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Striking an unfriendly chord

Tensions on rise again during Rockies' victory

Jack Etkin, Rocky Mountain News

Published June 7, 2007 at midnight

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Imagine the possibilities for strife, animosity and hardened grudges if the Rockies and Houston Astros played each other often.

The teams play seven games this season, the second of which was Wednesday, when the Rockies won 8-7 and when, for the second straight night, there was an ejection.

Astros starter Woody Williams gave up Kazuo Matsui's home run into the second deck in right field to start the seventh - it ended an 89-at-bat homerless drought for Matsui - tying the score at 5. Williams then hit Matt Holliday, the next batter, with his first pitch. Home plate umpire C.B. Bucknor immediately ejected Williams, although replays seemed to indicate Williams' pitch did not hit Holliday.

In short order, left-hander Trevor Miller, after getting a forceout, gave up a single to Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe's two-run triple that gave the Rockies a 7-5 lead. Troy Tulowitzki singled Hawpe home, which turned out to be a vital run when relievers LaTroy Hawkins and Brian Fuentes yielded solo homers in the eighth and ninth.

When asked whether he thought Holliday had been hit with a pitch, manager Clint Hurdle said, "He got first base. There it is."

Asked whether he was surprised Williams was ejected so quickly, Hurdle said, "I don't try to figure these things out."

Holliday said he heard a "double tap," namely the ball grazing his jersey and then hitting the glove of catcher Brad Ausmus, who was irate at Williams' ejection.

Holliday said getting hit by a pitch "seemed a little fishy" after the game Tuesday night when Manny Corpas hit Carlos Lee with a pitch in the upper back.

"I'm not surprised (at getting hit)," Holliday said. "I don't necessarily think that it was the (right) punishment, but I'm not surprised."

Warnings had not been issued to the teams before the game, and crew chief Ed Rapuano said no warnings would be issued before the series finale today.

Rapuano summed up Williams hitting Holliday with a pitch by saying, "That's cut- and-dry intentionally hitting a batter after a home run. You are always sensitive when a guy gets hit the night before, but this had nothing to do with that. . . . Most of the argument was whether or not (Holliday) was hit, but it hit the back of his jersey."

Williams said, "I guess after a home run, that's what happens. At that point, I was tired of giving up runs. I was trying to get the ball inside, and it gets behind him."

The left-handed-hitting Hawpe was the National League Player of the Week last week. In years past, Hawpe knew he might not have had the opportunity to face Miller. But Miller hardly has been daunting against left-handed hitters, who were batting .265 (9-for-34) with two homers.

Hawpe came to the plate hitting .217 (10- for-46) against left-handers but with better results recently, and the mind-set that comes from having a memorable week.

He drove a pitch from Miller into the gap in right-center for a triple.

"Having the manager's confidence in me right there (helps)," Hawpe said. "Not having to be looking over your shoulder - that's one thing you don't like to do as a hitter. It makes it tough to succeed."

Asked why he has done better this season against left-handed pitchers, Hawpe cited a greater volume of at-bats.

"It doesn't matter," Hawpe said. "If you can hit a strike, you can hit a strike, whether it's thrown by a left-handed guy or a right-handed guy or underhand. The main thing right there is seeing the ball. You get more (at-bats), you're going to see the ball a little better."

The Rockies' rally made Taylor Buchholz the winning pitcher. Facing his former Houston teammates for the first time since the Astros traded him to the Rockies in December, Buchholz, in relief of starter Aaron Cook, retired the three batters he faced in the seventh, throwing eight of his nine pitches for strikes.

"That was the most relaxed I felt all year," Buchholz said. "I was able to make my pitches."

The win enabled the Rockies to even the three-game series and improve to 5-4 on their homestand that ends today. Standing in the way is Houston ace Roy Oswalt, who will start for the Astros.

"We needed to get our nose back in the series," Hurdle said. "And, obviously, we've got a challenge in front of us with Oswalt."