"It was the fourth inning Thursday afternoon, and the Rockies' Aaron Cook couldn't seem to get through a 1-2-3 frame. The Phillies had a man on in each of the first four innings, and while they hadn't scored, you figured the world champions were ready to break Cook - and the Rockies' season.

Ryan Howard led off the fourth with a single. Up stood Jayson Werth, he of the 36 homers, 99 RBIs and Wednesday's triple that, if not for the wicked wind, might still be flying.

A packed house of 46,528 at Citizens Bank Park screamed for purple blood while twirling white towels. Cook felt as if he were inside of a loud washing machine.

What'd he do?

When times got tough Thursday, he stepped off

the mound and took a couple of deep breaths. Suddenly, he was playing catch with his sons Elijah and Colton. Or maybe he was back in the South Atlantic League, pitching in front of a couple thousand fans and hundreds of mosquitoes.

More than anything, he was alive. For Cook, that's good.

Having collected his thoughts, he climbed back onto the mound and got Werth to hit into a double play to preserve a 3-0 lead that led to a 5-4 win in Game 2, evening the best-of-five NL division series at one game each.

Cook won a battle with life- threatening blood clots in his lungs five years ago. He was forced to leave an August 2004 game at Coors Field, complaining of dizziness, and was rushed to Rose Medical Center. He later underwent two surgeries to remove the clots, returning to pitch again in July 2005. After battling for his life, how tough could the Phillies be?

Walking from the postgame interview room in a lonely stadium tunnel, Cook remembered how the scariest event in his life made Thursday's events seem downright soothing.

"It put everything in perspective," Cook said. "Baseball's a game. Go out there and play and have fun. Don't let your emotions run on whether you did good or bad that day. For me, I've got a family at home. I've got three kids. I can't take baseball home with me, whether it's bad or good, because it wouldn't be fair to them.""