Wait finally is over for Francis

Lefty gets first win as Colorado takes series from Twins

By Jack Etkin, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published May 18, 2008 at 4:28 p.m.

Text size  

• 0 Comments
• Email
• Print

David Zalubowski / Associated Press

Rockies starter Jeff Francis allowed only one hit in 11 at-bats by Twins batters with runners in scoring position Sunday. Francis pitched into the seventh inning for the first time in four starts.

It took nine starts, and Sunday was by no means a breeze for Jeff Francis. He had to pitch his way out of trouble early and often but finally won his first game of the season, a 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins that gave the Rockies their first series triumph in nearly a month.

A win tonight against San Francisco would give the Rockies three straight victories for the first time since their season-high four-game winning streak April 16-19.

Francis, who never had gone this long in a season without a win, worked 61/3 innings and allowed two runs when cleanup hitter Justin Morneau, his teammate from their schoolboy days in British Columbia, homered in the sixth.

That was the only Twins hit in 11 at-bats against Francis with a runner in scoring position. He also issued two walks, one intentional with a runner on third base in the second.

Francis gave up a leadoff double in the first, a leadoff triple in the second and a one-out triple in the third but escaped those innings unscathed.

He retired the side in order in the fourth and fifth but gave up a leadoff double in the sixth - two batters before Morneau homered - and a leadoff double in the seventh, when Taylor Buchholz relieved Francis and with runners on first and third and the Rockies leading 3-2. Buchholz snuffed out a rally by getting Brendan Harris to line into an inning-ending double play.

"I felt like I made some better pitches inside to right-handers, especially with runners on base," said Francis, who pitched into the seventh for the first time in four starts.

He rebounded from his shortest start of the season Tuesday at Arizona, where he allowed 13 hits, tying his career high, and eight runs in 42/3 innings.

"Got some pop-ups and some weak groundballs. I think that team looks for the ball away; I was able to get some outs with some runners on base," Francis said. "That turned out to be the difference in the game."

After losing 4-2 on Friday, the Rockies won 3-2 on Saturday before winning the series finale. They had gone 0-6-2 in series since they won two of three games April 18-20 in Houston.

The three-game series with the Giants will give the Rockies the opportunity to win consecutive series for only the second time this season and first time at home. They won two of three April 15-17 at San Diego before taking the series in Houston.

The Rockies entered the game last in the National League with seven home runs in May had gone a seasonlong four straight games without a homer.

That drought ended with a solo shot by Clint Barmes in the third, and Todd Helton homered in the sixth.

Barmes has a hit in 11 consecutive games and is batting .457 (21-for-46) since Troy Tulowitzki went on the disabled list May 3. Helton, who entered the game with three RBI this month, matched that total against the Twins with a two-run single in the seventh.

That hit gave the Rockies a 5-2 lead and was their only hit in an inning when they batted around. Their three-run rally was stitched together with three walks and two sacrifices, including an error on one of them by the Twins, who used four pitchers in the inning.

"It was nice to get a lead and we added on, which is something you've got to do," Helton said. "We did a good job (Sunday), but we've still got a long ways to go. We have to do that many more times if we're going to have a good season."

The Rockies have scored 75 of their 187 runs (40 percent) in the seventh inning or later. They rank second to last in the league with 112 runs in innings one through six.

"There's room for improvement, a lot of soft outs early in games," manager Clint Hurdle said. "We need to get out after somebody early, take some of the pressure off of our pitchers, too."

Francis' effort followed good performances in the series from Ubaldo Jimenez and Greg Reynolds as the Rockies starters combined for a 2.33 ERA, allowing five earned runs in 191/3 innings.

A rotation that for too long pretty much began and ended with Aaron Cook is 11-18 and next to last in the league with a 5.40 ERA but at last showing signs of not being a liability.

"I think our rotation is getting its feet underneath it," Hurdle said. "Don't want to make any more of it than that. Time will tell. Guys are showing improvement. . . . We're getting in a much better position from our starters in the games, and we're getting an opportunity to use our bullpen when we want to."

Hurdle left unsaid the rest of that managers' adage: not when we need to.

* Key moment: Taylor Buchholz relieved Jeff Francis with one out in the seventh, runners at first and third and the Rockies leading 3-2 and got Brendan Harris to line out to shortstop Clint Barmes, who doubled pinch runner Carlos Gomez off first.

* Key player: Francis, making his ninth start, pitched 61/3 innings and won his first game this season. He gave up a two-run home run to Justin Morneau in the sixth that put the Twins ahead 2-1, but the Rockies scored twice in the bottom of the inning to put Francis in line for the victory.

* Key stat: 52 at-bats without a home run for Todd Helton, a streak that ended when he homered in the sixth to tie the score at 2.

Etc.

The Rockies improved to 23-13 in interleague games since the beginning of the 2006 season, the best mark by a National League team during that span. . . . Willy Taveras stole second and third base in the eighth inning, giving him 13 consecutive successful stolen-base attempts. Taveras is 18- for-19 overall and 7-for-7 in steal attempts of third base. . . . Helton was 1-for-10 with five strikeouts against Minnesota left-hander Dennys Reyes before delivering a first-pitch, two-run single in the seventh. . . . Jeff Baker started his fourth consecutive game at second base and has gone 3-for-6 in his past two games. Baker has recorded at least one hit in 10 of his 12 starts. . . . Omar Quintanilla is hitless in his past 14 at-bats. . . . The Rockies went 42 innings without a home run until Barmes' solo shot in the third.

Scouting report: San Francisco Giants

* Series history: The Rockies trail 100-132 overall but lead 61-52 in Denver and 59-44 at Coors Field. They lost two of three April 28-30 in San Francisco.

* Roster report: Pitchers Kevin Correia (rib cage), Noah Lowry (forearm), Merkin Valdez (elbow) and outfielder Dave Roberts (knee) are on the 15-day disabled list. So is pitcher Erick Threets (rib cage), who is on a rehabilitation assignment at Triple-A Fresno.

* Quickly: The Giants, who are 6-13 on the road, have lost five straight games and 12 of their past 16. . . . With 159 runs scored, the Giants are next to last in the league, and they are last in homers, with 27. . . . Omar Vizquel has appeared in 2,578 games at shortstop and is closing in on Luis Aparicio (2,583) for the most games at that position on the all-time list.

NUMBERS GAME

1 game with at least two RBI for Todd Helton, who reached that mark with a solo home run and a two-run single against Minnesota on Sunday. Helton, whose homer in the sixth inning accounted for the 1,100th RBI of his career, posted 26 multiple-RBI efforts in 2007.

SHINING LIGHT

Right-hander Taylor Buchholz continues to be one of the biggest bright spots of the Rockies' pitching staff.

He entered the game Sunday in the seventh with two Twins on base and only one out but got out of the jam on a line-drive double play, and he retired all three batters he faced in the eighth. Buchholz has retired 13 consecutive batters and has held opponents to a .139 batting average (11-for-79).

"Confidence is at an all-time high for me right now," Buchholz said. "I'm just going out there trying to attack the hitters and throw every pitch with conviction."

STREAKING

Clint Barmes continued to thrive in the absence of injured shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, going 2-for-4 with a solo homer to extend his hitting streak to 11 games, two short of his career best. Barmes has gone 20-for-40 with seven multiple-hit games during the streak.

HE SAID IT

"It hasn't been something we've seen a lot of, so it was good to revisit that feeling, obviously. It was nice to see another manager going out there trying to come up with something."

Clint Hurdle, Rockies manager, on the three pitching changes the Twins made during the Rockies' three-run seventh.

Pat Rooney contributed to this report.

Featured

• Denver turns 150

  

  Read about the city's history, look at old photos and see a list of influential Denverites.

• Mount Crushmore

  

  Which four Broncos greats should be immortalized on Mount Crushmore? Vote here.

• Winter Escapes

  

  Your insider’s guide to the copious joys of the coolest season.

• Rocky Multimedia

  

  The news comes alive in our videos and slide shows. Catch up on what's happening today.

• Weekend plans?

  

  Figure out things to do this weekend with the help of our entertainment calendar.

• Season To Share

  

  The Post-News Season To Share campaign provides grants to area nonprofits.

• The Rocky @ 150 Years

  

  The Rocky was there when Colorado became a state in 1876. Read our coverage.

• A Dozen on Denver

  

  And the winner is... Robert Ziegler! See the whole fiction series by clicking here.

• Rocky Mountain Music

  

  Mark Brown blogs on the new Guns N' Roses album