CINCINNATI — Only time tells these stories, but the Rockies may have won their most important game of the season Sunday.
And who was on the mound for the occasion? Aaron Cook, whose performance on the road in the season’s first half was your basic train wreck with foul lines.
Did we say Aaron Cook? Our bad.
“Vintage Aaron Cook,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said.
Cook, as is his way in Cincinnati, whose suburbs he once called home, shut down the Reds on six hits through seven innings as the Rockies won 1-0 to escape with a win in the three-game series.
Chris Iannetta, continuing his resurgence since a demotion to Triple-A, hit his seventh home run — his fifth in 32 at-bats — for the game’s only run. But the story of the day was Cook, who was winless in five decisions with a 6.70 ERA on the road before shutting down his boyhood heroes.
Cook is 3-0 at Great American Ball Park, but beyond the southern Ohio humidity being a perfect dance partner for his signature sinker, he says it’s a coincidence.
“It’s more just making your pitches than being in any particular place,” Cook said. “I kept pounding the zone and getting a lot of groundball outs. That’s what I do.”
The setting may not have held much significance, but the result certainly did. Cook was in “enough already” mode with his road performance, having gone into the season 32-25 on the road compared with 31-25 at Coors Field.
“It does, honestly,” Cook said when asked if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. “It’s something I expected to have before now and something I expect to do the rest of the season.
“I try not to look too much into it, but stats are stats. Now I have peace of mind that it’s behind me and I can go out and give our team a chance to win.”
It made for a nice story line, Cook winning in front of friends and family. But here’s what mattered: The Rockies needed a W to avoid their first four-game losing streak this season.
They certainly weren’t going to do it with their bats. Tracy’s lineup included four position players with two or fewer home runs, including cleanup hitter Melvin Mora.
The Rockies were hitting .125 (9-for-72) in the series when Ryan Spilborghs singled to right in the fourth to break up rookie left-hander Travis Wood’s no-hitter. When they walked off the field, they had hit .141 (13-for-92) in the three games.
“Let’s face it, that’s how we were going to win today,” Tracy said when asked about Cook’s performance. “We had 13 hits and scored four runs. One more hit and we could have possibly won the series. That tells you what kind of pitching there was.”
Luckily for the Rockies, there was just enough hitting too. Oh, and just enough relief pitching. Huston Street earned his sixth save in six chances by getting back-to-back strikeouts with runners on the corners in the ninth.
Iannetta kept his weight back on a Wood changeup in the sixth and flicked it into the seats in left field. That’s all Cook would need. So how important was the home run to the Rockies’ season?
“Now it’s getting a little more magnified,” Iannetta said. “When it really, really counts is September, but you want to be in position to make a run at the end. So these games are important.”
Jim Armstrong: 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com
Looking ahead
TODAY: Rockies at Marlins, 5:10 p.m., FSN
Ubaldo Jimenez (15-1, 2.20 ERA) was on pace at the all-star break for 234 innings pitched but says his arm feels fine. He’ll be working on five days’ rest after two innings in the All-Star Game. Anibal Sanchez (7-6, 3.66) already has tied his career high in starts (17), no small feat after his litany of arm problems. He still brings it 90-93 mph with a plus slider, mixing in the occasional curveball and changeup. He has faced the Rockies only once. Jim Armstrong, The Denver Post
Upcoming pitching matchups
Tuesday: Rockies’ Jeff Francis (2-3, 5.14 ERA) at Marlins’ Nate Robertson (6-7, 5.10), 5:10 p.m., FSN
Wednesday: Rockies’ Jason Hammel (7-4, 4.07) at Marlins’ Ricky Nolasco (9-7, 4.66), 5:10 p.m., FSN
Thursday: Rockies’ Jorge De La Rosa (3-2, 6.16) at Marlins’ Josh Johnson (10-3, 1.62), 10:10 a.m.
Friday: Rockies’ Aaron Cook (4-5, 4.56) at Phillies’ Roy Halladay (10-8, 2.40), 5:05 p.m., FSN
