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Strike zone elusive for Bautista in debut

Starter knocked out in second inning as Giants top Rockies

Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 13, 2006 at midnight

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SAN FRANCISCO - Right-hander Denny Bautista turned out to be just as advertised in his Rockies debut on Tuesday night against the Giants at AT&T Park.

That was the problem.

Bautista uncorked a fastball that was consistently in the mid-to-upper 90-mph range, combined with a 90-mph slider, but he struggled to consistently find the strike zone.

Bautista failed to survive the second inning of a 10-6 loss that allowed the Giants to creep closer in the National League wild-card race. He threw 48 pitches, only 23 for strikes, and retired only five of the 11 batters he faced.

"It wasn't what we were looking for," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "Obviously, his command is something we have to work with him on."

With wild-card leader San Diego losing, the Giants pulled within 1 1/2 games of the Padres, moving a half-game ahead of Florida, which lost to the Mets, and Philadelphia, which was rained out in Atlanta.

The Giants, however, did have Vinnie Chulk leave the game with a problem with his right hand when there was one out in the ninth, the Giants' third late-inning reliever to be injured. Brian Wilson and Armando Benitez already are sidelined.

Benitez has missed the past eight games because of soreness in both knees. Wilson has been out since Sept. 4 with a strained muscle in his right side.

While Jeff Baker was turning his September audition into a productive night, singling home a run in the Rockies' three-run first and doubling to drive in a run in the fifth, Bautista most likely pitched left-hander Justin Hampson into an opportunity to make a start or two this month.

"He changed speeds well again, and kept us in a ballgame," said Hurdle, admitting the idea of giving Hampson a start is "something we have previously talked about."

The loss denied the Rockies a shot at their first five-game winning streak of the season, instead leaving them with their 12th loss in their past 13 road games. They have lost 24 of 30 road games since the All-Star break and are now getting some glimpses of what could be the future.

First baseman Todd Helton, third baseman Garrett Atkins and left fielder Matt Holliday, the 2-3-4 hitters, were the only members of Tuesday's starting lineup who were on the Rockies' Opening Day roster.

Kaz Matsui was with the Mets. Bautista was in the Kansas City system. The four other starters were in the Rockies farm system - right fielder Baker and center fielder Ryan Spilborghs at Triple-A Colorado Springs, and catcher Chris Iannetta and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki at Double-A Tulsa.

Bautista was only charged with giving up one earned run in the Giants' six-run second inning because of third baseman Atkins' error on a potential double-play ball, but the box score couldn't obscure the struggles of Bautista, who not only walked Barry Bonds and Ray Durham to open the inning, but also fellow rookie pitcher Jonathan Sanchez.

Hampson, a teammate of Bautista's at Triple-A Colorado Springs, took over in the second and, after giving up a run-scoring double to Shea Hillenbrand and hitting Bonds with a pitch, retired 10 of the next 11 batters he faced.

Hampton and Bautista are both considered in-house candidates to replace Josh Fogg as the fifth starter next season. The Rockies figure to bring back the other four members of the rotation - Jason Jennings, Jeff Francis, Aaron Cook and Byung-Hyun Kim.

Kim does have a $2.5 million option for 2007. Jeremy Affeldt is another potential starter. He has been used in relief since coming over from Kansas City, along with Bautista, but has not provided consistent bullpen work.

Affeldt allowed three runs on Tuesday and has given up 13 runs in his past 10 appearances, hiking his Rockies earned-run average from 1.17 to 7.79.

Baker is also trying to force his way into the Rockies' 2007 plans. He could be a possible platoon player in right field with left-handed-hitting Brad Hawpe, and a potential backup to first baseman Helton and third baseman Atkins. He went 0-for-4 in his 2006 Rockies debut on Sunday but came back with the two-RBI effort Tuesday.

"He showed up good with the bat," Hurdle said. "We had him up in the lineup because we wanted to see how he responded in clutch situations. He responded nicely."

Iannetta also hit his first big league home run, leading off the bottom of the second to put the Rockies up 4-0, but Bautista wasn't able to translate that early run support into a victory that would have allowed the Rockies to escape the NL West basement.

They remain a half game behind fourth-place Arizona, which has lost back-to-back games to Washington, the team the Rockies swept in a four-game weekend series.