San Francisco – After Sunday’s 6-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants, Rockies starter Aaron Cook talked about his sinker-to-slider ratio. He also discussed the fact that, save for a loud double by Barry Bonds, the Giants didn’t hit him that hard.
But none of that small talk hid the fact Cook is a frustrated pitcher with a 7-10 record.
“I expect to be a better pitcher than the way I’m pitching right now, and that’s just a fact,” said Cook, who has won just twice since May 19. “I proved that the last couple of months last year. … Things aren’t going the way I want them to right now. I’m aggravated and frustrated. Anybody who’s not aggravated or frustrated with themselves right now shouldn’t be pitching.”
For five innings, Cook kept his team in the game, and when Garrett Atkins hit a solo homer to right to open the fourth, the Rockies led 2-1.
But in the sixth, the Giants strung together five hits, including Bonds’ double to deep right-center, to score three runs and take command.
“It’s not like they barreled him up all day,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “They squared some balls up and other balls found some holes, but that comes from balls being up and in the middle of the plate. With more consistency, those soft liners turn into groundballs.”
Hawpe sits
Right fielder Brad Hawpe was not surprised when he didn’t find his name in the starting lineup for the second straight game.
“If you are swinging at pitches you shouldn’t swing at and taking pitches you should swing at, then you aren’t going to get the job done,” Hawpe said.
Which is precisely why Hurdle started Jorge Piedra instead of Hawpe against Giants fireballing rookie Matt Cain.
“Brad hasn’t gotten on many good fastballs lately, and this guy’s got a very good fastball,” Hurdle said. “We have a roster, we want to use it, and Piedra needs some at-bats, too, to stay sharp as our pinch-hitter.”
Hawpe has hit .212 (11-for-52) in his past 17 games, dropping from .310 to .297. He has no homers in his past 29 games and is 2-for-18 (.111) with runners in scoring position since the all-star break.
“He’s not been able to take his practice swing into a game,” Hurdle said. “I’m confident he’ll get it, but he doesn’t have it right now, and his power numbers are nonexistent the second half of the season.”
Footnotes
Jamey Carroll committed just his second error of the season at second base when he mishandled Bonds’ deep grounder in the first. … Todd Helton’s double left him four short of 400 for his career, and after scoring a run in the second inning, he needs 17 for 1,000 in his career.
Fewer than three runs not getting job done
If the Rockies want to stay in the playoff hunt, their offense will have to crank up its run production. Want proof? Then check out this statistic: The Rockies are 3-32 when they score fewer than three runs. So despite the strong pitching – the Rockies had posted a club-record eight consecutive quality starts before Aaron Cook was chased in the sixth inning Sunday – the team is two games below .500.
TORREALBA’S RETURN: Catcher Yorvit Torrealba, a former Giant, had a terrific series in the City by the Bay. He had a triple, an RBI single and a stolen base Sunday. He went 4-for-11 in the three-game series, including a three-run homer Friday night.
PIEDRA’S START: Jorge Piedra got a rare start in right field Sunday. He had two putouts, but misplayed Mark Sweeney’s blooper in the seventh inning, allowing Sweeney to reach on a single. At the plate, he went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
