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Red-hot Rockies win 2-1 over Giants, negate Lowry’s mound heroics
By Daniel Dullum August 5, 2006 |
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SAN FRANCISCO- Noah Lowry sat in front of his locker in the San Francisco Giants clubhouse Saturday at AT&T Park, looking exhausted, and frustrated. In an age where the complete game has become a rarity, Lowry did everything he could to earn a victory. Despite an outstanding effort, Lowry came up short. So did the Giants. Lowry faced 30 Colorado hitters – three over the minimum – and gave up an earned run on four hits, struck out six, walked two, He faced the minimum 15 hitters over the last five innings he pitched and never faced more than four Rockies in an inning. The result: a no-decision. “I’m more disappointed in that our team didn’t get the win,” Lowry said. “I’m happy that I was able to keep us in that game, (Jason) Jennings (the Rockies starter) did a good job as well. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get it done tonight. “My mentality is to go out there and put up zeroes for as long as I can and keep our team in the game,” he added. “I think our pitching staff has done a pretty good job all year long. It doesn’t matter what the score is in my opinion, you still have to go out and throw the ball.” Even though the Giants much maligned bullpen had a strong effort as well, Colorado shortstop Clint Barmes’s two-out single in the top of the 11th inning off Brad Hennessey gave the Rockies hard-fought 2-1 win. “We played like grown men tonight,” Hurdle said. “We pitched just outstanding … and we just kept battling and kept battling and just found a way to plate one more run than they did. It’s a good win for the Rockies.” Colorado remains two-and-one-half games behind first-place San Diego in the National League West despite being in fourth place with a 54-55 record. The last-place Giants are five games back after the Padres win over Washington. “You’ve got to earn your wins when you come into this place,” Barmes said. “The fans are always loud throughout the game, and it’s exciting, especially when you’re in a close game like this. It was a big win for us, and it’s definitely nice to come in here and win the first two.” San Francisco jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Omar Vizquel doubled and scored on a milestone double by Barry Bonds. It was Bonds’ 578tth career double, passing Wade Boggs on the all-time list. It was also his 1,378th extra-base hit and his 1,900th run batted in. Bonds was 3-for-5 without a home run. His sixth-inning single was career hit No. 2,800. The Rockies tied the game in the second inning when Matt Holliday led off with a double and scored on a single by Todd Helton. The announced crowd of 39,014 was treated to some fireworks in the top of the sixth ining. With Colorado’s Jamey Carroll on first, Clint Barmes swung at an outside pitch. Todd Greene is out of his crouch to field the pitch when Barmes’ bat hits him on the glove hand. Home plate umpire Lance Barksdale rules batter interference against Barmes, and Hurdle charged out of the Rockies’ dugout. Hurdle was ejected after a lengthy rhubarb. “There’s a rule I’m well aware of because I was in a similar situation last year in L.A. – it’s Rule 6.06,” Hurdle explained. “If a hitter interferes with a catcher trying to make a play, the hitter can be called out. “My point is, my hitter was in the batter’s box, he’s swinging at a pitch. The only reason the catcher is in play is because they elected to put on a pitchout, and (Greene) moved forward into a potential hitting area. So you can interpret the rule the way they did, I was trying to get them to interpret the rule from my vantage point. They didn’t want to do that, and they stuck with their call.” Pressed for exactly what he said to get the thumb, Hurdle said he told Barksdale, “’It was nice that he was willing to ask (the other umpires) for some help on a call with no whim whatsoever, and actually refused to ask in the first inning.’ You can miss a call – that’s a tough call for umps to make on a check swing – but to refuse to ask is inexcusable, as far as I’m concerned. That’s what the third base umpire is down there for. “It was clearly a swing. It was a swing when it happened, and the 18 replays that I’ve seen since then … we could have won the game 1-0.” Hurdle admitted “I crossed the line, and I know that,” adding, “but I was trying to let it go, but I couldn’t.” Top of the eighth: Lowry makes an athletic double play, diving to snag a soft, popped up bunt attempt by Choo Freeman for one out and firing to second baseman Ray Durham (covering first base on the bunt rotation) to force Luis Gonzalez, who led off the inning with a single. Bottom of the eighth: Lowry walks, goes to second on a sacrifice bunt by Steve Finley and to third on Omar Vizquel’s groundout to second. Ray Durham flies out to left. Still 1-1. Top of the ninth: Lowry strikes out Carroll, Barmes flies out to center, and Garrett Atkins strikes out. Lowry throws 141 pitches, strikes out six, walks two, and leaves to a standing ovation. “Noah Lowry pitched outstanding,” Hurdle said. “I had a good read on him over the last four innings (after being ejected) from the centerfield camera. His ability to mix speeds, throw his breaking ball on fastball counts, use his fastball to shave in, pitch away when he wanted to, it was an outstanding effort from him.” "I had all four of my pitches going and I was getting ahead," Lowry said. "It was definitely one of my better games. But Jennings threw a great game and had great stuff." The winning pitcher was Jeremy Affeldt (1-0), who retired all seven batters he faced. Brian Fuentes picked up his 22nd save. “(Affeldt) had a breaking ball that was as good and sharp as a left-handed breaking ball that I’ve seen in a long time – maybe not since Frank Tanana back in his heyday. Anybody here old enough to remember Frank Tanana when he could throw hard and spin a curveball? That’s as close as I’ve seen to it.” “There’s no reason we should have any doubts in our pitching,” Barmes said. “They’ve been solid for us the whole season. They’ve kept us in every game, and that’s all we can really ask.” In the Rockies’ 11th, Choo Freeman walked, pitcher Josh Fogg then pinch-hit for Affeldt and delivered a sacrifice bunt that moved Freeman to second. Barmes singled to right, Freeman scores. Linden’s throw to the plate sails past Greene, but Hennessey backed up the play to prevent further damage. Rockies lead 2-1. In the bottom of the 11th, Vizquel greeted Fuentes with a single, but ex-Giant Yorvit Torrealba threw him out while attempting to steal second. After a base hit by Bonds, pinch-hitter Eliezer Alfonzo struck out to end the game. “(Torrealba) likes to win. He liked to win when he was with the Giants, “ Hurdle said. “He liked to be involved with the action. He’s just getting more of an opportunity to be involved here. He’s making some big plays for us on both sides of the ball – with the bat, with the glove and with his arm.” The Rox are on a roll, while the Giants are not. Colorado has won seven of its last nine games, shaving four games off their deficit in the National League West standings in the process. At the same time, they’re inching their way back to the .500 mark for the first time since the All-Star break. “We’re very optimistic about our chances,” Hurdle said. “Our starting pitching has given us great reason to be optimistic. I really think the offense will find some solid ground and perform at a much more consistent pace. We’ve had trouble scrapping runs out there. But I said in spring training – as did every manager in the division – that this is going to be a swinging gate all year long. And I know that Felipe (Alou) said that the team that makes the best trade couild make it. “The Dodgers obviously made a few, we only made one, but we just have to see how it plays out. We feel good about our shot.” The Giants, meanwhile, have dropped 11 of their last 12 games, coming on the heels of a season-best five-game winning streak. After moving into first place on July 22, they’ve since fallen 5 ½ games back. Only the overall mediocrity of the NL West is keeping all of its teams in contention. “I like what this team brings to the table,” Lowry said. “I like our chemistry in here, even when things have gone bad. Like this rough stretch we’re going through. Everybody sticks together and I think that’s what it takes. Hopefully, we can turn this thing around because the time is now. We’re running out of time and we’ve got to do it. “No more talking. We’ve got to go do it.” |
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