CHICAGO — There was a time when Rockies’ pitchers viewed road trips like parole.
No more altitude. No more slick baseballs. And no more broken-bat home runs. However, since the advent of the humidor in 2002, law and order have been restored at Coors Field. There are pitchers who actually perform better in Denver.
Aaron Cook has fallen hard into this pattern. The last time he won in a visiting park, Brett Favre was still retired and the iPad was a rumor.
It was July 16 at San Diego, a streak spanning eight starts. Cook didn’t record the victory Monday, but his performance wasn’t panned, but rather wasted. The Rockies fell 4-2 to the slumping Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Aramis Ramirez’s 11th-inning walkoff home run.
The celebration was hard to watch since the Cubs spent the final hour begging to get beat.
With the Rockies managing just one hit over the final three innings, rookie sensation Starlin Castro led off the 11th with a single. After Derrek Lee lined out, Ramirez, who needs a telescope to see a .200 batting average, belted a slider into the left-field seats.
In fairness to Matt Belisle, the victim, he was working his third inning, asked to gobble outs in a rearranged bullpen.
The Cubs hadn’t won back-to-back games since May 2. They showed why just hours after general manager Jim Hendry felt compelled to squelch speculation about manager Lou Piniella’s job security.
“Nobody’s happy how we’re playing,” Hendry said. “But at the same time you have to avoid the unnecessary finger-pointing and the blame game.”
The Cubs’ bullpen has been a sinkhole and frequent target of criticism this season, prompting opening day starter Carlos Zambrano to be shifted into a relief role. He was passed over Monday, leaving left-handed reliever John Grabow to collide with trouble in the eighth. The Rockies’ scored a run, but it was a hollow achievement.
Grabow allowed a Seth Smith single and walked Brad Hawpe, triggering boos from the smallest home crowd (35,760) of the season. Even with closer Carlos Marmol warm and ready, Grabow remained in the game.
He caught a break. Or more specifically, Marlon Byrd caught a looping liner off Troy Tulowitzki’s bat. The fully-outstretched dive kept runners at first and second. After walking Todd Helton, Grabow was removed for Marmol. He hadn’t converted a five-out save since Aug. 29, 2008. Monday, he promptly delivered a four-pitch walk to notorious free-swinger Miguel Olivo, tying the score.
A victory placed nicely on their pillow like a chocolate mint, the Rockies couldn’t unwrap the gift. Ian Stewart, who struck out with bases loaded in the fourth, grounded into a doubleplay.
Cook kept the Rockies within arm’s reach, matching zeroes with Cubs starter Randy Wells. The veteran right-hander worked seven innings, allowing two runs, deftly mixing in a 76-mph curveball to complement his sinker.
The second run charged to Cook was unearned, Koyie Hill’s RBI single set up by Tulowitzki’s fielding error on a mishandled groundball. Wells demonstrated more brains than brawn in sticky situations, avoiding patterns and changing eye levels with an elevated four-seam fastball and sinker away.
It was never more evident than in the fourth. With bases loaded, he fell behind 2-0 on Stewart, then struck him out on three pitches before giving the same treatment to Clint Barmes.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
