San Francisco – The clustered wild-card race creates extremes. A week ago, the Rockies functioned as a welcome mat for the Pirates, a forgettable series that had an autopsy scheduled, an obituary written for their season. Then they swept the Nationals, storing hope in the charter’s overhead bin as they arrived in San Francisco.
But for the Rockies to realize their next goal of playing meaningful games in September, they must win road games that matter. They lost 4-1 at wind-chilled AT&T Park, sinking to 4 1/2 games behind the San Diego Padres in the wild-card chase.
This hurt on a number of levels. It spoiled a solid outing from Josh Fogg (six innings, one run), raised questions about whether the setup men should be shuffled (Is it finally time to push Brian Fuentes back to the eighth and work him on back-to-back days?) and provided a wince moment when the offense failed with runners on second and third and one out in the seventh inning.
The Rockies were ultimately undone by a frenetic eighth inning from Jorge Julio. Julio explained three hours before the first pitch how much he liked Colorado and would like to re-sign as a free agent. He’s been a stabilizing force in the bullpen, and proudly wears a shirt that proclaims “27 Outs No More.” It’s a reminder to keep the game simple.
Instead, it spun of control on the right-hander, triggered by three consecutive singles, including a bloop to center field by Barry Bonds. With bases loaded and no outs, a front loader magically appeared to extract Julio from damage.
Slow-footed catcher Bengie Molina grounded to shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who bobbled the ball, the fired to Yorvit Torreabla for the force at home. Torrealba, who has struggled with arm strength for two seasons after twice injuring his shoulder, threw slow and wide to first baseman Todd Helton.
The Giants, winners of 10 of their last 12 games, pounced. Rich Aurilia singled home the go-ahead run and Kevin Frandsen followed with a two-RBI double, the exclamation point in Julio’s forgettable evening. He was tagged for five hits and three earned runs and recorded only one out.
Julio would have operating with a margin for error had the Rockies capitalized in the seventh. With the game tied at 1-all – Brad Hawpe’s 24th home run, the lone damage against Barry Zito – the Rockies had runners in scoring position after the right-fielder’s sacrifice bunt. But Jamey Carroll grounded out and Ian Stewart struck out on a wicked 72-mph curveball, ending the threat.
The math is now working against the Rockies unless they outrun their past on the road.
Staff Writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com.
