That resounding thud you heard Friday night was the Rockies opening one of the most crucial homestands in their 17-year history.
There was a pregame buzz in the air at Coors Field, the likes of which have been few and far between since the ballpark’s opening in 1995. But the buzz turned to boos by the sixth inning as the Rockies stumbled their way to a 6-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants.
With the defeat, the Rockies’ lead over the Giants in the National League wild-card race dropped to one game. Not that the bad news ended there. Aaron Cook, knocked around the yard in his previous outing at Florida, was tagged for three runs in the first inning before leaving in the fourth with a sore right shoulder that could well land him on the disabled list.
“It happens, let’s put it that way,” said Rockies manager Jim Tracy, when asked if Cook could be headed to the DL. “I can’t sit here and tell you that, moving forward, that’s going to be an excuse for us to not to continue to play well. Good teams, when situations like this come up, they find ways, and I firmly believe that’s exactly what our club will do. We’re going to have to do a little rearranging.”
Asked if that meant Cook’s DL days were a foregone conclusion, Tracy said, “I don’t think it’s foregone, but it’s very safe to say, when I take a guy out of the game in the fourth inning when he says his shoulder is bothering him a little bit, that he’s not going to make his next start.”
Cook was sailing along with a 10-3 record until he suffered a sore right big toe in mid-August at Philadelphia. Including that start, he’s 0-3 with a 12.19 ERA since notching his 10th victory. He said after Friday’s loss that he didn’t believe that overcompensating for the toe injury led to his shoulder problems.
“It’s disappointing,” Cook said. “I knew something was wrong. I wanted to get out of there before I made things worse. Hopefully, it’s one of those things that kind of came on real quick and we can get rid of it real quick, but you never know. Anything in the arm, you just never know.”
Asked if he were concerned about a stint on the DL, Cook tried to make light of the situation, saying, “Not too concerned. The last time I was on the DL, we went to the World Series.”
Cook wasn’t the Rockies’ only physical issue Friday night. Troy Tulowitzki, the heart and soul of the lineup since catching fire in early June, never made it to the ballpark after experiencing flu-like symptoms. Tulo’s health trouble proved to be an omen as the Rockies’ four-game winning streak went the way of General Motors stock.
The Rockies entered the game riding the winning streak and knowing they would be playing 17 of their next 20 games at home. So what happens? They promptly went out and fell behind 3-0 in the first.
Cook allowed a walk and three hits in the inning, including a run-scoring double to Bengie Molina, then left after walking Nate Schierholtz to open the fourth. Two hitters later, Josh Fogg served up a three-run home run to Aaron Rowand to put the Rockies behind 6-1.
This wasn’t the way the Rockies had hoped to open a crucial seven-game homestand against the Giants and Dodgers, their archrivals in the NL West. They remain atop the wild-card food chain, but if they’re going to win the West, they have to play better within the division.
The Rockies’ record dropped to 68-54. Now for the numbers behind the numbers: They’re 20-25 against the West, 48-29 outside the division.
Jim Armstrong: 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com
Looking ahead
TODAY: Giants at Rockies, 6:10 p.m., FSN
If only Jorge De La Rosa (11-8, 4.58 ERA) had a tricked-up silver DeLorean and could go back in time. Maybe then he’d pitch in April and May like he has in June, July and August. De La Rosa was 0-6 with a 5.43 ERA the first two months, 11-2 with a 4.00 ERA since. For De La Rosa, the turnaround has been more mental than physical. No longer does he let the occasional bad inning turn into two or three. Joe Martinez (3-1, 4.76) will be making his first start vs. the Rockies and the fourth of his career. Martinez, 26, has worked his way back into the rotation after taking a Mike Cameron line drive off his face. Jim Tracy on Martinez: “He’s a finesse guy, a sinker-slider guy. He’s a ball-in-play-type guy who’s going to feast on you if you expand your strike zone.” Jim Armstrong, The Denver Post
