Haste made waste of the Rockies.
On a breezy Saturday night, Colorado spent nearly three hours killing hope. With the clock working against them this season, the Rockies were no match for Father Time Greg Maddux, falling coldly 8-3 to the San Diego Padres.
Just when it appeared this homestand couldn’t get any worse, Aaron Cook has fallen into a slump and the offense remains underwhelming, leaving the Rockies seven games back of the Diamondbacks. The sobering reality is that Colorado can’t even think of sprinkling magic dust until .500 becomes more than a rumor.
“The window of opportunity is closing on us,” said Rockies manager Clint Hurdle, whose team sank to 53-66. “We are not pitching as well as we should, we aren’t hitting as well we should. We have our hands full.”
This past week at Coors Field has been a microcosm of a season gone wrong offensively. At a time when it should be raking, the lineup continues to dig a deeper hole. The Rockies are batting .246 in their last six games, including 41 strikeouts. They have scored four runs or less four times, all losses.
Maddux, 42, preyed on the slumping Rockies, needing just 71 pitches to record his 16th victory overall against Colorado. He has never hid his disdain for pitching at Coors Field. In his last outing here June 30, he did some redecorating in the visitors’ clubhouse, fuming in disgust. To see Maddux pitch Saturday was to witness genius. He worked as if he were double- parked on Blake Street.
He mesmerized the Rockies with a blend of sinkers and changeups, allowing just two runs in six innings.
“It’s the same way he’s always pitched, just a little less velocity,” said Rockies pitcher Glendon Rusch, a teammate of the right-hander with the Cubs and Padres. “Nothing he does is surprising.”
Everything had late life, not unlike his career. Maddux, a sure- fire first-ballot Hall of Famer, recorded his 353rd win, one shy of Roger Clemens for ninth all time. Trevor Hoffman, just as bound for Cooperstown, recorded his 25th save in his first appearance at Coors Field since his wild-card tiebreaker meltdown last October.
That night seems like a long time ago for the Rockies. They arrived back home after an encouraging road trip and suffered the equivalent of a punch in the face. Their four losses have come with Cook, Jeff Francis and Ubaldo Jimenez on the mound. Livan Hernandez gets the start today, Kip Wells the roster casualty, leaving the Rockies to eat roughly $900,000 remaining on his contract.
In Cook, Colorado appeared to have the panacea for Maddux. He was 10-3 lifetime against San Diego. He had never allowed more than four runs against them. Saturday, he was tagged for five runs in the sixth inning. One at-bat ate at him.
With the Rockies still within striking distance down 3-1, Cook missed badly on an 0-2 fastball that Nick Hundley smoked into the left-center gap, scoring two runs.
“It really killed me,” said Cook after failing to work at least six inning in back-to-back outings for the first time this season. “I am just not executing my pitches.”
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
TODAY: Padres at Rockies, 1:05 p.m., KTVD-20
Livan Hernandez (10-8, 5.48 ERA) is a master at controlling bat speeds, adding and subtracting on every pitch he throws from a fastball to a big curve. His lack of velocity leads to a lot of hits. In fact, he could become the first pitcher to yield 300 hits since 1979. San Diego is a ripe opponent for Hernandez’s debut for the Rockies. He’s 11-4 lifetime against the Padres. Chris Young (4-4, 4.06) owns five wins over the Rockies, his most against any team. He has never allowed more than three runs at Coors Field.
Troy E. Renck, The Denver Post
Monday:
Off
Tuesday:
Diamondbacks’ Randy Johnson (9-8, 4.24) vs. Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez (8-10, 3.86), 7:05 p.m.
Wednesday:
Diamondbacks’ Doug Davis (4-7, 4.75) vs. Rockies’ Jeff Francis (3-8, 5.81), 7:05 p.m, FSN
Thursday:
Diamondbacks’ Dan Haren (12-5, 2.75) vs. Rockies’ Aaron Cook (14-7, 3.68), 1:05 p.m., FSN
