NewsCook handles Padres in finale
Starter earns first win; Helton, Iannetta combine for six RBIs
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By Thomas Harding / MLB.com
04/29/09 8:30 PM ET
DENVER -- High on the Rockies' list of beliefs is that their No. 1 pitcher, right-hander Aaron Cook, will produce. They believed even though he was winless in his first four starts and had to work through a problem with his stride that kept his sinking fastball from sinking."I can honestly say for about a day I had a little bit of doubt," Cook said. "But I knew once I fixed the mechanical part, things would come back to where they needed to be."
Cook made it back Wednesday, holding the Padres to three runs and five hits in seven innings and moving into a tie for second on the team's all-time wins list as the Rockies beat the Padres, 7-5, at Coors Field in front of 20,259.
The victory, in which Todd Helton and Chris Iannetta each homered and drove in three runs, gave Colorado its first series win since the club took 2-of-3 against the D-backs to open the season.
The Rockies finished their first extended homestand 3-3. They're 8-12 and at the bottom of the National League West, but taking 2-of-3 from the Padres has them feeling the momentum as they take the road for a three-game series with the Giants starting Friday and a three-game set in San Diego starting Monday.
Cook (1-1) held the Padres scoreless through the first six innings before Adrian Gonzalez' solo shot -- the first of his two homers -- and Henry Blanco's two-run shot in the seventh. Cook, 53-45 since debuting in 2002, tied Pedro Astacio (53-58, 1997-2001) and trails Jason Jennings (58-56, '01-06). Cook improved to 12-4 with a 2.80 ERA in 21 career games, including 19 starts, against the Padres.
Colorado needs Cook and talented, but so far struggling righty Ubaldo Jimenez to reach their stride. The club will look for Jimenez to do his part Friday against the Giants. But Cook, who pitched decently in a no-decision against the Dodgers in his previous start and better against the Padres, reassured the Rockies.
"I can't overstate it," manager Clint Hurdle said. "He's our guy. He's our ace. You want your No. 1 out there. You want him pitching big games."
Cook forced 12 ground-ball outs, struck out three and walked two. Hurdle said the Rockies' four-run sixth, that featured Helton's two-run single and the club sending 10 to the plate, might have disturbed Cook's rhythm.
Iannetta, who entered with a .143 batting average that matched Cook's, hit his third homer of the year, a two-run shot in the second. Helton's solo shot in the third was his second homer of the season. Both came off Padres starter Kevin Correia (0-2), who gave up three runs and five hits in five innings.
Helton has 15 RBIs. Last year, he managed just 29 while missing half the season with a back injury that required surgery at the end of the season.
The Rockies were up, 3-0, in the fifth and loaded the bases on Correia with two outs, but Ian Stewart popped out. However, they scored four runs on relievers Cla Meredith and Arturo Lopez, who was making his Major League debut, in the sixth. That inning featured Helton's two-run single with the bases loaded and two outs.
The last four games of the homestand featured the Rockies scoring 32 runs and winning three times. They begin the road trip with Iannetta and Troy Tulowitzki (2-for-4 Wednesday after 1-for-2 off the bench Tuesday) emerging from their early slumps.
"It's a long season, and everybody goes through long stretches, so there's no reason to panic," Helton said.
Gonzalez cut the lead to two runs with his National League-leading ninth homer of the season, which went for two runs off Matt Belisle in the eighth.
Huston Street, who had the closer job to start the season but lost it, earned his second save by pitching the ninth. The Rockies rested overworked, and less-than-effective, Manuel Corpas. Hurdle declined to answer whether he is planning to change closers again.
Thomas Harding is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
