Toronto – For the Rockies, it only took arriving in Canada to know they haven’t arrived.
They stepped into a new country as baseball’s hottest team. And they have spent the past two days getting blistered by Toronto’s bats. On Saturday, the Blue Jays bullied their way to an 11-6 victory as the Rockies dropped consecutive games for the first time in three weeks.
That’s the challenge of the baseball season – its length. Any team can get hot for a stretch. Once-upon- a-time stories only happen for clubs that finish with good marathon times.
Those are teams that historically pitch the best. While a letdown is not shocking given the emotional sweep of the Yankees, the Rockies came north and their starters have gone south.
“Off the mound,” manager Clint Hurdle said, “we have been rough the last two days.”
One night after Jason Hirsh nearly lost his rotation spot – he received a reprieve following a Saturday talk with manager Clint Hurdle – Aaron Cook remained a concern. He was challenged in a closed-door meeting last week, reminded that performance was more important than effort.
There was no improvement, Cook betrayed by poor fastball command and a lack of faith in his breaking pitches. Eight of Toronto’s first 16 batters recorded hits. Frank Thomas and Matt Stairs both homered in the first inning, creating a mountain for the Rockies to climb.
“We have been working hard to find a few things to correct,” said Cook, whose 4-5 record ranks as one of the season’s biggest disappointments. “I had a good few innings. But there were too many mistakes that got hit.”
Excuses were available to Cook on a ragged day of baseball that seemed like a continuation of Friday’s late-inning meltdown. Plate umpire Gerry Davis was squeezing him like Charmin, the strike zone growing unreasonably tight, according to catcher Yorvit Torrealba, who was ejected.
And Jeff Baker, making only his fifth start at first base, dropped Garrett Atkins’ throw in the sixth inning that paved Cook’s exit and led to a pair of unearned runs.
“I just didn’t catch it, period,” Baker said.
Cook hasn’t won since May 26 and his ERA in June is 6.93. Pitching coach Bob Apodaca called Cook’s adjustments a “work in progress.” A sense of urgency is developing because it’s hard to imagine the Rockies finishing the first half strong without Cook contributing.
“Games are decided by moments, certain times where you have to make things happen,” Apodaca said. “It’s not all mechanics. Sometimes it’s just finding a way to get it done.”
Toronto has been waiting all season for its offense to emerge from a coma. The Blue Jays own the third-lowest average in the American League, leaving general manager J.P. Ricciardi to lament, “We just haven’t hit. It’s amazing.”
But, in this series, the Blue Jays have scored 20 runs, whereas Boston, Tampa Bay and New York totaled 24 in the previous nine games against the Rockies.
“Hitting is contagious,” Stairs said. “And today with Frank and I it was a good day to be 39 years old.”
Staff writer Troy E. Renckcan be reached at 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com.
