Although Dexter Fowler had not successfully stolen a base since May 24 in Detroit, manager Jim Tracy said before Saturday’s game that the rookie still has a green light. Fowler backed up that confidence with a stolen base in the fifth, his team-high 12th of the season. His 12 steals lead all NL rookies.
Hammel’s troubles.
Starter Jason Hammel’s four-game winning streak came to an end in a flurry of Pirates hits. Hammel, failing to locate his fastball with consistency, gave up five runs on eight hits in six-plus innings. He departed in the seventh with the bases loaded and no outs.
Grounded.
Sinkerball specialist Jason Marquis induced 23 groundball outs Friday, tied for the most in a big-league game this season. Heading into Saturday’s game, the Rockies led the NL with a groundball-to-flyball ratio of 1.63 — the third-best by a pitching staff this decade, trailing the 2005 Cardinals (1.68) and the 2008 Dodgers (1.66).
