MILWAUKEE — CC Sabathia sat in front of a packed audience and talked of nerves and triumph.
Ryan Spilborghs, standing alone in front of his locker, struggled to pull up his socks as he spoke of misery.
Sabathia’s debut demanded drama. This was an “I was there” event for anyone who lived within a 100-mile radius. A pedestrian quality start and a few waves to the sellout crowd wouldn’t suffice. They needed pain and fury — and got both in a defining sixth inning that left the Rockies to only cringe Tuesday night after a 7-3 loss at Miller Park.
“It really is unfortunate what happened to (Spilborghs),” Brewers second baseman Bill Hall would say later.
It unfolded like this: The Rockies shifted the ground underneath Sabathia, loading the bases on a Matt Holliday single and consecutive walks to Garrett Atkins and Spilborghs. His team trailing 4-1, Yorvit Torrealba smoked a double down the right-field line. Third-base coach Mike Gallego waved his right arm furiously for Spilborghs to follow Atkins and Holliday home. Instead, Spilborghs headed onto the disabled list with a strained left oblique.
“It knocked the wind out of me. I thought (second baseman) Rickie Weeks stabbed me,” said Spilborghs, who will return to Denver today for an MRI. “It was a miserable feeling.”
It only got worse as Spilborghs stood gingerly in the trainer’s room and watched as Jayson Nix lined into a double play and Brad Hawpe struck out, forever altering the game’s dynamics. Had Spilborghs, who originally suffered the injury in the fourth inning while running back to third base on Omar Quintanilla’s bunt attempt, scored it would have been the equivalent of a nose job on Sabathia’s Picasso.
Instead, the Rockies were left to wonder.
“You hate to see that happen to anyone, especially someone who has been so important to us,” said starter Mark Redman, whose otherwise blue-collar outing was spoiled by Ryan Braun’s three-run first-inning home run.
The night will long be remembered for Sabathia, his massive presence overshadowing everything but Brett Favre’s next text message in these parts. He brought a surge of enthusiasm — “We are going for it,” admitted Brewers GM Doug Melvin — and attendance. Milwaukee sold more than 12,000 tickets in the 36 hours after his acquisition, resulting in a packed house.
Sabathia, 6-foot-7, 310 pounds — that’s bigger than any offensive lineman on the Broncos’ two Super Bowl winning teams — began with a 92-mph fastball to Willy Taveras and ended with a 95-mph heater to Hawpe. That last pitch demonstrated why the Brewers traded for him in the first place.
It ended in the erratic sixth inning, Sabathia strutting off the mound as he screamed expletives into his glove.
“That was just letting out everything from the past couple of days,” Sabathia said. “The anticipation of getting out there on the mound and being frustrated with the five walks and not really throwing the ball where I wanted to. It was kind of relief. You’ll see that from me from time to time.”
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
TODAY: Rockies at Brewers, 6:05 p.m., FSN
Glendon Rusch (1-3, 7.36), three weeks later than expected, will make his third start for the Rockies. Rusch fell on the depth chart behind Jorge De La Rosa but was called up because of rookie Greg Reynolds’ ineffectiveness. Rusch gets a wicked matchup against Brewers co-ace Ben Sheets (10-2, 2.77), who is emerging as a strong candidate to start the All-Star Game. Sheets is 6-0 with a 1.66 ERA at night. Willy Taveras smiled when told Sheets was starting, probably because he’s 8-for-17 lifetime against the right-hander. Troy E. Renck, The Denver Post
Thursday:
Rockies’ Jorge De La Rosa (3-4, 6.58) vs. Brewers’ Dave Bush (4-8, 4.74), 12:05 p.m.
Friday:
Rockies’ Aaron Cook (11-6, 3.66) vs. Mets’ Oliver Perez (6-5, 4.62), 5:10 p.m., FSN
Saturday:
Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez (4-8, 4.21) vs. Mets’ Pedro Martinez (3-2, 6.86), 1:55 p.m., KDVR-31
Sunday:
Rockies’ Mark Redman (2-4, 7.07) vs. Mets’ Mike Pelfrey (7-6, 3.93), 6:05 p.m., ESPN
