NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP

Colorado 8, Philadelphia 7--On a day the fans cheered loud and long for John Kruk, Dante Bichette silenced them with one swing.

Bichette hit his fifth homer of the season, a two-run shot in the eighth inning that gave the Rockies a victory and spoiled the Phillies’ home opener.

Kruk, activated only six hours after undergoing radiation treatment for testicular cancer, got three hits in his first game this year. He came up with the tying run on second in the ninth inning with one out, but looked at strike three.

A sellout crowd of 58,627 saw the NL champions receive their rings before the game and reserved its loudest ovation for Kruk. He rewarded the rooters with an RBI double in his first at-bat and went three for five with two runs scored.

“I think that pregame ceremony they had pumped us up, seeing them get those rings,” said Bichette, who also doubled twice.

Bichette has homered in all but one of the Rockies’ six games. He is 13 for 26 and is tied for the major-league lead in homers with Toronto’s Carlos Delgado with five. Bichette has 11 RBIs.

Phillies reliever Roger Mason (1-1) struck out Roberto Mejia with the bases loaded to end the seventh, preserving a 7-6 lead. He retired the first two batters in the eighth, then walked Joe Girardi and gave up Bichette’s home run.