PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Brian Hunter finally contributed to helping the Philadelphia Phillies win instead of beating them.

Hunter, acquired by Philadelphia last month, hit a grand slam Sunday as the Phillies ended a rough homestand with a 4-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

Three days before being claimed off waivers from Atlanta by the Phillies on April 21, Hunter beat them with a pinch-hit homer in the 12th inning of a 4-3 Braves victory.

Hunter had been 3-for-24 with the Phillies before Sunday.

"I've been struggling, so any hit was going to be a big one for me," he said. "But a grand slam, that's pretty big at any time."

Especially since the victory enabled the Phillies to close a dreadful home stand at 2-7. They now begin a nine-game road trip to Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Philadelphia broke up a scoreless game in the fourth on Hunter's grand slam off Masato Yoshii (1-5).

Bobby Abreu drew a one-out walk and Mike Lieberthal singled. One out later, Rob Ducey coaxed a walk to load the bases.

Hunter jumped on a high 1-0 fastball and drove the ball into the left-center field seats.

"I didn't think it was going out at first, but I did see the outfielders on the play and knew they weren't going to be able to catch up with it," Hunter said. "I was just hoping three runs were going to score."

That was all the offense that Phillies starter Robert Person (4-2) would need. The right-hander was overpowering from the start as he struck out five of the first nine batters. In seven innings, he matched his season-high for strikeouts with 10.

"Colorado is a fastball-hitting team and being successful with my fastball right at the start gave me confidence," said Person, who has won three of his last four starts. "I was able to move my fastball around and get some early strikeouts with it. Later in the game, I got most of my strikeouts on curveballs.

Person allowed one run and five hits but he saw his victory wilt away when the game was turned over to the Phillies bullpen.

Wayne Gomes, who started the season as the Phillies closer, pitched a perfect eighth inning and Phillies manager Terry Francona called on Jeff Brantley to close the game.

Bubba Carpenter hit a one-out, two-run homer in the ninth off Brantley. Hunter made a nifty stop on a tough grounder to get the second out but that didn't stop Brantley from loading the bases on walks.

"I couldn't breathe at that point," Francona said. "We just needed to get an out. I didn't care if it was a pretty out or an ugly out."

Brantley got the final out when Mike Lansing flied out to left.

Francona preached patience with Brantley, who missed most of last season with elbow surgery and has recorded two saves in as many opportunities this season.

"If we were going to win the game, he was going to finish it," Francona said. "We're trying to get him on a roll, too. As hard as it was to sit through, you have to show patience."

Yoshii pitched four innings and lost his fourth straight decision. He gave up four runs and four hits but was hurt by two walks in the fourth inning.

"It seems like we're always talking about walks when we give up runs," Colorado manager Buddy Bell said. "(Yoshii) walked the leadoff hitter and that's not the best thing in the world to do. Then, he walked another. That's tough."

Colorado scored in the sixth on three straight two-out hits. Jeff Cirillo doubled and Jeffrey Hammonds had an RBI single.

Despite the loss, the Rockies still enjoyed a successful road trip, finishing it with a 3-2 mark. The first multi-city winning road trip since September 1998.

Game notes
The game was delayed 27 minutes at the start because of rain. ... Phillies 3B Scott Rolen sat out his second straight game due to a sore back. He missed the final five weeks of last season with a back injury. ... 3B umpire Andy Fletcher didn't work the game due to back spasms. ... Hunter hit his first slam since July 10, 1994. ... The Rockies failed to steal a base for the first time in nine games. Tom Goodwin, the club's stolen base leader with 13, was thrown out by Lieberthal attempting to steal second in the third inning on a pitch-out. ... Yoshii hasn't won since April 17 at Arizona.