You could hardly blame Rodrigo Lopez if his cleats felt like cement shoes and the butterflies in his gut flapped like moths around a streetlight.
There was a lot riding on his start Tuesday night at frosty Coors Field.
But when it was over and the Rockies had beaten the St. Louis Cardinals 8-3 to extend their winning streak to seven games, Lopez’s huge smile told the story.
“It was great, I couldn’t ask for anything else,” Lopez said as his two sons, Rodrigo Jr. and Raymond, squirmed beside his locker. “We got the win, I’m back here with the team, I got a base hit and my elbow doesn’t hurt.”
The Rockies, now just two games under .500, chase their eighth straight victory tonight, something they’ve done just three times in franchise history. The longest winning streak in franchise history is nine games, set Aug. 26 to Sept. 5, 1997.
Tuesday night was important, first and foremost because Lopez, the Rockies’ best early season pitcher, started his first big-league game since going on the disabled list April 18 with an inflamed right elbow. Sure, he had thrown two minor-league tuneups, but this game was against Albert Pujols and company.
Throw in the fact the Rockies were counting on Lopez to set the stage for their longest winning streak since Sept. 6-12, 1998, and there was a lot of pressure on him.
“Yeah, I felt kind of nervous before the game,” he said. “When the weather came in and I was waiting around, I could feel it.”
But he brushed the pressure off and pitched six-plus innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits. He struck out seven and didn’t allow a walk.
The weather – a violent hail storm before the game left the field looking like the slopes of Aspen, and drizzle and 40-degree temperatures chilled fans during the game – kept the ballpark mostly empty. The announced paid crowd of 18,213 was the lowest in Coors Field history.
Too bad more people didn’t see the Rockies beat up the Cardinals for the second straight game. They would have seen Yorvit Torrealba crank his third career grand slam to put the Rockies ahead 5-1 in the fourth inning. Cardinals starter Braden Looper loaded the bases with three consecutive walks and Torrealba made him pay, crushing a 2-2 pitch 432 feet to left-center field. It was the Rockies’ first grand slam of the season.
They also would have seen Brad Hawpe at his hottest. He hit a two-run homer in the seventh, giving the Rockies a comfortable 8-3 lead. It was Hawpe’s sixth homer in his past 10 starts. He hit an opposite-field homer to left on Monday, and pulled his 428-foot homer to right field Tuesday night.
“I guess that means I’m seeing the ball really well right now,” Hawpe said. “Ideally that’s what you want to be able to do as a hitter. That’s what you strive for.”
While the Rockies continue to get production from all quarters – Kazuo Matsui went 2-for-4 with a triple and Ryan Spilborghs added an RBI double – Tuesday belonged to Lopez. He threw 84 pitches and showed good command, although he left two pitches up in the zone that the Cardinals pounded over the fence. Scott Rolen led off the fifth with a solo homer to left and Jim Edmonds opened the seventh with a solo shot to center.
“The most important thing is that my elbow doesn’t hurt,” he said. “It doesn’t feel any different than after those minor-league games.”
Longest winning streaks (Games | Dates)
9 Aug. 26-Sept. 5, 1997
8 Sept. 8-15, 1996
8 July 7-17, 1996
7 May 22-29, 2007
7 Sept. 6-12, 1998
7 May 14-22, 1996
Staff writer Patrick Saunderscan be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
