Phoenix – Zach Day took the mound Friday night intent on showing he belongs in the Rockies’ 2006 starting rotation.
He never got the chance to prove himself.
A split second after throwing his second pitch, Day was knocked out of the game, and out for the remainder of the 2005 season, when Arizona Diamondbacks leadoff man Craig Counsell smashed a line drive back at Day, fracturing his right thumb.
Day managed to hold onto the ball for the out, but it was clear he had injured the thumb on his throwing hand. He was replaced by Jose Acevedo.
The Rockies went on to win the game 6-5 on catcher Danny Ardoin’s solo homer to left-center in the eighth. Ardoin’s fourth homer of the season gave the Rockies their third victory in their past four games.
It was a tough week for Day. Last Saturday at Coors Field, he was battered by the Diamondbacks, giving up six runs (five earned) on nine hits in five innings in Colorado’s 8-5 loss. Day hasn’t won a game since April 20, when he beat the Atlanta Braves as a member of the Washington Nationals.
The Diamondbacks hit three homers, with catcher David Clark going deep twice. He hit a two-run homer off Acevedo in the first. His second was a solo shot in the fifth off Rockies reliever David Cortes. The next batter, Troy Glaus, hit another homer off Cortes to tie the game at 5. It was Glaus’ 36th homer of the season.
But once again, Colorado’s late-inning relievers came through. Scott Dohmann struck out two and set the Diamondbacks down in order in the eighth. In the ninth, closer Brian Fuentes earned his 15th save in a row and 29th of the season. Fuentes was helped on a sliding catch by right fielder Brad Hawpe.
BK’s OK
With Day out, the Rockies can’t afford to lose another starting pitcher. Right-hander Byung-Hyun Kim’s strained right hip doesn’t appear to be a major injury, trainer Keith Dugger said.
“His delivery puts a lot of pressure on that right hip, and it’s something he’s had before,” Dugger said. “We’ll have to wait and see, but I think he’s going to be fine.”
Kim is scheduled to start Tuesday at Coors Field against the San Diego Padres. Dugger said Kim would need some bullpen work today (Saturday) or Sunday to be able to start Tuesday.
Kim injured his hip Wednesday night in Los Angeles. He lasted just four innings and his fastball took a noticeable dip in velocity. Typically, Kim throws an 89-91 mph fastball, but the speed fell to 84 mph at one point.
Wildness triple crown
Although the Rockies’ pitching staff has made major strides in the second half of the season, it has still put up some historically bad numbers.
Colorado’s pitching staff leads the league in walks, wild pitches and hit batters. If the Rockies hold onto the lead in all of those categories, they would become just the 11th team in major-league history to pull off that trifecta, according to Retrosheet.org’s Dave Smith. No National League team has achieved the wildness triple crown since the 1977 and 1978 Braves.
Hurdle’s soapbox
Manager Clint Hurdle is lobbying for two of his players to be rewarded for their play this season.
Hurdle said pitcher Aaron Cook should win the National League’s comeback player of the year award and said third baseman Garrett Atkins deserves strong consideration for rookie of the year.
Cook has won five straight games, including a complete-game victory Sunday over the Diamondbacks. That gem came 13 months after he nearly died on the mound because of blood clots in his lungs. Cook underwent a procedure last September to improve blood flow to his shoulder.
A portion of his top rib was removed, and he went through a long rehabilitation.
“Very rarely do I get up on a public soapbox for my players, but if this guy is not in serious consideration for comeback player, all of the people involved in this process are missing the boat,” Hurdle said.
“This guy had his side cut open! … I just think he needs to be recognized.”
Atkins hit a grand slam to spark a Rockies comeback Wednesday night in Los Angeles. He recently had a 16-game hitting streak, the longest by a major-league rookie this season. Atkins leads NL rookies with 73 RBIs, 26 doubles and 38 extra-base hits.”I have heard other names mentioned, but this guy has played good baseball his whole rookies season,” Hurdle said.
Asked why Atkins’ name has not surfaced with more regularity, Hurdle said: “We are a last-place team, we are in Colorado, we are not on the coast and we are not in a media hub. I understand that, but I’m just trying to bang the gong for him a little bit.”
Staff writer Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-820-5459 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
