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Things starting to look up for Rockies

Cook wins ninth as Colorado begins to pick up steam

By Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News

Published June 10, 2008 at 9:44 p.m.

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Garrett Atkins is congratulated by Todd Helton after hitting a two-run home run in the seventh inning.

Ken Papaleo © The Rocky

Garrett Atkins is congratulated by Todd Helton after hitting a two-run home run in the seventh inning.

Rockies starting pitcher Aaron Cook delivers a pitch during Tuesday night's game. Cook picked up his ninth win of the year as the Rockies won 10-5.

Photo by David Zalubowski © Associated Press

Rockies starting pitcher Aaron Cook delivers a pitch during Tuesday night's game. Cook picked up his ninth win of the year as the Rockies won 10-5.

Matt Holliday watches Helton's three-run homer in fifth inning. Tuesday was Holliday's first game back after being on the disabled list.

Photo by Ken Papaleo / The Rocky

Matt Holliday watches Helton's three-run homer in fifth inning. Tuesday was Holliday's first game back after being on the disabled list.

The key . . .

Moment: With the bases loaded and no out in the the second, struggling Omar Quintanilla and pitcher Aaron Cook had back-to-back singles off left- hander Pat Misch, keying a four-run rally. That helped give the Rockies a 4-0 lead against a Giants team that had won seven consecutive road games, sweeping Arizona (three games) and Washington (four games) in its two previous road series.

Player: Quintanilla singled in both at-bats against Misch and also doubled and scored against right-hander Vinnie Chulk in the sixth. Quintanilla came into the game hitting .162 in his previous 23 games and was 2-for-13 against left-handers since being called up to the majors. But he was 10-for-32 against left-handers with Triple-A Colorado Springs this season.

Stat: .525 average for third baseman Garrett Atkins against left-handed pitchers, including going 2-for-3 on Tuesday. He went 1-for-2 against starter Misch and hit a two-run homer off reliever Alex Hinshaw. Atkins has five home runs in 40 at-bats against left-handers, four in 204 at-bats against right-handers.

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First, it was Brad Hawpe returning to the lineup Friday night.

Then Matt Holliday was back Tuesday, the same day Troy Tulowitzki headed to Modesto,

Calif., to begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment and Clint Barmes got the thumb's up on the agility tests of his sprained right knee so he can take the next step in his recovery.

Most importantly, there seems to be a bit of a confidence returning to the Rockies approach, where the focus is on getting a job done, not getting the job done.

"We are getting traction," manager Clint Hurdle said. "Then we need to get momentum. Then you take off from there."

With Tim Lincecum on the mound for the Giants at Coors Field tonight, the Rockies will face a major obstacle in their bid for momentum. But they did build some traction with a 10-5 win against San Francisco in the opening game of a three-game series at Coors Field on Tuesday night.

Oh, Holliday, given an impressive ovation from the crowd of 28,394 when he walked to the plate in the bottom of the first, was hitless in his return from the disabled list, but nobody seemed to care.

Aaron Cook took another big step in his evolution into one of the game's premier pitchers, battling through seven innings to equal his single-season career high with nine victories and becoming only the sixth pitcher in Rockies history to win nine games before the All-Star break.

If things go as planned, Cook still has six more starts between now and the July 14-16 interruption to break Shawn Chacon's franchise record of 11 pre-All-Star wins from five years ago.

"We're not even halfway through the season," Cook said. "I have to keep going out and doing the same thing I have been doing. It's nice, but there's a lot of season left."

It was a boost for Cook to have an offense score early and often. The Rockies scored more runs in one game than the Giants had allowed (six) in their just-completed four-game sweep in Washington and reached double figures in runs for the first time in 48 games.

"The big thing is each person has a mind-set of making the situation better for the next guy than it was for him," Hurdle said. "It's not about doing it yourself but putting your teammate in a better position to contribute."

It's the Rockies putting together a four-run second inning in which the run-scoring singles came from a struggling Omar Quintanilla (.161 during his previous 23 games) and Cook and were followed by sacrifice flies from Willy Taveras and Jeff Baker.

Then getting blasts from the middle-of-the-lineup guys: Todd Helton hitting a three-run, opposite-field home run over the left- field fence off Vinnie Chulk in the fifth and Garrett Atkins, after dusting himself off from the daring defensive dives he made so often, getting to left-hander Alex Hinshaw for a two-run homer in the seventh.

Big deal?

Well, look at it this way, the Rockies have won five of six for only the second time this season. The last time they did it was in mid-April, when they were building their record to 9-8. That's the last time they were above .500.

Today? With the success of the past week, the Rockies still are 14 games below break-even, sitting at the bottom of the National League West but aware of the fact nobody has run off with the division, so there still is some glimmer of hope.

"We just have to come back out (tonight) and be focused on what it takes to win that game, nothing more," Hurdle said.

It's an approach that is serving Cook well.

Long considered a potential ace, Cook has shown the ability to handle that role this season, and it is an effort such as Tuesday's that underscores that.

Cook said he felt like he had a good sinker, but his trademark pitch wasn't producing the groundballs he normally gives up.

Only nine of the 21 outs he registered were on groundballs - and two of those came on a double play. The outfield had seven putouts, the most of any of Cook's 14 starts.

Yet Cook allowed only two runs (one earned) before the first two batters in the eighth reached base and he gave way to Manny Corpas. It was 10th time Cook has worked at least seven innings in a game this season.

And it was the second time in his past two starts he made major statements about his maturity as a pitcher.

In Los Angeles on Thursday, Cook was coming off a forgettable performance at Wrigley Field in which he had a 9-1 lead going into the sixth and wound up with a no-decision in the Rockies' 10-9 loss.

He responded by allowing the Dodgers one run in eight innings. Then, against the Giants, without the groundball that is his trademark, Cook battled his way to a victory.

"The big thing is to keep from panicking," Hurdle said. "The big thing is to keep focused on making the next pitch. Aaron has embraced that approach."

ETC.

Outfielder Ryan Spilborghs was slowed by lower back tightness. . . . Left-hander Jeff Francis is one of four players pictured on posters put up at the Rogers Centre in Toronto promoting next year's World Baseball Classic. Francis is representing Canada, Michael Young of Texas represents the U.S., Frankie Rodriguez represents the Dominican Republic and Frank Catalanotto represents Italy. . . . Triple-A Colorado Springs has three left-handed starters who have spent time with the Rockies this season - Franklin Morales, Mark Redman and Glendon Rusch. . . . Cook's nine victories matched Brian Bohanon (1999), Mike Hampton (2001) and Jason Jennings (2002 and 2003) for third most by a Rockies pitcher before the All-Star break. The record is 11 wins by Shawn Chacon in 2003; Kevin Ritz had 10 in 1996. . . . The Rockies are 11-5 when starting pitchers go at least seven innings. . . . San Francisco outscored Washington 25-6 in the Giants' just-completed four-game sweep of the Nationals.

OVERCROWDED

Outfielder Seth Smith was sent to Triple-A Colorado Springs to make room for the return Tuesday of Matt Holliday, but it's not forever.

With Brad Hawpe's return Friday and now Holliday, playing time would have been limited for Smith, who was 0-for-7 against left-handers but hit .314 against right-handers in 14 games (11starts).

"Seth held his own," manager Clint Hurdle said. "We talked about things he can focus on. This is not the last time we will see him (in the majors)."

WAITING GAME

The Rockies will see how much work the bullpen gets in the San Francisco series before firming up plans for Saturday's starter in Chicago against the White Sox.

If the bullpen has a light workload, left-hander Jorge De La Rosa and right-hander Jason Grilli could be used to split the first six innings.

Left-handers Franklin Morales and Mark Redman, both with Colorado Springs, had struggles in weekend starts that could affect their status.

The Rockies are expected to recall left-hander Glendon Rusch, but he can't be recalled until 10days after he was sent out (which is Tuesday), unless a pitcher on the current roster goes on the disabled list.

HE'S OFF

Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (torn left quadriceps tendon) worked out at Coors Field on Tuesday afternoon then took an evening flight to the West Coast.

He will begin a medical rehabilitation assignment with Single-A Modesto today with the expectation of spending some time with Colorado Springs and possibly rejoining the active roster for the June 20-22 series against the Mets at Coors Field.

Shortstop Clint Barmes (sprained right knee) went through agility tests Tuesday and was given a clean bill of health. He is expected to go on a rehabilitation assignment next week.

BY THE NUMBERS

6 players from Double-A Tulsa were selected to the Texas League All-Star team. Two players from Modesto were selected to the California League All-Star team, which will play the Carolina League team.

Comments

  • June 10, 2008

    10:15 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    SteveM writes:

    It's a Holiday!

  • June 11, 2008

    10:10 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Webmaster writes:

    Ok all of you bandwagon fans who bad mouthed the Rockies need to stay away from Coors Field. We, the "real fans" should have first pick of the tickets. Give away your Rockies jersey you bought at the end of last year and wore one time and stop acting like you own lower downtown.

  • June 11, 2008

    11:24 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Buff4Life writes:

    Would love to see .500 by the All-Star break. Can it be done?

  • June 11, 2008

    12:30 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    motorcityhitman writes:

    If the Rockies go 23-9, they will be at .500 by the All-Star break.
    That's a .719 pace; tough to do, but possible.

  • June 11, 2008

    3:37 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    AKuser writes:

    Sorry webmaster but criticizing the defending national champs for starting the following season with the worst record in baseball is not being a fair weather fan. They deserve all the criticism they got. Nice streak they are on but they are 14 games below .500 and far away from being a factor in the playoff race. Their offseason signings outside of Cook remain suspect. The ownership and management of the Rockies took a condescending approach to their success by talking down to the fans that support them. They have a long way to go to prove they can compete year in and year out as any fan that has followed them for their entire history knows. I hope they don't lose another game this season but doing so would not change my views on the season up to this point.