When Brad Hawpe finds his groove, his long, left-handed swing is a thing of beauty.
So it was Wednesday night at Coors Field that Hawpe launched two, seemingly effortless home runs, lifting the Rockies to a much-needed 5-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Toss in starter Aaron Cook’s six strong innings and a lights-out performance by the bullpen and it added up to one of Colorado’s most satisfying victories of the season.
Hours before the game, Hawpe tinkered slightly with his swing.
“During early work I tried to swing more or less half-speed,” he said. “I just tried to get the bat head out in front and be more relaxed.”
The result was the first multihomer game of Hawpe’s career. Considering that both shots came off of sinkerballer Brandon Webb, the National League’s reigning Cy Young winner, there was a high degree of difficulty involved. Webb had given up only three homers in his last 14 starts, a span of 102 1/3 innings. Moreover, Hawpe became just the second player to hit two homers off Webb in the same game. The other was the Giants’ Ray Durham on July 24, 2003, in San Francisco.
“Brad has been working hard to hit the ball to the big side of the field and he did it tonight against a very good pitcher,” Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said.
Hawpe’s 368-foot solo shot to right in the fourth put the Rockies ahead 2-0. His three-run, 372-foot blast to left in the sixth broke a 2-2 tie.
Both Webb and Arizona manager Bob Melvin were impressed with Hawpe’s second homer, which came on a 3-2 pitch with two outs. Hawpe gracefully extended over the plate and hammered Webb’s changeup.
“You’ve got to tip your hat,” Melvin said. “To go opposite field, on a changeup, especially when the ball doesn’t carry here like it (used to), that’s pretty good.”
Prior to Wednesday’s performance, Hawpe had just one home run in his first 37 games and 123 at-bats this season. At this same point last season, he’d hit 10.
“I wasn’t thinking about home runs, I was just thinking about bringing guys in with two outs,” said Hawpe, who leads the team with four game-winning RBIs.
Cook matched a career high by winning his third straight game. He gave up three runs on five hits and didn’t issue a walk.
“I think by getting strikes early with my breaking ball I was able to keep them off my sinker,” Cook said.
Webb, meanwhile, continues to struggle against Colorado. Two of his three losses have come against the Rockies and he has a 7.00 ERA in three starts against them.
For a change, the Rockies’ bullpen did its job without a hint of drama. Ramon Ramirez, back from the disabled list, inherited two base runners from Cook in the seventh, but gave up only one run on a sacrifice by Miguel Montero. Manny Corpas set the Diamondbacks in order in the eighth and closer Brian Fuentes recorded his 10th save in 11 chances.
The Diamondbacks’ best weapon was rookie third baseman Mark Reynolds, who made the most of his major-league debut. Called up from Double-A on Wednesday, he clubbed a two-run double off Cook in the fifth, tying the game 2-2.
Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
