In September, noncontending teams can kill more dreams than a casting director or first crush.
The Rockies have reluctantly accepted their assignment to snuff out hopes, to apply an ether-soaked towel on the Diamondbacks’ forked tongues.
But they let the Snakes slither away Saturday night in an unlikely manner against an uncommon victim. Stephen Drew’s two-run moonball into the right-field seats off closer Brian Fuentes kept Arizona’s playoff pulse beating in a 5-3 victory.
“He just missed location,” manager Clint Hurdle said of Fuentes. “You gotta give Drew some credit. That’s not an easy at-bat.”
The Diamondbacks ended their franchise-record, 11-game road losing streak. They had been batting near .100 with runners in scoring position this month entering the ninth inning.
Fuentes, in possibly his last appearance as a Rockie at Coors Field given his pending free agency, had struck out 51 of the last 110 batters faced when Drew smacked his 19th home run.
It was nothing if not a weird at-bat. Drew nearly doubled down the right-field line, but the ball skipped foul. Then on a 3-2 count, he flipped his bat and jogged to first, only to be summoned back.
“It was my most embarrassing moment,” Drew said.
A four-base trot followed with only a portion of the rain-soaked announced crowd of 38,283 left to groan in disgust.
Hurdle promised Dodgers coaches he would play a representative lineup against the Diamondbacks. The Rockies benefited last season when Milwaukee stuck with its regulars in the final games to derail the Padres.
But sometimes reality clobbers good intentions. The Rockies’ lineup and rotation have become fluid. Matt Holliday sat out Saturday with a stiff back and is not expected to play again until Tuesday. Starter Jeff Francis has been shut down for the season, and there’s a slim chance Aaron Cook could join him, sitting out his final start Friday at Arizona.
Hurdle raised that possibility before the game. But Cook said afterward he would campaign to make his final start.
Cook has been bothered by back stiffness for much of the second half but insisted the problem has subsided.
Cook worked 6 1/3 innings and threw 114 pitches, his second- most this season, trying unsuccessfully in his fourth attempt to tie the franchise’s single-season record with 17 wins.
A tough seventh-inning error doomed his chance at history.
With two aboard, pinch-hitter Tony Clark skied a shot to the right-center gap. Willy Taveras had shaded him the opposite way, leaving him sprinting roughly 50 yards to catch up. His speed worked against him as he overran the ball.
“I should have caught it,” Taveras said. “I was running with my head down, and when I looked up it came back the other way. That’s a tough one.”
He was talking about the play but might as well have been referring to the game.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
TODAY: Diamondbacks at Rockies, 1:05 p.m., FSN
After back-to-back four-inning outings earlier this month, there were growing whispers that Dan Haren (15-8, 3.24 ERA) was hurt. That’s how unusual it was to see him get hit. Haren denies there’s any injury. More likely, he’s just arm-weary from throwing so many stressful innings. Haren posted a complete game in his last outing. He’s 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA against the Rockies this season. Matt Holliday has victimized Haren for two home runs, but he’s not expected to play today. Greg Reynolds (2-7, 7.42) gets another shot to make a better impression after being torched by the Padres last week. Troy E. Renck, The Denver Post
Monday:
Off
Tuesday:
Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez (11-12, 4.12) vs. Giants’ Jonathan Sanchez (9-11, 4.71), 8:15 p.m., FSN
Wednesday:
Rockies’ Livan Hernandez (12-11, 6.03) vs. Giants’ Tim Lincecum (17-4, 2.46), 8:15 p.m., FSN
Thursday:
Rockies’ Jorge De La Rosa (9-8, 5.20) vs. Giants’ Barry Zito (10-16, 5.28), 8:15 p.m., FSN
