DENVER — Yorvit Torrealba's sacrifice fly scored Troy Tulowitzki from third base with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth and the Colorado Rockies edged St. Louis 2-1 on Friday night.

That prevented the Cardinals from becoming the first team in the majors to clinch their division and kept the Rockies 3½ games ahead of Atlanta in the NL wild-card race.

It also ruined former Rockies slugger Matt Holliday's homecoming.

Todd Helton led off the ninth with a walk from Trevor Miller (4-1), who was replaced by Kyle McClellan. Tulowitzki reached on a fielder's choice, and pinch-hitter Jason Giambi's single put runners at the corners.

Torrealba lofted a ball to right, and Ryan Ludwick's throw home was nowhere close.

The Cardinals' magic number over Chicago remained one with the Cubs playing at San Francisco later Friday.

So, while the Rockies celebrated and their fans filed onto the field for a postgame fireworks show, the Cardinals retreated to their clubhouse to watch the Cubs-Giants game.

Huston Street (4-1), one of the players Holliday was traded for last winter, picked up the win with a scoreless ninth.

The Rockies, who lead the majors in sacrifice flies, scored both runs that way.

Carlos Gonzalez, another player who came over from Oakland in the deal for Holliday, led off the bottom of the first with a double, was bunted over and scored on Helton's deep fly to center off Chris Carpenter.

Carpenter gave up one run and five hits in seven innings, but the only support he received was Ludwick's 21st homer in the seventh off Jose Contreras that tied the game at 1.

Aaron Cook threw five scoreless innings in his first start since Aug. 21, when shoulder soreness forced him out of a game against San Francisco. He allowed four hits, all singles, got 12 groundball outs and didn't walk a batter in an impressive 76-pitch performance.

Cook was replaced by Contreras, who hadn't pitched since straining his right thigh while running out a groundball on Sept. 10, in his second start in place of Cook.

In his first trip to Coors Field as the enemy, Holliday went 1 for 4 and stranded five runners. Rafael Betancourt got him to ground into an inning-ending double play with two men on in the eighth.

Holliday stranded a runner at third in the first inning when he grounded out. In the third, he came up with runners at the corners and two outs and hit a hard chopper that third baseman Ian Stewart backhanded near the outfield grass. Holliday didn't sprint down the line and Stewart's throw beat him, costing the Cardinals a run.

The Cardinals had a minor scare in the eighth when Albert Pujols limped around the first-base bag after hitting a single. He said it was only a cramp.