The parallels are striking.
The Rockies insist they are just steps away from being a contender, and Aaron Cook believes he is on the cusp of being a bona fide ace.
But an 8-1 loss Thursday afternoon to the Los Angeles Dodgers and fill-in starter Mark Hendrickson at Coors Field showed just how far the Rockies and Cook have to go.
“The opportunity lost was my fault today,” Cook said after giving up five runs in six innings. “I didn’t throw well. That’s basically what it came down to. I beat myself today. I don’t feel like they beat me with their bats. I felt like walks and untimely pitches are really what hurt me today.”
Cook has lost three consecutive starts and four straight decisions to the Dodgers, continuing his pattern of struggling against the National League West. He went 2-10 with a 5.63 ERA against the West last season.
Thursday, Cook didn’t resemble the pitcher who threw nine innings of five-hit ball in San Diego on April 8, a game the Rockies lost 2-1 in 10 innings.
“He’s our No. 1 and it was an opportunity for him to pitch like a No. 1,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “The things he did in San Diego – slow it down, stay in rhythm, not overpowering his sinker – he wasn’t able to do today. And that’s going to be the test from him. That’s one of the next steps he needs to take to raise his game a little bit.”
Cook was uncharacteristically wild. He walked four, including three in Los Angeles’ decisive three-run third inning. Cook’s cardinal sin was issuing a bases-loaded pass to Andre Ethier that scored Juan Pierre.
“That one inning was very, very uncharacteristic of me,” Cook said. “I need to be able to make better quality pitches and get out of it with no damage. It’s one of those days when you chalk it up, wash it off and go back out in five days.”
Jeff Baker, starting in place of Todd Helton at first base, didn’t help Cook’s cause. After Cook walked Ethier, Baker committed a two-run error, getting gobbled up by Wilson Betemit’s wicked top-spin grounder to put the Rockies in a 5-0 hole.
“No excuses,” Baker said. “The ball had a lot of spin on it, and I tried to get in front and knock it down.”
Colorado’s offense, which finally sprang to life with 13 hits in a 7-2 victory over the Dodgers on Wednesday night, was silenced by Hendrickson. The lanky 6-foot-9 southpaw, pulled out of bullpen duty when Jason Schmidt was placed on the disabled list Wednesday, baffled the Rockies. The former NBA player scattered six hits over six innings.
“He was able to throw his fastball for strikes and was able to get guys out with his changeup away,” Baker said. “It was classic. He would come in with his off-speed stuff and then get you out going away.”
The Dodgers were led by Jeff Kent, who went 3-for-4, hit his sixth double of the season and drove in two runs. His double, the lone extra-base hit of the game, came off of reliever Matt Herges in the Dodgers’ three-run ninth. Herges was called up from Triple-A Colorado Springs earlier Thursday.
Staff writer Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
