One hit with a runner in scoring position. That’s all Jim Tracy was asking for. Just one. Given the top-shelf state of the Rockies’ pitching staff, that’s all Tracy figured it would take.
Carlos Gonzalez tried to provide it Wednesday night, but his two-out laser in the ninth inning landed in Pedro Feliz’s glove at third base, snuffing out what could have been a game-winning rally.
Instead, it was the Houston Astros who got the key hit, and it was a big one. Carlos Lee hit a towering grand slam to left off Matt Belisle to give the Astros a 6-2 win in 10 innings at Coors Field.
“Completely misexecuted,” Belisle said. “I wanted to come hard up and in, almost for a ball. I know he’s aggressive. I wanted to get him to whale at one, but not lower inner-third where I know he can crank it. Mistake, pure mistake. . . . That’s baseball.”
So are hitting slumps, and the Rockies find themselves caught in one. Question is, when will they get out of it? And will it be soon enough to make something special out of a season in which their pitching has been nothing short of phenomenal?
It isn’t just Ubaldo Jimenez. The Rockies went into Wednesday ranked fourth in the National League with a 3.63 team ERA. They had allowed 37 home runs, the fewest in the major leagues.
Trouble is, they were 11th in hitting among the 16 NL teams. And their situational hitting, particularly with runners in scoring position, had been ghastly.
One hit in a key situation. Tracy mentioned it several times before the game. His eternal search for that elusive hit prompted him to tweak his batting order, inserting Jonathan Herrera in the two hole and starting Melvin Mora for the first time in place of first baseman Todd Helton, he of the sub-.200 average at Coors Field.
The result? The Rockies went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, bringing their average to .158 for the past nine games.
What now? Same old, same old, said Tracy.
“I have to basically sit and wait it out,” he said. “There’s nothing that you can do. . . . We need to be as consistent as we’ve been pitching-wise, which has been absolutely lights out.”
This time, it was Aaron Cook’s turn to impress. Cook has had his ups and downs, but he was all good against the Astros. He shut them out for the first four innings and left after seven having allowed two runs.
“I felt like myself out there,” Cook said. “I felt like I was in a good rhythm. The groundball outs speak for themselves.”
Cook had his trademark sinker working to the tune of 16 groundball outs, but Houston’s Felipe Paulino had his slider working just as well. Paulino is 1-7, but his story lies in the fine print: He had a solid 4.01 ERA and had received fewer runs than any other pitcher in the majors — 2.35 per game — for the past two seasons.
“Not at all,” said Cook, when asked if he were concerned about the Rockies’ lack of hitting. “We’ve got a great lineup. We ran into a guy who was really on his game. Our guys went out there and battled and gave us a couple of runs, but we couldn’t make it stand up.”
Jim Armstrong: 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com
Looking ahead
TODAY: Astros at Rockies, 1:10 p.m., FSN, KOA 850 AM
Rockies right-hander Jhoulys Chacin (3-4, 3.77 ERA) had issues with pitch selection last week, repeatedly shaking off catcher Chris Iannetta. For his season to take off, Chacin has to get on track at Coors Field, where he owns a 1-2 record and 6.23 ERA. The Rockies are 3-4 in his starts. Astros right-hander Roy Oswalt (3-8, 3.22) throws down sawdust and will pitch with old-school vengeance. That’s why he will be a huge trade chip next month. Oswalt lost to the Rockies last month because of one bad pitch, a home run hit by shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. Oswalt has a career 1.88 ERA against the Rockiesincluding a 2.17 ERA on Blake Street, where he pitched a one-hitter on Sept. 6, 2008. Troy E. Renck, The Denver Post
Upcoming pitching matchups
Friday: Blue Jays’ Ricky Romero (5-2, 3.06 ERA) at Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez (11-1, 0.93), 7:10 p.m., FSN
Saturday: Blue Jays’ Brandon Morrow (4-4, 5.48) at Rockies’ Jason Hammel (3-3, 5.23), 6:10 p.m., FSN
Sunday: Blue Jays’ Jesse Litsch (season debut) at Rockies’ Jeff Francis (1-2, 3.45), 1:10 p.m., FSN
Monday: Off
