The Rockies’ 7-4 loss to San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon was a tedious 3-hour, 28-minute affair, weighed down by 17 walks, missed opportunities and a collapse by Colorado’s bullpen.
But buried beneath all of that Coors Field rubble was an uplifting performance by starter Aaron Cook, something the Rockies hope to build upon as they look toward next season.
“I’ve pitched over 200 innings and I’ve made all of my starts this year,” said Cook, who has 31 starts with 206 innings this season. “One of my goals was to make all of my starts and pitch as many innings as possible. So I think I can step back and look at what I did good this year, and also see what I can build on.”
Cook blanked the Giants for six innings, giving up just three hits and striking out five. It was the second scoreless start of his career.
His roughest inning, the sixth, also was his most impressive. After walking Randy Winn and Todd Linden to open the inning, Cook used 13 pitches to finally get Shea Hillenbrand to foul out to Todd Helton, then escaped the jam by inducing two groundouts.
Cook showed the toughness and versatility in the sixth that has the Rockies so keen on his future. He used his trusty sinker, a four-seam fastball and a slider to get out of the mess.
“The last four or five starts have been big for me,” he said. “Now I know if I don’t have my sinker working, if it’s flat, I have my four-seam (fastball) and I have my slider to go to. It just opens up that many more options.”
Cook’s season has been a roller-coaster ride, as evidenced by his 9-14 record. But manager Clint Hurdle also believes it has been a growing experience.
“He’s shown the ability to counterpunch and the ability to be a workhorse,” Hurdle said. “He has certainly anchored himself in the rotation along with (Jason) Jennings and (Jeff) Francis.”
When Cook departed, the Rockies led 3-0. It didn’t last long. In the seventh, the Giants’ Moises Alou reached out and poked reliever Ray King’s sinker for a two-run homer, cutting the lead to 3-2.
“If he doesn’t swing at that pitch, it’s a ball,” King said. “It was a sinker away, but you tip your hat to him. He went down and got it and started a rally.”
Seven Rockies relievers combined to allow seven runs in just three innings, marking just the sixth time this season Colorado blew a home game when leading after seven complete innings.
“It was just a train reaction, started with myself and went all the way to the end,” King said.
The Rockies’ inability to drive in runs from scoring position – the same old bugaboo that has haunted them all season – cost them again Wednesday. Even though Giants pitchers issued 11 walks, seven of them from starter Jason Schmidt, the Rockies failed to take advantage. They were 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
