When Jeff Francis walked off the mound Thursday afternoon, he looked like the 24-year-old rookie in training that he is, not the dominant pitcher he has been so often this season at Coors Field.
He certainly didn’t resemble the pitcher who has been talked about as a serious rookie of the year candidate.
Simply put, the Rockies’ southpaw suffered an awful beating. The Pirates knocked him off the hill after 3 1/3 innings, the shortest outing of his career. He also allowed 13 hits and gave up eight earned runs, tied for his most ever.
Francis put the Rockies in a deep, dark hole, from which they never had a chance to recover. They lost 11-3 and watched the Pirates leave town with two victories in three games. The Pirates outscored the Rockies 28-13 and out-hit them 43-26 in the series.
Colorado manager Clint Hurdle’s assessment of Francis was succinct.
“You throw high strikes in this league and you are going to get your hat handed to you,” Hurdle said. “That’s what happened to him in the first inning.”
Before the Coors Field patrons could settle into their seats, buy their hot dogs and apply sunscreen, the Pirates had struck for six runs and six hits, including a double and two triples.
The problem for Francis has been his mechanics. When he doesn’t keep his arm up, he doesn’t get the ball down. That’s when opponents tee off on him. It happened last Saturday in Phoenix, where he got the win despite giving up six runs on eight hits in five innings.
“He was mediocre in Arizona, and he was worse than that today,” Hurdle said. “That’s one of the challenges facing a young pitcher, the ability to recover. He wasn’t able to right the ship today. Finding a way is part of his maturation process.”
The Pirates are to Francis what kryptonite is to Superman. He’s now 0-2 against the Bucs, giving up 15 earned runs and 24 hits in 8 1/3 combined innings. His ERA against Pittsburgh: 16.20.
Thursday’s performance left Francis a little perplexed.
“I had trouble getting the ball down and locating,” he said. “It’s frustrating, because it’s been the exact same thing all year when I run into trouble. I start rushing and trying to do a lot of things at once.”
Francis has been down this road before. After getting battered in Cleveland on June 14, he took a hard look at his mechanics and came back with four strong starts. He lasted just five innings at Pittsburgh on July 21, but responded with two of the best performances of his career, including a six-inning, four-hit performance July 31 in Colorado’s 9-2 victory over Philadelphia.
Despite the thrashing he endured Thursday, Francis is still in the hunt for National League rookie of the year, in large part because he has been so effective at Coors Field. Even after Thursday’s meltdown, Francis’ numbers at Coors are solid: 8-3 with a 4.44 ERA. Posting numbers like that at the hitter-friendly confines on Blake Street are sure to impress national voters.
“There are two months left, so maybe he can still be rookie of the year,” said Pittsburgh second baseman Jose Castillo, who was 3-for-5 with a triple and three RBIs. “He’s a good young pitcher. Today he was just missing his spots.”
Francis agreed, to a point, that his poor performance was simply part of his rookie education.
“In no way do I think I can’t pitch at this level,” he said. “Rookie or not, I think everybody goes through struggles. I just have to try to dig myself out of it.”
Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-820-5459 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
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Bigbie starting to get in the swing of things
With the soreness in his shoulder easing, Rockies outfielder Larry Bigbie has started to swing a potent bat. He was 2-for-4 with a triple Thursday. “When I first got here, I was trying to do too much,” he said. “Now I’m starting to relax.” Bigbie did have a first-inning miscue in right field when he came in on a line drive by Michael Restovich only to see the ball sail over this head for a triple. “It’s part of getting used to this ballpark,” said Bigbie, who came to Colorado from Baltimore in a trade last month. “In Camden Yards, your first step is almost always in. I’m going to work with (outfield coach) Dave Collins tomorrow.”
NOT SO HOT: Shortstop Omar Quintanilla started his big-league career going 8-for-26 (.308) after getting called up from Colorado Springs on July 31. But he was 0-for-3 on Thursday and has just two hits in his past 20 at-bats.
OUCH: With Thursday’s loss, the Rockies finished the season 3-7 against the Pirates, their worst record against Pittsburgh since they went 2-7 in 1999.
