Atlanta – Matt Holliday was a central character in the Rockies’ frustrating 5-4 loss to the Braves on Tuesday night at Turner Field.
He also provided a candid assessment of a 5-4 road trip that could have been spectacular, but wound up merely satisfying.
“Well, 6-3 would have been a lot better if we had won this tonight,” the left fielder said. “But anytime you have a winning road trip, you turn the page, take it as a positive and move on to tomorrow.”
Rockies manager Clint Hurdle’s spin on the Eastern swing was more melodramatic.
“There’s been years when we would have given body parts for 5-4 road trips,” he said.
Tuesday’s defeat came on the heels of the Braves’ 2-0 victory Monday night that featured a one-hitter by Tim Hudson, and a terrific but ultimately wasted performance by Rockies starter Jason Jennings.
Holliday hit two home runs Tuesday, his fifth and sixth of the season, and Brad Hawpe put the Rockies on the scoreboard first with a solo homer in the second inning that landed just inside the right-field foul pole. But their big hits weren’t enough.
Holliday got an up close and personal look at both hits that rescued Atlanta. The clincher was in the eighth inning, when Braves second baseman Marcus Giles hit a two-out double off reliever Jose Mesa, driving in Wilson Betemit from second base with the winning run.
“I was pulled in, looking to move on a single,” Holliday said. “He hit it where I would have been playing had I not moved in.”
Betemit reached on a single off the Rockies’ Ray King, who was charged with the loss. Betemit moved into scoring position on Mesa’s wild pitch.
Holliday’s second solo homer of the night, a screecher over the left-field wall in the sixth, gave the Rockies a 4-3 lead. But they lost that lead in the seventh.
Rockies starter Aaron Cook, though nowhere near peak form, got the first two outs of the seventh and left the mound with a one-run lead. But Cook’s walk to Chipper Jones proved costly. When reliever Scott Dohmann replaced Cook, Dohmann promptly gave up a run-scoring double to Andruw Jones. Holliday tried to get a bead on Jones’ line drive, but it sailed over him, bounced off the wall and tied the game 4-4.
“I wish I had caught that one,” Holliday said. “I was pretty close, but it was hit so hard, and it was hooking on me so I tried to turn on it. But by then it had already gone over my head.”
In his 6 2/3 innings, Cook surrendered four runs on 10 hits. After a rough third inning featuring three Atlanta runs on five hits, he settled in.
“I was struggling to get my sinker up tonight,” Cook said. “I had to throw some four-seamers, so I had to make some adjustments. But I kept us in the game and then I finally found my rhythm after the third inning.”
Staff writer Patrick Saunders
can be reached at 303-820-5459
Home sweet home will be no treat for the Rockies
Fresh off a nine-game road trip, they host the streaking Cincinnati Reds tonight at Coors Field. With their 3-2 victory over St. Louis on Tuesday, the Reds improved to 19-8, the best record in the majors. After a quick two-game set with the Reds, Houston (17-9) comes to Coors Field on Friday night. For the Rockies, these tough early season exams come in the middle of 20 games in 20 days. The Rockies’ next day off isn’t until May 11. “Well, 10 days ago, everybody was talking about this road trip and what a grind this would be,” manager Clint Hurdle said before the Rockies lost 5-4 to the Braves on Tuesday. “But every day is a challenge. This is just the one we have to face right now.”
GRAND ENTRANCE: In his first at-bat of the season, first base prospect Ryan Shealy hit a home run Tuesday night for the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox against Tacoma. He spent an extended spring in Tucson recovering from an elbow injury suffered in spring training.
RED-HOT RENTERIA: Braves shortstop Edgar Renteria singled in his first two at-bats Tuesday at Turner Field to extend his season-opening hitting streak to 17 games, topping the Atlanta record set by Felipe Alou, who opened the 1966 season hitting safely in 16 consecutive games.
