No stopping Rockies now

Spilborghs misses sign en route to winning run

By Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News

Monday, May 19, 2008

David Zalubowski / Associated Press

Rockies second baseman Omar Quintanilla jumps over Giants runner Emmanuel Burriss after forcing him out to start a double play Monday night at Coors Field.

The timing for the Rockies' second-longest homestand of the season was perfect.

They needed a pick-me-up after struggling through the first quarter of 2008.

And they seem to be getting it.

The defense is starting to dazzle. The pitchers have battled. The offense is far from the force the Rockies anticipate, but a couple key hits here and there suddenly have rekindled a confidence that seemed to be fading.

The Rockies rallied for a 4-3 victory against the Giants in the opening game of a three-game series at Coors Field on Monday night - the middle set in a nine-game stay at home.

"It's good for us to be home and have a long homestand at this point," said shortstop Clint Barmes, who got the Rockies' scoring started with a leadoff home run in the fourth, extending his hitting streak to 12 games. "We played a lot on the road early. I'm not using that as an excuse, but I will say it's good to play at home for awhile. We have a lot of guys who do well here."

The Rockies, who had 24 of their first 41 games on the road, still have to strain to see the top of the National League West standings. They're in third place, but that's really because of the struggles of the fourth-place Giants and last-place Padres. The Rockies have 10 1/2 games between them and the first-place Diamondbacks.

But the Rockies have won three games in a row for only the third time this season. They still have five games to play before they leave Coors Field. And their record this morning - 18-27 - is the same as it was after 45 games a year ago.

"There are still a lot of games left and we can get hot," Barmes said. "We did it late last season (winning 14 of their final 15 regular-season games to slip into the postseason). It would be nice to start one of those (runs) right now."

Could it be on the way?

The starting pitching has started to get in line. While Jorge De La Rosa couldn't get through six innings Monday, he did battle for 5 1/3 innings, throwing 98 pitches but only walking two and allowing only two earned runs (and three total).

The bullpen got the final 11 outs thanks in part to a couple of impressive efforts on double plays.

After the first two Giants reached in the eighth, Omar Quintanilla, inserted at second base defensively, took a throw that leaned him into the oncoming runner. Despite knowing he was about to be blasted by Emmanuel Burriss, Quintanilla got the relay throw to Todd Helton in time for a double play.

And in the sixth, with the Giants having taken a 3-1 lead, one out and runners on first and third, Jason Grilli struck out Jose Castillo on a 3-2 pitch, and after Rich Aurilia broke toward second, drawing a throw, second baseman Jeff Baker calmly reacted to Aaron Rowand heading from third to home and threw out Rowand.

The offense didn't blow out anybody. But Garrett Atkins made good on manager Clint Hurdle's hunch to hit him fourth by going 2-for-3, including singling to drive in one run and scoring another in a three-run sixth capped by a two-run double from Yorvit Torrealba on which Ryan Spilborghs scored from first, ignoring third-base coach Mike Gallego's stop sign, and the Rockies had a winning recipe.

Hurdle said it's not uncommon on a ball hit to left field for a baserunner to have a feel for a play as he rounds second and sometimes overlook the efforts of the third-base coach. This time, though, Spilborghs said he had his mind made up "even before the pitch was thrown that I was going to score on a double. I saw 'Gags' when I hit the (third-base) bag, but I couldn't stop myself."

Couldn't or wouldn't?

"If I'm out, I'm in a lot of trouble right now," he said.

But he was safe. Nobody was about to complain. Winning can do that to a team.

"The last three games feel like 100 (wins) right now," said Brian Fuentes, who earned his sixth save in six opportunities since returning to the role but, as an indication of the Rockies' struggles, only his second since May 9. "What you want is for the team to win games and then the other things will come to the individuals."

* Key moment: Leading 3-1, the Giants had runners on first and third with one out in the sixth, and Rockies reliever Jason Grilli had a full count on Jose Castillo. With Castillo swinging through the next pitch, striking out, Rich Aurilia initially broke for second but held up when Yorvit Torrealba made a strong throw. Jeff Baker initially started to run Aurilia back to third, but when Aaron Rowand broke from third, Baker threw home and Torrealba tagged Rowand for the inning-ending out.

* Key player: Garrett Atkins was moved to fourth in the lineup, ahead of Todd Helton, because he had hit .500 against left-handers this season. Atkins repaid manager Clint Hurdle for the confidence. He went 2-for-3 off Giants left-hander Pat Misch, including singling in one run and scoring another in the Rockies' go-ahead three-run sixth.

* Key stat: .500 average for Clint Barmes since May 6, second in the majors during that stretch to Lance Berkman of Houston, who is hitting .528. Barmes has a hit in all 12 games he has played in during the hot streak, one short of his career best established in July 2006. He homered, providing the Rockies' first run, and singled in four at-bats Monday.

ETC.

Left-handed pitcher Micah Bowie (strained left forearm) will throw 15 to 20 pitches off a mound Wednesday to test the arm, and if all goes well, he will have a full bullpen session Friday or Saturday. . . . Right-hander Jason Hirsh (strained right rotator cuff) will have one more simulated game in extended spring training before being sent out on a medical rehabilitation assignment. . . . Left-hander Jorge De La Rosa left after 98 pitches and 5 1/3 innings, but he only walked two batters. The most challenging at-bat for him was when he got Omar Vizquel to ground out in the second, but it took 12 pitches to get the out. . . . Giants right fielder Randy Winn extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a first-inning home run. . . . Thomas Jefferson High School graduate Marty Foster was the home plate umpire. He will work third base tonight and second base Wednesday. . . . The Giants have played a major-league leading 20 games decided by one run, losing 11 of them.

NUMBERS GAME

4 times in seven games the Rockies are scheduled to face a left-handed starting pitcher, beginning with Pat Misch of the Giants on Monday. The Giants' Jonathan Sanchez is scheduled to start Wednesday, the Mets' Oliver Perez on Friday and Philadelphia's Jamie Moyer on Monday. The Rockies faced a left-handed starter in only seven of their first 44 games.

DRESSED UP

Right-hander Kip Wells, two weeks removed from surgery to remove blood clots from his right forearm, was in uniform, having begun getting himself back into shape and expecting to start playing catch next week.

Wells had surgery earlier in his career for a blood clot in his right shoulder in which doctors transplanted an aorta from his leg. This surgery was the least invasive type. Doctors "punched a hole" in the artery and pulled out the clots.

"The first time I was out close to three months," Wells said. "This time should be four or five weeks."

HONORED

Third baseman Ian Stewart of Triple-A Colorado Springs was selected the Pacific Coast League's hitter of the week for the second week in a row.

Stewart hit .450 last week with three home runs and 12 RBI, and in the past two weeks, he has hit .413 with 13 runs, five doubles, two triples, six home runs and 21 RBI.

HE SAID IT

"We've had some conversations, and (Monday) was a good work day. We have a clear direction where we want to go and how we can get there."

Clint Hurdle, Rockies manager, on slumping right fielder Brad Hawpe, who was 5-for-32 in his previous 10 games and was not in the lineup Monday.

• May 19, 2008

  10:02 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  sickandtired writes:

  Thanks for the in-depth game analysis!

• May 20, 2008

  7:32 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  milloy36 writes:

  Good thing they are playing the Giants. Let's check the standing in a couple of weeks. This is still a AAA team that got very lucky last year.

• May 20, 2008

  8:36 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  arvada_mark writes:

  Lucky? Prove it! I say they were good. They had the most wins in the NL. That's my proof of my claim. Where's yours?

• May 20, 2008

  12:15 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  glensaki writes:

  Milloy.IQ.36, AAA teams that go to the World Series are very rare, and any team that has a run like the Rox did last year has SOME luck. But hard work and talent are more to the reason, so yes, let's see where they are in two weeks, if your attention span can manage.