Toronto – New country. Lost identity.
The Rockies arrived in Canada as baseball’s best team over the past six weeks. You’d have a hard time convincing the folks of Toronto of that claim. The Rockies traveled north and their pitching has gone south.
In nearly a mirror of Jason Hirsh’s Friday performance, Aaron Cook was battered by the Blue Jays as the Rockies fell 11-6 at sun-bleached Rogers Centre.
While Hirsh learned Saturday that he will make his next start, concern shifted to Cook’s slump. Challenged in a closed-door meeting last week to improve, Cook suffered his worst outing of the season. He allowed a season-high eight runs, though only six were earned.
The Blue Jays jumped ahead 3-0 in the first inning courtesy of home runs by Matt Stairs and Frank Thomas, his 498th of his career. Back came the Rockies. Troy Tulowitzki homered for the third consecutive game. And Colorado tied the game at 6-all, parlaying three walks into three runs in the sixth inning.
However, first baseman Jeff Baker’s error on a Garrett Atkins’ throw in the bottom of the inning led to a pair of unearned runs, pushing Toronto ahead for good 8-6. The Blue Jays, who ranked second to last in the American League in hitting, have produced 32 hits over the past two games, leaving themselves in position to sweep Colorado.
Staff writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com.
