrel that hijacked the middle innings Saturday evening running around Coors Field — let’s call him Skweaky, for the sake of narrative— sprinted fromright field to the visitors’ dugout quicker than Justin Morneau rounded the bases.

But there’s no stopwatch clocking home runs. So score one for Skweaky in the dash and give Morneau the nod for his two-run homer that fought back the rain in the Rockies’ 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

After a slow start, the Rockies woke up Sunday morning with a winning record (10-9) for the first time this season.

Jordan Lyles won again, pitching seven scoreless innings before allowing a baserunner in the eighth that turned into the lone Phillies’ run. It was one blemish during an otherwise stellar start for the Rockies’ “other” pitcher.

Lyles is 3-0 in four starts with a 3.04 ERA after creeping into the rotation late in spring training only because Jhoulys Chacin injured his shoulder.

Coupled withTyler Chatwood’s ace-like outing Friday, theRockies — for the second time in their his- tory and the first time since 2002, the year the humidor was introduced — have had back-to-back pitching outings thatwent at least seven innings with no earned runs. (Jason Jennings and Mike Hampton did the trick that year.)

Near the halfway point of a taxing schedule of 40 games in 42 days, and with two of their top three starters on the disabled list, theRockies aremore than holding their own.

“These guys are taking a lot of pride in theirwork right now,” said third baseman Nolan Arenado.

Lyles wriggled through his seven innings by forcing 13 ground- ball outs. “The planwas to go fastball-sinker,” Lyles said. “They can’t get it over the fence if they hit over the top of the ball.”

It helps to play with theNational League’s best offense and against a team that hasn’t had an extra-base hit in its past four games. After Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard singled in the fourth inning, Lyles walked Marlon Byrd on eight pitches to load the bases with one out. Lyles, on a sinking two-seam fastball, got Domonic Brown to ground into an inning-ending, 6-4-3 double play — spurred by Troy Tulowitzki’s nifty backhand chest pass to DJ LeMahieu at second.

That turn kept the score tight, and as if on cue, the Rockies struck in their next at-bat.

Morneau blasted an 86mphcutter vertically into the rain — it reached the height of the right field Rooftop— before landing in the mezzanine for a two-run homer and a 3-0 Rockies lead.

“He’s really giving us a lift to the rotation,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss said of Lyles. “You can see the other guys beating it into the ground.”