Eighth inning cruel again

Colorado can't get key hits, then gives up lead

By Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News

Monday, April 21, 2008

Barry Gutierrez / The Rocky

The Rockies' Scott Podsednik smiles at Philadelphia's Chase Utley after stealing second base. He also stole third base.

Rockies reliever Brian Fuentes was saddled with the blown save for the second game in a row Monday night. Taylor Buchholz officially was charged with the loss in Philadelphia's 9-5, come-from-behind victory at Coors Field.

But the end result of this game was impacted by what happened well before the Phillies erased a 5-4 deficit with a two-run, two-out rally to take the lead in the eighth inning, then added three runs off Micah Bowie in the ninth.

This was about what has been an underlying problem the Rockies have been able to cover up with their recent success. This was about failing to blow open a game in the middle innings.

"That's part of our lack of execution," manager Clint Hurdle said. "I think that would be accurate."

There is no getting around the Rockies had a victory within four outs, just like they did Sunday afternoon in Houston.

And Fuentes, a three-time All-Star closer who has been working in a setup role since the emergence of Manny Corpas in the middle of last season, gave up the game-deciding hit, just like he did in Houston.

But it didn't have to get to the point where Fuentes would be called on to make his fifth appearance in six days, taking over a bases-loaded, two-out jam from Buchholz, then having Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz push a double down the right-field line, between first baseman Todd Helton and the bag.

"It was a good piece of hitting, a heck of a job of placing the ball," Hurdle said. "It was that hitting where they aren't that I was talking about before the game."

It was what the Rockies haven't done very well, not even in winning five of seven games before Monday night.

Two of the five wins were by one run. Three others were by six or more, but scores can be deceiving.

In a 13-5 victory at Arizona on April 13, the Rockies were nursing a 7-4 lead going into the eighth, having stranded 10 runners in the first seven innings and managing only two hits in 10 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

In a 10-2 victory at San Diego on Wednesday, the Rockies rallied for seven runs in the ninth after getting only two hits in nine at-bats with a runner in scoring position during the first eight innings.

"We need to add on runs," Hurdle said.

And they didn't do that against the Phillies in the first meeting between the teams since the Rockies swept Philadelphia in three games in the National League Division Series in October.

After taking a 3-0 lead on Yorvit Torrealba's home run in the second, the Rockies answered Pat Burrell's two-run home run in the fourth with a two-run shot from Garrett Atkins in the fifth to expand the lead to 5-2.

But the Phillies had back-to-back home runs to open the sixth off starter Mark Redman - inside the park by Jayson Werth and over the fence by Chase Utley, his sixth in five games - to cut the margin to a run.

The Rockies had no response that time, which proved costly in the eighth. Fuentes was warming up when the inning started, having told Hurdle he could give him an out, but when Buchholz retired the first two, including a strikeout of Utley, Hurdle gave Buchholz a chance to finish the inning.

He couldn't. Ryan Howard and T.J. Bohn singled and Pedro Feliz walked to load the bases. Fuentes got the call but didn't have the answer.

The Phillies did what the Rockies couldn't do. They turned opportunity into results.

The Rockies?

Their five runs on home runs by Torrealba and Atkins.

Three times they had a chance for a big inning. Three times they cut themselves short. They didn't give the Phillies pitchers time to make mistakes. In four pitches, they grounded into three double plays.

After Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick gave up Torrealba's home run in the second, the Rockies loaded the bases with one out in the third, but Clint Barmes grounded into a double play on the first pitch after Brad Hawpe walked.

After Atkins' two-run home run off Kendrick in the fifth, reliever Clay Condrey issued back-to-back one-out walks to Scott Podsednik, who stole second and third, and to Willy Taveras. On the next pitch Condrey threw, Troy Tulowitzki grounded into a double play.

And in the seventh, after Matt Holliday drew a walk from Rudy Seanez, Atkins grounded into a double play on a 1-0 pitch.

"We've got to keep getting better," Hurdle said.

Philadelphia AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

Taguchi rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .240

Seanez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

TGordon p 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

d-Coste ph 0 1 0 0 0 0 .385

Lidge p 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

Werth cf 5 2 2 2 0 1 .283

Utley 2b 5 1 2 1 0 2 .354

Howard 1b 5 2 2 0 0 1 .200

Burrell lf 4 1 3 2 0 0 .364

1-Bohn pr-lf 1 1 1 2 0 0 .500

Feliz 3b 4 0 0 0 1 0 .203

Ruiz c 4 0 1 2 0 1 .212

Bruntlett ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 .170

Kendrick p 2 0 1 0 0 1 .143

Condrey p 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

b-Jenkins ph-rf 2 1 1 0 0 1 .254

Totals 40 9 13 9 1 8

Colorado AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

Taveras cf 4 0 2 0 1 0 .273

Tulowitzki ss 5 0 0 0 0 2 .165

Helton 1b 4 1 1 0 1 0 .270

Holliday lf 4 0 0 0 1 2 .315

Atkins 3b 4 1 1 2 0 0 .313

Hawpe rf 3 1 1 0 1 0 .250

Barmes 2b 4 1 2 0 0 1 .400

Torrealba c 4 1 2 3 0 1 .240

Redman p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Herges p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

a-Podsednik ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 .188

Buchholz p 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

Fuentes p 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

c-Spilborghs ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .265

Bowie p 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

Totals 34 5 9 5 5 7

Philadelphia 000 202 023 - 9 13 3

Colorado 030 020 000 - 5 9 0

a-walked for Herges in the 6th. b-struck out for Condrey in the 7th. c-struck out for Fuentes in the 8th. d-was hit by pitch for Gordon in the 9th. 1-ran for Burrell in the 8th. E - Bohn (1), Feliz (3), Bruntlett (3). LOB - Philadelphia 6, Colorado 8. 2B - Werth (3), Utley (8), Bohn (1), Ruiz (3), Taveras (4), Hawpe (5), Torrealba (4). HR - Utley (9), off Redman; Werth (2), off Redman; Atkins (4), off Kendrick; Burrell (7), off Redman; Torrealba (2), off Kendrick. RBI - Werth 2 (7), Utley (18), Burrell 2 (19), Bohn 2 (2), Ruiz 2 (6), Atkins 2 (13), Torrealba 3 (9). SB - Taveras (6), Podsednik 2 (3). CS - Barmes (1). S - Redman. GIDP - Tulowitzki, Atkins, Barmes. Runners left in scoring position - Philadelphia 4 (Howard, Feliz, Bruntlett 2); Colorado 3 (Tulowitzki 2, Holliday). DP - Philadelphia 3 (Utley, Bruntlett and Howard), (Feliz, Utley and Howard), (Utley and Howard).

Philadelphia IP H R ER BB SO ERA

Kendrick 5 8 5 5 2 2 5.59

Condrey 1 0 0 0 2 1 7.04

Seanez W, 2-1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00

TGordon H, 3 1 0 0 0 0 2 8.22

Lidge 1 1 0 0 0 2 0.00

Colorado IP H R ER BB SO ERA

Redman 5 6 4 4 0 5 5.23

Herges H, 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 2.13

Buchholz L, 1-1 H, 4 1 2-3 2 2 2 1 2 2 .31

Fuentes BS, 2 1-3 1 0 0 0 0 2.70

Bowie 1 3 3 3 0 1 9.00

Number of pitches - Philadelphia, Kendrick 97, Condrey 14, Seanez 10, TGordon 14, Lidge 16. Colorado, Redman 81, Herges 14, Buchholz 32, Fuentes 5, Bowie 27. Redman pitched to 2 batters in the 6th. Inherited runners-scored - Fuentes 3-2. HBP - by Bowie (Coste). Umpires - Home, C.B. Bucknor; First, Joe West; Second, Ed Rapuano; Third, Ed Hickox. T - 3:09. A - 24,886 (50,449).

Three keys

Three keys to the Rockies' 9-5 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night at Coors Field:

1 Left-handed reliever Brian Fuentes, charged with the blown save in Sunday's loss at Houston, got the call with a 5-4 lead, the bases loaded and two out in the eighth Monday. He was greeted by Carlos Ruiz poking a two-run double into the right-field corner, between first baseman Todd Helton and the bag for a second blown save in two games.

2 The Rockies grounded into three inning-ending double plays, including Clint Barmes with the bases loaded in the third; Troy Tulowitzki on the first pitch after back-to-back walks to Scott Podsednik and Willy Taveras in the sixth; and Garrett Atkins in the seventh.

3 Yorvit Torrealba led off the fourth with a double and went to third after a sacrifice by Mark Redman. But Taveras popped up and Tulowitzki struck out looking on three pitches.

Etc.

Right-hander Jason Hirsh (strained right shoulder) has resumed a long-toss program, but he said there is no schedule for him to throw off the mound. "I feel completely different than the first time (he started to throw after the injury)," Hirsh said. "I feel how I did when spring training began. It's much more comfortable." . . . Right- hander Matt Herges relieved left-hander Mark Redman and got left-handed-hitting Ryan Howard to pop up. Herges has held left-handed batters to three hits in 21 at-bats. Right- handed batters are 6-for-25 against Herges. . . . Jayson Werth's inside-the-park home run was the 17th in Coors Field history, the seventh by a visiting player. The last inside-the-park home run was hit by Dustin Mohr, with the Rockies, on July 5, 2005. The last visiting player was Rey Sanchez on June 11, 2004. . . . The previous inside-the-park home run for a Phillies player was by Jimmy Rollins at Florida on April 7, 2007.