Sunsets at Coors Field can be breathtaking. Baseball by the home team continues to be excruciating.
On a postcard perfect Tuesday night, the Cardinals took batting practice against Rockies pitchers, belting three home runs en route to an 11-6 victory.
The Rockies lost their sixth straight home game, but boos from purple-clad patrons were drowned out by the elated cheers from those wearing Cardinals red.
“They jumped on us pretty good,” manager Jim Tracy in a refrain that’s become all-too familiar. “I thought we did a terrific job getting back into the game. I don’t think you can argue with six runs on 12 hits, but I’ve said this to you guys before.”
Turning point. Matt Holliday used to be a Rockies all-star, now he’s a Rockies killer. His two-run homer in the seventh off “piggyback” reliever Adam Ottavino thwarted Colorado’s momentum and gave St. Louis an 8-5 lead.
Holliday’s Popeye arms muscled Ottavino’s pitch over the wall in right-center field.
“I think he’s the only guy on the field that could have taken that at-bat, in my opinion,” Tracy said. “I thought (Ottavino) threw a pitch that pretty much beat him, but that just shows you how strong that man is.”
Against the Rockies this season, Holliday is 10-for-20 with three homers and 11 RBIs.
On the mound. For Rockies starter Jeff Francis, it’s all about pitch location and deception. But the left-hander lost his way Tuesday and the Cardinals weren’t fooled at all. Francis departed after just four innings and 56 pitches, giving up five runs on six hits. The Rockies are now 8-3 in Francis’ starts since he joined the club in early June.
A rough, four-run first inning doomed Francis. He hit Daniel Descalso to open the game, then gave up three straight hits — a single to Allen Craig, a two-run double to Holliday and a sky-scraping two-run homer to left by Carlos Beltran. It was Beltran’s 24th homer of the season.
“I made a couple of mistakes to good hitters,” Francis said. “I put us in a big hole and that makes it tough. I honestly felt really good all day, but that first inning hurt.”
Francis’ ERA climbed to 5.43 and the combined ERA for Rockies starters is 6.38. That’s the second-highest ERA for a starting rotation in major-league history, trailing only the 1996 Detroit Tigers (6.38).
At the plate. Rookie Josh Rutledge’s three-run rocket to left field cut the Cardinals’ lead to 6-5 in the sixth. It was the third homer for Rutledge, who’s hitting .381 in his first 16 games in the majors.
Carlos Gonzalez shot an RBI single to right in the first inning, extending his home hitting streak to 29, one behind the franchise record set by Larry Walker in 2002. During the streak,CarGo is hitting .422 with 11 doubles, two triples, eight homers 26 RBIs and 26 runs scored.
What it means. After 101 games, the Rockies are 37-64, on pace to lose 103 games.
