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Rockies, Hawpe all over Brewers

Outfielder, back from DL, homers to complete rally

By Jack Etkin, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published June 6, 2008 at 9:48 p.m.

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The Rockies' Brad Hawpe follows the flight of his two-run home run off Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Brian Shouse in the eighth inning of the Rockies' 6-4 victory Friday in Denver.

Photo by David Zalubowski / Associated Press

The Rockies' Brad Hawpe follows the flight of his two-run home run off Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Brian Shouse in the eighth inning of the Rockies' 6-4 victory Friday in Denver.

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At the moment of contact, Brad Hawpe flipped his bat in a gesture of got-it-all satisfaction and took off, knowing he wasn't going to have to run hard.

Hawpe came off the disabled list Friday and punctuated his return to the Rockies by launching the first pitch thrown by Brian Shouse, a Milwaukee Brewers left-hander brought in to face him, for a two-run home run in the eighth.

The hit capped a five-run outburst that gave the Rockies a 6- 4 victory and ended the six-game win streak of the Brewers, who had won nine of their past 10. It was the Rockies' third straight win, putting them in position tonight to win a fourth straight and equal their modest season high set April 16-19.

Hawpe, who was hitless in three previous at-bats against Shouse, last had played for the Rockies on May 20. He strained his right hamstring that night and ended up on the disabled list May 24.

After hitting a hard grounder to first baseman Prince Fielder in the second and collecting the only two walks issued by Brewers starter Ben Sheets, Hawpe connected on Shouse's first-pitch curveball.

"I'm looking first-pitch fastball," Hawpe said. "I got a breaking ball up in the zone. My whole goal going into that at-bat was just not try to swing hard. Just go nice and easy, just put the barrel on the ball and see what happens. And it ended up working out."

Hawpe came up after the Rockies had roughed up Guillermo Mota, who came on in the eighth and failed to retire the four batters he faced. Jonathan Herrera started the inning with a single, and Ryan Spilborghs fouled off four straight pitches and singled on Mota's eighth pitch.

Todd Helton doubled off the base of the center field wall, scoring Herrera, and Garrett Atkins rocketed a two-run triple to right-center that tied the score and set up Hawpe's dramatic return from the disabled list.

"I sit there for two weeks, waiting to get into a game and help the team win a game," Hawpe said. "That being said, your whole objective is not try to do too much, not try to force it and get right back into some of the same ruts I was in whenever I went on the DL."

Manager Clint Hurdle said had he wanted to pinch hit for Hawpe; catcher Chris Iannetta, a right-handed hitter, was his only option - and not a good one if catcher Yorvit Torrealba were to get hurt.

"It was only the eighth inning," Hurdle said. "It might have been different in the ninth; I don't know. But Brad is back; there's times you got to believe in what you believe in and throw him out there.

"What a pretty swing he put on it. And, obviously, that's going to be a big boost for his confidence."

The home run ended a string of 13 hitless at-bats for Hawpe. Another drought ended as the Rockies finally won a game after losing the past 10 times Ubaldo Jimenez had started.

The only other time they've won in his 13 starts was April 8, when Jimenez beat Atlanta for his only victory this season. He had allowed only three homers in 63 2/3 innings in his previous 12 starts but began the fifth by yielding back-to- back homers to Russell Branyan and J.J. Hardy that gave the Brewers a 3-1 lead.

"Everything was really good," Jimenez said. "It was only two mistakes in the game, and I paid for it."

Branyan hit a hanging first-pitch changeup, and Hardy connected on a 2-1 fastball that was by no means a blatant mistake.

"It was a good pitch," Jimenez said. "It was supposed to go inside, but it was too much in the middle of the plate."

Jimenez was charged with his fourth run when he walked Hardy to start the seventh, and Jason Kendall sliced a triple into the right field corner off Matt Herges. He came on to face Kendall, who had gone hitless in his previous 13 at-bats and was one for his past 28.

Jimenez got 14 of his 18 outs on groundballs (eight) and strikeouts (six) and retired 12 straight Brewers, a string that ended with Branyan's home run.

"After I took him out," Hurdle said, "I went down (the bench) and I said, 'You keep doing what you're doing. A lot of good things are happening. . . . You're putting together a lot of good pieces to this thing, where it's all going to fall into place.'

"And I said, 'One of these nights, too, we're going to go out and score six runs for you real early.' We got six runs and I went down to the end of the bench, and he just smiles at me. I said, 'Next time, I'll tell you before the game.' "

THE KEY. . .

* Moment: Brad Hawpe, playing for the first time since May 20, when he strained his right hamstring, hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning, on the first pitch from left-hander Brian Shouse. The hit was the fifth straight to start the eighth and gave the Rockies a 6-4 lead to cap their five-run inning.

* Player: After Ben Sheets recorded 11 of his 18 outs on groundballs and held the Rockies to one run in six innings, and Carlos Villanueva pitched a scoreless seventh, Guillermo Mota gave up four straight hits in the eighth, including a run-scoring double by Todd Helton and Garrett Atkins' two-run triple.

* Stat: 43 at-bats without a home run for Hawpe before his two-run shot in the eighth. It was the first homer for Hawpe since May 5, when he connected off Joel Pineiro of St. Louis.

ETC.

Matt Holliday (strained hamstring) played in his first game of a rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Colorado Springs on Friday, going 0-for-2 with two strikeouts and a walk. . . . Left-hander Micah Bowie (strained forearm) also began a rehabilitation assignment with the Sky Sox on Friday, allowing two hits and one walk with one strikeout in one scoreless inning. . . . Right- handed relief pitcher Luis Vizcaino (strained right shoulder) was scheduled to go through a final examination Friday in hopes of being activated from the disabled list Saturday. . . . Helton went 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 12 games, the longest current streak in the National League. Helton has hit .410 (16-for-39) during the streak. . . . Atkins' two-run triple during the Rockies' five-run eighth inning was his second three-bagger this year. Atkins produced only one triple in each of the past three seasons. . . . Scott Podsednik struck out as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning, leaving him with only two hits in his past 24 at-bats. . . . Eleven of Jeff Baker's 20 hits have gone for extra bases. . . . Catcher Yorvit Torrealba went 0-for-4, ending his six-game hitting streak. . . . Jonathan Hererra made his first career start at shortstop. . . . Milwaukee's Russell Branyan has homered in four consecutive games. . . . The Rockies have won five consecutive home games against the Brewers.

NUMBERS GAME

10home runs in 261 career at-bats against left-handers for Brad Hawpe before he connected for a winning two-run homer on the first pitch from Brewers left-hander Brian Shouse in the eighth inning Friday. It was Hawpe's first game after being activated from the disabled list.

SAVING LUMBER

To make room for Hawpe, outfielder Cory Sullivan was optioned to Colorado Springs. Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said much of the decision behind moving Sullivan, who went 2-for-12 in nine games, instead of outfielder Seth Smith, was because of the Rockies' upcoming slate of interleague games.

If Smith had been sent down, he would have to remain in the minors for at least 10 days. So with a road series looming against the Chicago White Sox next weekend, Smith's bigger bat could lead to some starts as the designated hitter.

IMPROVING

Infielders Clint Barmes (sprained knee) and Troy Tulowitzki (quadriceps tendon tear) took groundballs Friday, with Barmes taking live batting practice for the first time since being injured. Tulowitzki will continue to increase his workload in baseball drills over the weekend, and if he continues to improve, the team will begin discussions in the middle of next week about sending the shortstop on a rehabilitation assignment.

HE SAID IT

"This is kind of bittersweet, playing against these guys. It took me 10 years to get to Coors Field, and I never thought I'd be in the other clubhouse."

Mark DiFelice, Brewers reliever, who began his career in the Rockies organization in 1998, spent six years in their system and made his major league debut May 18.

Pat Rooney contributed to this report.

Comments

  • June 6, 2008

    10:09 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    jacka writes:

    Rockies Rock

  • June 7, 2008

    12:56 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    wolfie writes:

    start dusting off the bandwagon for all those fairweather fans that said that rocktober was fluketober! go rockies!

  • June 7, 2008

    10:30 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    mjo1985 writes:

    i have not heard any stat concerning the rockies hitting for a "natural cycle" in the 8th last night. It seemed very appearent to me last night, but our good friend Drew Goodmen had to get a text message before he was made aware of this. When was the last time a team in 4 consecutive batters went single, double, triple, home run?

  • June 7, 2008

    9:01 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Chadley25 writes:

    I was at the game and noticed that the Rox hit for the cycle in the 8th as well. Pretty cool.