San Diego – The Rockies’ clubhouse was nearly silent late Sunday afternoon, hushed by a second straight one-run loss to the Padres.
Despite the stunning nature of the 2-1, 10-inning defeat, and the knowledge that starter Aaron Cook’s masterpiece was wasted, the Rockies had an optimistic spin on things.
“I think as a starting rotation, we are doing a great job right now,” said Cook, who pitched a five-hitter over nine innings only to come away with a no-decision. “If we keep throwing innings out there like we are now, I think we’ll give our team a chance to win a lot of ballgames.”
In all six games this season, each Rockies starter has lasted at least six innings, and the combined ERA for the rotation is a nifty 2.63.
“Look how our starting pitching has continued to respond,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “It’s the sixth game of the season; look how much excitement we have already had. We are battling. Sure, we’d like to get a mark. But life in pitching is not all about marks. Sometimes you don’t get them when you pitch well and sometimes you get them when you don’t.”
Yet all the postgame spin couldn’t erase the fact that one of the best performances of Cook’s career ended with an “L” instead of a “W.”
The Padres won after Khalil Greene blasted a triple to the gap in right-center field, then scored when Evergreen High School product Kevin Kouzmanoff singled to right. Both hits came off Rockies reliever LaTroy Hawkins.
For Cook, Colorado’s designated staff ace, everything was working Sunday. He threw curveballs for strikes in tough spots and induced 16 groundball outs.
No pitch was bigger than one he threw in the ninth. With one out, Brian Giles on third and Adrian Gonzalez on first, Cook threw a sinker to Josh Bard, who grounded into a double play. Cook counted it as a milestone pitch.
“It was a big out for me,” Cook said. “In situations like that in the past, I tended to leave the ball out over the plate, but this time I was able to take a deep breath, catch my composure and know that this was really it. I either make a good pitch there and get a groundball out, or the game’s over. But I was able to really calm myself down and make a good pitch.”
The one pitch Cook wanted back came in the eighth. Jose Cruz Jr. sliced a two-out homer down the right-field line to tie the game 1-1, the ball landing just above the yellow line on the wall that signifies a home run.
“He hit a changeup,” Cook said. “I was getting him on changeups all day, but that one just caught a little too much plate and he was able to keep his hands back. That’s what big-league hitters do.”
The Rockies’ lone run came in the fourth when Garrett Atkins singled and then scored on Brad Hawpe’s opposite-field single to left. Colorado managed just five hits.
Staff writer Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
