Friday: Reds finally end losing skid to Rockies
Published 11:12 pm Saturday, September 10, 2011
DENVER (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds took advantage of a couple of miscues to end a 10-game losing streak in Colorado.
Closer Francisco Cordero celebrated a milestone save Friday night, and the Reds scored four runs in the sixth inning — when the Rockies made two errors on Joey Votto’s single — and rallied for a 4-1 win.
Homer Bailey, who won for the first time in five starts since Aug. 13, allowed one run in 7 2-3 innings as the Reds won at Coors Field for the first time since Aug. 23, 2008. Bailey (8-7) beat the Rockies for the first time after going 0-2 with a 7.23 ERA against them in three previous starts.
“We had a lot of things working today,” said Bailey, who gave up a solo homer to Chris Nelson in the third but held the Rockies hitless in nine at-bats with runners in scoring position.
“When you’re going out there and you’re on the same page with your catcher and the game can flow really quick, good things are going to happen,” Bailey said.
Cordero earned his 15th straight save since the All-Star break and 32nd of the season. It was the 322nd save of Cordero’s career, the most by any pitcher from the Dominican Republic. He was tied with Jose Mesa.
“A lot of people have been following me, family, friends, so it’s a big save tonight,” said Cordero, who is 13th all-time in saves and retired the three batters he faced on two grounders and a strikeout. “Now I can relax a little bit and not think about that, because it’s been a lot of talk going on with family. Today one of my sisters called me and told me that they got the fridge ready, everything ready for tonight.”
Rockies right fielder Carlos Gonzalez and manager Jim Tracy were ejected by home plate umpire Mark Carlson after Gonzalez struck out in the fifth. Gonzalez struck out swinging but took the first two strikes, the first low and the second high. He argued from the dugout and was ejected. Tracy came on the field and was thrown out during a heated exchange with Carlson.
“From the dugout, the sequence of pitches that I saw, there were a couple of strikes called that drastically varied — one of them away, one down,” Tracy said.
Jhoulys Chacin (11-11) retired 11 straight batters before he walked Brandon Phillips to open the sixth. With one out, Votto singled, and right fielder Seth Smith made a poor throw to Nelson, allowing Dave Sappelt to take third. Nelson, who started his first game in the majors at shortstop with Troy Tulowitzki out with soreness in his left hip, retrieved the ball on the infield grass and tried to throw on the run to get Votto at second base. The throw went into right field, and Sappelt scored.
Chacin was lifted after walking Jay Bruce. Matt Reynolds threw a wild pitch that sent Votto to third but struck out Juan Francisco. Josh Roenicke relieved Reynolds and walked Drew Stubbs to load the bases for Ryan Hanigan. He lined a two-run single up the middle and Paul Janish floated a run-scoring single to left to make it 4-1.
Bailey allowed six hits and left after hitting Kevin Kouzmanoff with a pitch. Left-hander Aroldis Chapman, who registered 101 mph on the Coors Field speedboard with his fastball, walked Smith but struck out rookie Wilin Rosario, who took an 88 mph slider for the third strike.
Chacin worked 5 1-3 innings and threw 91 pitches in his first start since Aug. 28. He had a bout of tonsilitis and had logged 170 innings in first full season in the majors, and the Rockies want to monitor his workload. He pitched 173 innings last year, including 35 2-3 at Triple-A Colorado Springs, and before the game, Tracy said the Rockies plan to limit Chacin to 194 innings this season. He is scheduled to make three more starts.
“I lost my focus a little bit,” Chacin said. “The first five innings I had all my pitches my good command, everything. but when you walk the first hitter, that’s when you pay for it.”
NOTES: Rockies reliever Edgmer Escalona was reinstated from the DL, and after giving up a leadoff double to Brandon Phillips in the seventh, he retired the next three batters. … Rockies first baseman Todd Helton was back in the lineup after missing four straight games due to back stiffness. With Tulowitzki out with a sore left hip, Helton hit cleanup for the second time this season. … Tracy’s ejection was his fourth this season. Gonzalez is the third Rockies player to be ejected this season, the others being Tulowitzki and catcher Chris Iannetta. …Right-hander Edinson Volquez will return to the Reds rotation Sunday. He was demoted to Triple-A Louisville on July 7 after going 5-4 with a 5.93 ERA in 16 starts with the Reds. In 13 starts at Louisville, he went 4-2 with a 2.37 ERA in 13 starts. …Alex White will make his fourth start for the Rockies and second at Coors Field since being acquired in the trade that sent Ubaldo Jimenez to the Cleveland Indians. Bronson Arroyo, who is 1-4 with a 4.05 ERA in 10 starts since the All-Star break will start for the Reds. Arroyo has allowed 37 home runs, a single-season Reds record for a right-handed pither. Left-hander Eric Milton allowed a club-record 40 homers in 2005.