Notes: Morillo readies for debut
09/23/2006
DENVER -- Add Juan Morillo to the list of Rockies making a quick jump from Double-A to the Majors -- though Morillo's trip has the illusion of being even faster than most, thanks to a 100-mph fastball he showcased throughout the season in Tulsa.
The 22-year-old right-hander will be the fourth youngest pitcher in franchise history when he starts Sunday's game. He signed with the Rockies out of the Dominican Republic in 2001 and has made steady progress from the Dominican Summer League through every step of the Rockies system, with the exception of Triple-A Colorado Springs.
Morillo went 12-8 with a 4.62 ERA for the Drillers this season, and was given the opening start in their playoff appearance against the Wichita Wranglers earlier this month. He pitched seven shutout innings, walking two and striking out 10. He retired the last 11 batters he faced and left the game with a lead, but the Wranglers won in extra innings and went on to win the series.
"It was real exciting," Morillo said of his postseason experience. "I was hoping to help my team and I did. We didn't win, but we gave everything we've got. We did pretty good."
The playoffs capped a season of hard work for Morillo, who has concentrating on bringing a consistent approach to the mound and becoming a more well-rounded pitcher. He tried to make his dominant fastball just one of his tools, rather than the sole source of his 132 strikeouts in 140 1/3 innings this season.
The Rockies are eager to get a look at Morillo in a big-league environment in hopes of getting insight to how he could fit in their future plans.
"I haven't seen much of him," manager Clint Hurdle said Saturday. "We're just hoping he can go out there and control his emotions and his adrenaline and throw strikes and give us a chance to win a ballgame -- show up good. He's got a top-shelf arm. A lot of guys have that. We just need to see how it plays out at this level."
Morillo laughed off questions about bringing out his 100-mph heater on Sunday.
"I'm trying to throw low strikes," Morillo emphasized. "I'm going to give 100 percent and throw as hard as I can, but I'm going to try to keep my pitches down low. That's the main thing."
Tulsa tandem? With Morillo on the hill Sunday, Alvin Colina could find himself in the familiar position of receiving Morillo's fastballs behind the plate, replicating the role he shared in Tulsa with Chris Iannetta. Either one of the catchers could be a comfort to Morillo in his first big-league appearance, but as Hurdle has been looking to give Colina a start, Colina's history with Morillo could make Sunday his day.
"It very well could be," said Hurdle. "We've had conversations about it. What's more important? The catcher knowing the hitters? [JD] Closser has limited experience, Iannetta has very limited experience, Colina has no experience. Or having somebody that the guy's very familiar with and probably very comfortable with? What we need to have Juan focus on is pitching his game and not trying to pitch around hitters or away from hitters' strengths. Just make his pitches."
Colina has appeared in one game since coming up from Tulsa on Sept. 10. He pinch-hit against the Giants Monday, lacing an RBI single to left.
Endangered species: With the lack of lefties in big-league rotations, the Rockies don't see themselves entertaining the notion of a true platoon. Right fielder Jeff Baker's emergence as a force to be reckoned into future plans begs the question, since the right-handed hitter is .231 (6-for-26) against right-handers and .556 (5-for-9) against left-handers, and left-handed right fielder Brad Hawpe has put up opposite numbers, hitting .298 (124-for-416) against righties and .203 (13-for-64) against southpaws.
The opportunity to make one uber-outfielder out of the complementary strengths of the two is tempting, but the Rockies have faced 28 left-handed starters, and no Rockies batter has more than 121 at bats against left-handers.
"It doesn't make any sense to me to limit a right-handed hitter who's pretty good to 110 at-bats," Hurdle said. "I've mixed and matched Hawpe and Baker up since they've been here, but I hate to put a ceiling on anybody at this particular point in time."
The straight platoon is increasingly fading into baseball's past, but the memories of then-Orioles manager Earl Weaver's getting 45 home runs and 137 RBIs out of a 1982 Gary Roenicke/John Lowenstein platoon remain fresh for the Rockies as they look for creative ways to build a roster. Hurdle had first-hand experience as part of a platoon when he played for Whitey Herzog in Kansas City and St. Louis.
"When I played for Whitey, you could start and come out of the game in the fourth inning if a left-hander came in and there was a runner in scoring position," Hurdle recalled. "I was in that role with Joe Zdeb [a right-handed outfielder platooning with the left-handed Hurdle] for a while. That's the way it was. But the number of left-handers, whether we're going through a cycle or whatever, the opportunities have really been minimized, compared to what they used to be."
Thanks, Vinny: The Rockies will honor one of the franchise's all-time greats on Sunday, with Vinny Castilla scheduled to start at third base in his last weekend game at home before retiring at the end of the season.
Fans voted Castilla their final "Player of the Homestand," and in keeping with that new tradition, the first 7,500 fans at Sunday's game will receive a Castilla jersey T-shirt.
Sunday also caps Spanish Heritage Awareness Month, and Castilla will participate in pregame ceremonies honoring the winner of the Colorado Rockies Hispanic Adult Leadership Award.
On tap: Morillo (Major League debut) toes the rubber Sunday in the series finale against southpaw Chuck James (10-4, 3.62) at 1:05 p.m. MT
Source: http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/
After big third, Rockies hold off Braves
09/24/2006
DENVER -- A day after being officially eliminated from the playoff race, the Rockies' Saturday night bash with the Braves in town was a promise for the future.
Five Rockies had multihit games, with Jeff Salazar leading the way with a double, two singles, two RBIs, and a steal as the Rockies beat the Braves, 10-9.
"I was more happy about the situations where I came up," said Salazar, who had runners in scoring position in three of his five at-bats. "I came up a few times tonight, runner on third, less than two outs, and I would have been just as happy if I would have grounded out to second and got the run in."
After striking out in the first run-scoring situation, Salazar doubled to right in the six-run third inning and singled over a drawn-in infield in the fifth, plating runs both times.
Rockies starter Jeff Francis (13-11) delivered on his own promise and became the winningest southpaw in club history by notching his 30th career win despite a subpar performance. Francis struggled with his fastball command and pitched behind in counts most of the night, but he held on for five innings, giving up five runs on nine hits and three walks while striking out two.
"It was a battle the whole way," Francis said. "It's nice having run support like that. Having a five-, six-run lead most of the way, I was able to just go out there and try to throw strikes. The fifth inning got away from me, but fortunately, I came out of it, and the bullpen held it and we came out with a win."
Francis loaded the bases on two walks and a single before recording an out in the fifth, but he induced Jeff Francoeur into a run-scoring double play to Garrett Atkins at third, before coaxing a grounder to second from Adam LaRoche to end the inning and preserve a five-run lead.
While his ERA crept over 4.00 for the first time in over two months, Francis joined Tom Glavine (14) and Andy Pettitte (13) as the only National League left-handers with at least 13 wins in '06. He was unaware that he had set a Rockies record for career wins by a left-hander -- and that he set the record for left-handed wins at Coors with 20 -- before finishing just his second full season in the big leagues.
"That's a pretty cool thing," Francis said when informed of the milestone. "To hold any record of any kind is an accomplishment. It's flattering that people even talk about it. Hopefully, there's more to come."
Francis would probably prefer not to see any more of Andruw Jones, however. Jones knocked a run-scoring double over the center-field fence in the first and a solo homer over the left-field fence in the third. He homered again in the seventh off Jose Mesa and singled up the middle in the ninth off Brian Fuentes.
"We'll be glad to see him leave town," manager Clint Hurdle said. "He's done a lot of trotting since he's been here. Every time I look up the ball's bouncing off a wall."
Four Rockies relievers diffused a serious threat in the eighth, when Mesa, beginning his third inning of work, gave up a leadoff single to Willy Aybar and Tom Martin gave up a one-out double to Todd Pratt before walking Martin Prado to load the bases.
The Braves sent switch-hitting Chipper Jones to the plate against the left-handed Martin. Jones came off the disabled list Tuesday but hasn't played since Wednesday, due to a sore right foot that kept him from making right-handed at bats until Saturday night.
The Rockies countered with another left-hander, Jeremy Affeldt, who struck out Jones in the critical at-bat.
"He's given us some peaks and some valleys," Hurdle said of Affeldt. "That's a big out right there. We wanted to make sure we kept Chipper right. He's a good hitter from both sides, but if you got to pick one poison, you're going to pick that one."
It would be natural to assume that Affeldt must have had a good history against Jones to be used for that one bases-loaded at bat with the game on the line, but Affeldt was quick to clarify to the contrary his previous knowledge of Jones.
"I've never seen him in my life," Affeldt said of Jones. "Sometimes you got to go on strictly your strength, and get a feel for the guys. I didn't know who I was facing when I was coming in. Iannetta said, 'What do you want to throw Chipper?' I said 'Chipper? All right, well, we got to go with our strengths, we got to mix it up on him.' I know he's got some power. He can hit the fastball. So it was all about location."
After starting him off with a "bad" curve and falling to 2-0, he got Jones to foul off two strikes before finishing him off with a cut fastball.
Nate Field came on and gave up a two-run single to Edgar Renteria before Many Corpas took the baton and ended the inning with one pitch.
Fuentes pitched the ninth, yielding a run on Andruw Jones' leadoff single and a run-scoring double from Aybar before striking out the side to earn his 28th save of the season.
The Rockies have averaged 9.8 runs in their 10 September home games, a refreshing change of pace after their late-summer scoring draught.
"The whole time I've been here we've done that" Salazar said. "It's kind of strange. I can't picture them not doing it. For all I know they could have been doing this all year."
They haven't done it all year, but as September comes to a close, the Rockies are keeping their eyes on the future.
"It's been a very good look," Hurdle said of the revitalized offense. "It's been a promising look
Source: http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/
Notes: Rockies honor Castilla
09/24/2006
DENVER -- During a hot streak a few years ago, Vinny Castilla said in an interview that he was getting better with age, like a wine.
Fittingly on Sunday morning, veteran pitcher Mike DeJean stopped by Castilla's locker in the Rockies' clubhouse at Coors Field and presented him with a bottle of wine, expertly picked by DeJean's wife.
Castilla, 39, is past the age of outstanding seasons, but he was golden at Coors Field nonetheless. The Rockies honored Castillla before Sunday's game against the Braves, which he started a third base. He'll retire at season's end.
As the team took the field, the rest of the starters stopped at the first-base line and cheered as they let Castilla run to his position alone. In the clubhouse, most of the players wore the Castilla T-shirt that was available for fans.
"You're the first one to know when it's time to go, and it's time to go," Castilla said. "It's a great day. I'm very nervous and excited at the same time. It feels like I'm starting my first big-league game. It's good."
It was Castilla's first start at third for the Rockies at Coors since Oct. 3, 2004. An early start with the club (1993-99), Castilla returned in 2004 and led the National League in RBIs. Castilla ranks among franchise leaders in several offensive categories, was an outstanding defender and appeared in All-Star Games in 1995 and 1998.
"He's hitting in the lineup right behind [Todd] Helton," manager Clint Hurdle said. "To see them together on deck -- he broke Helton in -- and now Helton is here for him.
"Vinny's a good man. His smile is illuminating. That's the one thing whenever I think of him or whenever you see his face, it's the smile on his face. "
It was fitting he would be honored during a game against the Braves, for whom he went to the playoffs twice. Castilla never won a Gold Glove, but Braves manager Bobby Cox ranks him among all-time great fielders.
"He was wonderful for our team, right up there with the best of them -- Brooks [Robinson] and all of them," Cox told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "He never missed a ball."
Amazement: Padres standout closer Trevor Hoffman earned his 478th save on Saturday night to tie Lee Smith for the all-time record.
Hoffman has done much of that work against the Rockies, converting 47-of-52 against them. The Dodgers are the only team against whom he has earned more saves, 55.
"I don't think anybody can ever say they look forward to facing a Hall of Fame pitcher, but you're excited about the challenge, no doubt about that," Helton said. "You know what you're going to get. That's one of the good things about it. He's not going to make anything up. He's got what he's got and he's coming right at you with it."
Hoffman is known for frustrating hitters with his changeup, but what amazes most players is Hoffman pitches the same way he did when he had a 93 mph fastball. His fastball might be 8 mph slower, but his changeup is still 10 mph below that.
"It's maddening, borderline comical," Hurdle said.
Rockies reliever Jose Mesa, who has 320 career saves, said the only closer whose changeup was even close to the quality of Hoffman's was Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter, but Sutter's main pitch was the slit-finger fastball. Mesa said Hoffman is special because of the confidence he has in his pitching style.
"When you used to throw hard and you come back and throw 84 or 85, a lot of guys start to say, 'I might as well hang it up, because I don't have it anymore,'" Mesa said. "But he still does what he's always done."
Up next: After an off-day on Monday, right-hander Jason Jennings (9-12, 3.65 ERA) will start the opener of the final home series of the season, a three-game set with the Dodgers, who will start righty Greg Maddux (13-14, 4.25 ERA
Source : http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/
Rockies' bats beat up on Braves
09/24/2006
DENVER -- The Rockies acknowledged their past and, they hope, previewed the future Sunday afternoon.
The Rockies used a Brad Hawpe two-run homer in the eighth to beat the Braves, 9-8, at Coors Field in front of 30,216 in a game reminiscent of the prime of Vinny Castilla, whom the Rockies honored.
The teams hit seven home runs. The Braves' Brian McCann knocked a first-inning grand slam for one of his two homers, and the Rockies' Matt Holliday knocked a slam in the fifth, his team-leading 32nd homer.
The Rockies trailed, 7-0, before the bottom of the fourth and didn't lead until Hawpe entered as a pinch-hitter after Jamey Carroll's single and homered off Tyler Yates (2-5).
The Rockies won three of four, handed the Braves their 81st loss, and officially ended their string of playoff trips at 15 and winning seasons at 16. The win also brought Colorado out of last place for the first time since Aug. 20.
"It was nice today," said Hawpe, whose homer was his 20th this season. "To take the series from the Braves, which is a quality team, and to do it on Vinny Castilla's day was special, too."
The Rockies started Castilla, who is retiring at season's end, at third base and fans greeted his every at-bat with applause.
About all that was missing was a big hit from Castilla, who had two on in the eighth, but grounded into an inning-ending forceout. He was 0-for-4 and was hit by a pitch.
The old-time homer spree started with Jeff Baker's fifth in 17 games since being promoted from Triple-A Colorado Springs, against Braves starter Chuck James to lead off the fourth. It ended with the Hawpe's shot. Castilla said his son, Marcos, serving as bat boy, predicted the winning homer in the dugout.
Castilla experienced similar magic when the third-year Rockies went to the playoffs in 1995, and believes today's Rockies, who played well early but faded and are 74-82, can make it happen again.
Hawpe's homer gave the Rockies three with at least 20. He joined Holliday and Garrett Atkins, who has 27. It's not 1996-98, when Castilla reached or exceeded 40 and had company in doing so, but it's a start.
"I've never seen so many young kids at the same time that good," said Castilla, who will work for the Rockies' front office. "We had a great time in '95, but in those years we weren't that young."
However, Sunday conjured nightmarish memories of starting pitching struggles.
The team's newest pitcher, right-handed Juan Morillo, who spent the season at Double-A Tulsa but hadn't pitched since a Texas League playoff game on Sept. 5, took the old-fashioned hard hits.
Morillo, 22, walked the first three batters he faced, hit Andruw Jones to force in the first run and served up McCann's homer before finally forcing a Jeff Francoeur grounder for his first out.
Castilla, first baseman Todd Helton and shortstop Clint Barmes (who drove in two runs), catcher Alvin Colina, his usual receiver in Tulsa, and pitching coach Bob Apodaca visited Morillo during his struggles. But after the homer, he didn't walk anyone else, and struck out four against eight hits in four innings.
In the fourth, Morillo yielded a Chipper Jones' 24th homer of the season and McCann's 23rd.
Next time he takes the ball in the Majors, which he hopes is next season, Morillo will have a 15.75 ERA. But thanks to Hawpe he won't have a loss.
"I know we've got a lot of good hitters, so I was waiting for that," said Morillo, known for a triple-digits fastball but spotty control.
Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said, "I told him, 'You're not the first pitcher to pitch here four innings and give up seven runs, so don't get carried away on that.'
"He said, 'I got a lot better and they didn't take as good swings when I kept the ball down.'"
Holliday also tripled and scored, and Baker added a triple to his homer. But Hawpe's swing might have been bigger.
The left-handed-hitting Hawpe has lost playing time in right field lately as the Rockies have taken a long, and thus far pleasant, look at the right-handed-hitting Baker.
Baker could be used at several positions in addition to right field, but Hawpe will have to produce offensively to get his starts in right. The ability he flashed on a homer, when he clubbed Yates' slider, could help make him effective off the bench when he doesn't start.
"It's been different, of course," Hawpe said. "Baker's got a good opportunity right now and he's run with it, that's good for him. I need to be ready whenever I get [at-bats]."
Edgar Renteria gave the Braves an 8-6 lead with a solo shot off Justin Hampson in the sixth. Holliday tripled and scored on Barmes' double in the seventh.
Jeremy Affeldt (4-1) escaped an eighth-inning jam, and closer Brian Fuentes overcame two hits in the ninth by forcing a two-out Renteria grounder for his 29th save
Source: http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/
Rox rout Bucs to snap losing streak
07/19/2006
PITTSBURGH -- Colorado snapped its season-high eight-game losing streak by pounding Pittsburgh, 13-4, in front of 20,086 people on Tuesday night at PNC Park.
"We showed ourselves that we're capable of doing some good things," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "We put a nice package together tonight. The offense showed up."
The Rockies got a solid start from lefty Jeff Francis, who hurled seven innings and surrendered two runs (one earned run) on eight hits. Francis upped his record to 7-8 with the win.
"We got a big start again from Francis," Hurdle explained. "Another quality start from our rotation. He pitched strong effective baseball. He went through that lineup pretty effectively [and] followed his game plan very well. [He] mixed in his offspeed stuff with his fastball on both sides and elevated when he wanted to. It was just the start we needed."
Francis was pleased with the offensive explosion as well.
"To come out with seven runs in the first three innings helps you relax a little bit," Francis said. "But you've still got to go after guys and you've still got to get outs."
Left fielder Matt Holliday had high praise for another well pitched game by a Colorado starter.
"That's pretty much every day these days or it has been," Holliday offered. "We'll keep riding them as long as they'll carry us. They have pitched great."
Pittsburgh starter Tom Gorzelanny was tagged with the loss as he lasted just 2 2/3 innings, surrendering seven runs (five earned) on four hits. He issued five walks as he fell to 0-2 on the campaign.
The Rockies jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Garrett Atkins drew a walk and advanced to third on a double by catcher Yorvit Torrealba. Atkins scored on a sacrifice fly by Luis Gonzalez. Torrealba scored after Francis hit a grounder to Gorzelanny, who threw wide of third base for an error. Jamey Carroll delivered a sacrifice fly to right field knocking in Choo Freeman, who singled.
Colorado upped its advantage to 7-0 in the third inning when Torrealba hit a two-run double into the right-field corner after Gorzelanny issued a pair of walks. Gorzelanny walked two more to load the bases before making an early exit. He was replaced by right-hander Victor Santos, who was greeted by a two-run double by Carroll.
"A big night for Torrealba," Hurdle stated. "He strung together four [quality] at-bats. You don't envision the guy going 3-for-5 every night. His swings were real clean tonight. He hit the ball where it was pitched and he hit it hard."
Pittsburgh tagged Francis for his first run in the bottom of the third inning. Jason Bay's RBI double drove in Jack Wilson to make it 7-1 Colorado.
The Rockies added the eighth run in the fourth inning.
Then they tacked on four more in the sixth when Holliday crushed a two-run homer off Santos and Freeman smacked a two-run triple making it 12-1. It was Holliday's 17th home run on the season.
"It was a first-pitch curveball that I hit," Holliday said. "I was looking fastball, but when a breaking ball [hung] up a little bit, I just put a good swing on it and luckily I got enough of it."
The offensive pyrotechnics were just what the doctor ordered.
"It was a nice way for the offense to kind of break out of a team-wide slump that we'd been in," Holliday explained. "Hopefully, we've turned the page on what was a bad 10 days and we can now move forward."
"I think that win goes to the offense," Francis stated. "That's what we've been struggling to do the last couple of games. They came through big time."
Jason Smith rounded out the Rockies' scoring with a solo homer in the ninth.
"That might be the most pleasant part offensively speaking," Hurdle observed. "That so many people were able to participate, help out and have a hand in what we did tonight offensively up and down the lineup.
"We had good at-bats throughout the lineup. Guys were much more patient and more disciplined. We showed up good."
Rookie right-hander Manuel Corpas and closer Brian Fuentes tossed the final two frames for the Rockies.
"I think you got to see flashes of what Corpas can bring and that's a pretty exciting arm." Hurdle explained. "[Then with] Fuentes, we needed to get him back on the mound [to] let him air it out a little bit and get ready for a save tomorrow."
Source: http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/
Notes: Focusing on internal options
07/19/2006
PITTSBURGH -- With baseball's July 31 trade deadline looming, the Rockies would seem to be buyers, considering they are in a pennant race in the National League West and are only five games out of first place.
"We really haven't worried about our division all year," Rockies general manager Daniel O'Dowd said. "We're just trying to focus on how we can get better. We've hit a rough stretch here, and there's no doubt about that. We've just got to focus on the fact that we've come a long way from last year. We still have to stay patient."
He cautioned that just because the Rockies are in a pennant race does not mean they are in trade mode.
"I don't think we are there at all," O'Dowd stated. "I think we'll focus on our internal options. We've only made four player moves based upon performance all year, leading up to some of those we made on Monday. And that's because our starters have been good and our bullpen hasn't gotten enough work. So, I don't think we'll do that. If there is something that ends up falling in our lap, we certainly will, but I don't think we're going to be actively out trying to force things to happen at this point."
Family business: Some families own a grocery store, others own a garage or auto dealership and that is the family business. But with the Holliday family, baseball is the family business.
Matt Holliday, 26, is an All-Star outfielder with the Rockies. His father Tom was the longtime baseball coach at Oklahoma State and then the pitching coach at the University of Texas. He recently became associate head coach at North Carolina State.
Matt's older brother, Josh, is the hitting coach at Georgia Tech and Uncle Dave is a scout for the Rockies.
"That's a funny way to put it -- family business," Matt said. "I've been around [baseball] a long time. It's a fun thing and it's something our whole family has in common."
Matt is excited about his father's new job. "I think it will be a good spot for him," he said. "He'll have a boss who he has known for a long time and is a good friend of our family, and I think they'll have a lot of fun together."
"I think when you get to a point in your career, this is one of those things when you sit around in your chair and you jump up and say, 'You're going to go do this,'" Tom Holliday said of his current coaching role. "I don't act on impulse very often. But this is a longtime friend that I've seen work his rear end off for 20 years, and in our business of college baseball, getting to the College World Series is a lot of people's goal and it's a dream.
"Having been there 16 times [with Oklahoma State and Texas] and this program hasn't been there, this may be my last drive, my last goal in this college baseball business. If North Carolina State can get there in the next couple of years, then maybe I'll go do something else. But at this point, I think I've earned the right to do what I want to do."
It will place Tom and Josh in the same conference as opponents.
"That's an accident," Tom said. "We'll play three games against each other. I know him and he knows me, and when we put our uniforms on we'll play the game properly and when it's over there is still going to be a hug and a kiss."
"They both will want to win," Matt said. "They're both competitive."
The elder Holliday is still feeling the exhilaration of watching his son play in the All-Star Game.
"The biggest rush I ever had was watching Matt in a big-league game," Tom said. "When he was called up, I had to find his mother an airline ticket because we were playing, too. She was able to fly in and see his first big-league game in St. Louis and I had to watch it on tape. That rookie year, every time I saw him on television I got big goose bumps.
"To watch him in the All-Star Game is like -- I don't even know if I can describe it and I probably still haven't been able to put a word to it. He's only 26, so I don't want to say it's a dream come true, because I know Matt better than that, and probably a World Series is something I want to see him play in. But the goose bumps were really big again and to sit there with my mother was special."
Helton sits: Manager Clint Hurdle inserted recent callup Ryan Shealy in the lineup at first base on Wednesday afternoon, giving veteran Todd Helton a day off.
"It's going to be a situational-type thing. [Helton] has played six straight days in the heat," Hurdle explained. "Give him a blow today, and a day off tomorrow -- it just makes sense. We'll just see how it develops, but I'm using Shealy more as a bat off the bench."
Source: http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/
Rockies' rally falls short
07/19/2006
PITTSBURGH -- Colorado had hoped to build some momentum after snapping an eight-game losing streak on Tuesday night. But the Pirates held the Rockies down to take the rubber game of a three-game series, 6-5, before 19,881 on Wednesday afternoon at PNC Park.
Colorado staged a ninth-inning rally against Pirates closer Mike Gonzalez, but came up short. Choo Freeman led off with a single. After pinch-hitter J.D. Closser struck out, Jamey Carroll drew a walk. Clint Barmes then singled to load the bases and Garrett Atkins singled to drive in Freeman and make it a one-run affair.
Not wanting to get doubled up on Atkins' hit, Carroll hesitated at second and only made it to third base. Gonzalez then struck out Matt Holliday and Ryan Shealy to end the game.
"We didn't make a clean read at second base on the single by Atkins," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle lamented. "We had a runner that broke back to second base, unfortunately. Jamey is probably one of our best baserunners. He just didn't get a clean read on it. He broke back to second base on a ball where really nobody is there. You don't want to get doubled off, but I think in that situation, he knew where the guys were. He wasn't sure, but when he looked around, he saw that he might have misread it."
"When he hit it, it just kind of froze me," Carroll said. "You don't want to get doubled off in that situation. I went too cautious of a route, and knowing that Holliday and Shealy were coming up, I just froze on it. I just played too cautious."
Hurdle bemoaned the missed opportunities.
"There were opportunities a couple of times today to get it done," Hurdle stated. "We were talking earlier about finding a way to get a run going. Today is a perfect example. We had different situations where guys could have showed up and given us that opportunity."
Rockies starter Jason Jennings (6-8) gave up six runs on seven hits in six innings of work and was tagged with the loss.
"The way [Jennings] pitched -- it wasn't his best day," Hurdle said. "[Pittsburgh] didn't pound the ball on him in the sixth inning, but he got the balls up. Whenever you get the ball up, more often than not, good things don't happen. A couple balls dropped in that weren't hit hard to score the three runs. He wasn't able to get the big out."
The loss was a stinging one for Jennings.
"I feel like I made the pitches to get out of the inning," Jennings explained. "We were winning and I had two outs in the sixth and we were leading, 4-3, and I come out and we're losing, 6-4. It's frustrating all the way around. Today, I didn't throw as good, but for most of the game, I had us in a position to win and let it slip by."
Pittsburgh lefty starter Zach Duke got the win and upped his record to 7-8. He tossed six innings and allowed four runs on seven hits.
Colorado nicked Duke for a run in the second inning. First baseman Shealy paid immediate dividends after being recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs on Monday. In his first action of the season, he led off with a double to right-center field and scored on a two-out single by Freeman.
Jennings did not allow a Pittsburgh hit until the bottom of the fourth inning. With one out, Jack Wilson tripled. He later scored on a two-out RBI single by Sean Casey, tying the game at 1. Veteran Joe Randa then smacked a two-run double to left-center field, giving the Pirates a 3-1 lead.
Shealy struck again in the sixth inning. With one out after a walk to Atkins, Shealy stroked a run-scoring double to center field. He scored on a two-out RBI double by Yorvit Torrealba. Duke surrendered his third RBI double of the inning to Luis Gonzalez, putting the Rockies on top, 4-3.
Pittsburgh rallied with two outs in the bottom of the sixth and tied the score at 4 on a bloop RBI single by Randa. Ronny Paulino then delivered a two-run double, putting Pittsburgh on top, 6-4.
Gonzalez notched his 15th save for Pittsburgh.
The loss was a tough one to swallow for the Rockies.
"It's definitely a frustrating loss," Carroll explained. "If I scored, it could have been a totally different ballgame."
Source: http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/
