Some baseball teams make the game look easy. The Rockies are not one of them. They grind gears through nine innings, akin to a 16-year-old learning to drive a stick shift.
They ask for patience, talk as if reading from a teleprompter about “the process.” Eloquent explanation of the youth movement was provided not by words, but two unmistakable sounds Wednesday night – bats breaking on Aaron Cook’s sinker and baseballs screaming off Matt Holliday’s bat.
On a night when Todd Helton returned to the lineup, the Rockies edged the Pirates 6-5 in 10 innings at soggy Coors Field.
Helton, running gingerly after missing the past 15 days with a strained left calf, scored the winning run, driven home by a Holliday line drive that nearly decapitated reliever Rick White.
“I felt guilty. Anytime you’re not playing and getting paid to ice your leg, there’s nothing productive about that,” said Helton, who went 2-for-5 with two doubles. “I am very glad to come back with a win.”
Victories have meaning, but matter in a different way. The Rockies long ago fell out of contention, buried in the meek National League West with a horrific April. Wins can shed the burden of history, 24 over the final 48 games are necessary to avoid the franchise’s worst record and make a winner for anyone who bet the over in Las Vegas.
The Rockies are building toward next season, if not 2007. That’s why the performances of Cook and Holliday were significant. They figure to be around when the team gets good.
Cook, 26, is starting to be remembered more for his health than last August’s chilling medical scare. In his second consecutive strong outing, Cook worked 6 1/3 innings, touched for four runs, two after he exited to a warm ovation. He consistently reached 92 mph with his sinker, inducing a parade of groundballs.
“I was really impressed,” Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson said. “If he can continue to do that, he’s going to win some games here.”
The right-hander is penciled near the top of next year’s rotation, along with Jason Jennings and Jeff Francis.
“It’s taken a little bit of time for us to age, but you can see us coming together,” said Cook, his team 8-3 in its past 11 games.
As Cook regains his strength, Holliday continues to flex muscle at the plate.
While his defense remains a work in progress, Holliday has demonstrated encouraging glimpses of thunder.
“It’s not so much about him learning pitchers as learning himself with more at-bats,” Helton said. “He’s going to be unbelievable.”
In the fifth inning, Holliday crushed his sixth home run in his past 13 games, a 438-foot moonball. It increased his total to 11, a respectable surge after not belting his first until May 17.
“I think if you look at the history, nobody ever really walks into the major leagues and hits 30 home runs,” Holliday said. “I am not going to try to hit them. But I have enough strength to do it. Am I going to hit 50 someday? I don’t know. I am not thinking that far ahead.”
The Rockies’ focus, though, is on the future. Which on this night appeared several watts brighter.
ROCKIES RECAP
Cook takes strangest route to record a hit
Aaron Cook left the box, and Elias picked up the phone. In one of the strangest hits a Rockie has recorded, Cook recorded a single on a bunt. Or more accurately, a bump. Looking to advance a runner in the third inning, Cook pushed a bunt toward Pirates starter Mark Redman, who fielded the ball cleanly. As he went to tag Cook, first baseman Brad Eldred created a human firewall as Cook scooted safely to first. The play was ruled a hit by Elias, analogous to outfielders colliding and dropping a ball.
Geruts travels
Two years ago, Jody Gerut was named the Cleveland Indians’ MVP. That seems like a long time ago, with the outfielder wearing his third uniform in a month. He began his pro career with the Rockies, traded along with catcher Josh Bard for veteran Jacob Cruz. “It’s always hard when you’re traded from your first team. I really don’t like being uprooted,” Gerut said. Gerut is 10 months removed from ACL replacement surgery on his right knee, which has slowed him this season. “I am probably about 75 percent,” he said.
Homer happy
Matt Holliday hit his sixth home run in his past 13 games, a 438-foot blast in the fifth inning.
Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-820-5447 or trenck@denverpost.com.
