The Rockies KO’d the San Diego Padres with a powerful one-two punch this afternoon at Coors Field.
Aaron Cook pitched an economical, complete-game seven-hitter and Matt Holliday went 4-for-4 with a solo homer and an RBI double as the Rockies cruised past the San Diego Padres 10-2.
The Rockies took two out of three games from the Padres and won for the 16th time in their last 20 home games.
Cook survived a rocky start, but then pitched like the ace he was touted to be.
Cook struck out two and didn’t walk any as he earned his seventh victory. He needed just 74 pitches to get the job done. It was the fewest pitches ever by a Rockies pitcher in a nine-inning game. The previous low was a 91-pitch game by Josh Fogg on June 30, 2006, at Seattle.
Cook went 3-for-4 with his bat, hiking his average to .263.
Cook’s day started off ugly. Brian Giles greeted him with a first-inning single. Michael Barrett followed with a double and Adrian Gonzalez drove in Giles with a single to right. Barrett scored on Kahlil Greene’s double-play grounder, giving the Padres a 2-0 lead.
Then Cook shut the door, allowing four hits and no runs over the next eight innings.
Holliday entered today’s game hitting just .200 (8-for-40) since appearing in his second All-Star Game, his average dropping from .341 to .327. But his slump was a short one. Holliday cut San Diego’s 2-0 lead in half with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the first. Holliday scorched a line drive down the right-field line and into the seats off San Diego starter Justin Germano.
The Rockies tied the game 2-2 in the fourth on Holliday’s leadoff double to right and a run-scoring single by Garrett Atkins. They took the lead for good in the fifth on Ryan Spilborgh’s 452-foot homer to center.
The game turned into a no-contest in the sixth, the Rockies scoring four runs on four hits, including Holliday’s RBI double over the head of left fielder Russell Branyan, and a two-run single by Atkins.
The crucial seven-game homestand against the National League West leaders continues Thursday night when the division-leading Dodgers come to Coors Field. The Rockies are five games out of first with the Dodgers playing at Houston tonight.
Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
