NewsTulo's surge leads to Rockies' run
Colorado (60-49) vs. Chicago (57-50), 6:10 p.m. MT
By Cheng Sio / MLB.com
08/08/09 2:11 AM ET
DENVER -- After batting practice Friday, Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki took time out of his schedule to take a picture with a fan, a young boy. Before posing for the photo, he autographed the boy's baseball. Tulowitzki has tattooed his signature into his share of baseballs of late. He plans to continue the trend when the Rockies play the Cubs in the second game of a pivotal four-game set Saturday. When the Rockies hit a season-low 20-32 on June 3, Tulowitzki was hitting .218 with five home runs and 16 RBIs. Since then, the fourth-year shortstop, also a defensive wiz, has hit .313 with 15 homers and 36 RBIs. He leads the team with 20 homers. As a result, he's gradually moved from the No. 6 hole in the batting order to the team's cleanup hitter -- a spot he's held the past four games. Tulowitzki's ascent to the cleanup hole is important because it allows manager Jim Tracy to break up the left-handed-hitting All-Star tandem of Todd Helton and Brad Hawpe. When Helton and Hawpe hit consecutively in the batting order, opposing managers had a tendency to go to the bullpen for a left-handed reliever in late-game situations. "I feel good up there right now," Tulowitzki said. "The game is not easy. Just because you get off to a slow start doesn't mean you can't turn your year around. I think I've done that, to a certain extent, but now I'm just concerned with helping the team win games." Winning games is all the Rockies have done in turning around what looked to be a lost season into one in which they are in the thick of the National League Wild Card chase. Tulowitzki has done his part by making adjustments. According to Tracy, he said Tulowitzki is no longer crouching in his batting stance. Also, Tulowitzki has been pounding the ball to the opposite field. Six of his past eight home runs have landed to the right of center field. "When Tulo hits his home runs, they are going that way," said Tracy as he pointed to right field. "The biggest majority of them, here as of late, have gone that way. I think that's something that we as a group collectively, I think we got away from it a little bit over the past four or five days or so. "The bottom line for us, right now, is we need to get a few bats going. That's all we're missing." In the recent 10-game road trip the Rockies finished Thursday, they hit .236. Tulowitzki, on the other hand, hit .371 (13-for-35). If the team is able to generate a few more knocks, they could return to the playoffs, which they missed in 2008 after winning the Wild Card in '07. In '07, Tulowitzki hit .291 with 24 homers and 99 RBIs to finish second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. "This is the best I've felt offensively, defensively [since 2007]," Tulowitzki said. "I'm just trying to ride it out as long as I can." Pitching matchupCOL: RHP Jason Marquis (12-7, 3.49 ERA)
Marquis was cruising toward his 13th victory in his last start until he ran into problems in the seventh inning. With the Rockies leading, 3-0, against the Reds on Sunday, Marquis gave up a double to Brandon Phillips, hit Scott Rolen with a pitch in the head and then allowed a three-run homer to Laynce Nix, which tied the game. Marquis scattered four hits on three runs and had been almost perfect before the seventh. The righty will look to beat the Cubs, the team for which he pitched in 2008. He beat the North Siders on April 15 for his second win of the season, going seven innings and giving up one run on five hits in a 5-2 victory. CHC: RHP Ryan Dempster (5-5, 4.09 ERA)
Dempster threw six shutout innings in his last start against the Marlins but did not get a decision as Florida rallied for a walk-off win. The Cubs limited him to 97 pitches, but now, manager Lou Piniella says he'll turn Dempster loose. It was the right-hander's second start since coming off the disabled list, and they were just being careful, although he walked four. Coors Field has not been kind to Dempster, who is 0-2 with a 15.23 ERA in seven career games in Denver. Tidbits
Tracy's son Mark visited his father Friday at Coors Field. He returned from Alaska where he played with the Peninsula Oilers of the Alaskan Summer Baseball League. Mark, a first baseman and a catcher, was selected by the Rockies in the 49th round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft out of Duquesne University. ... The Rockies have won 15 consecutive games against National League Central foes. ... Todd Helton had two hits Friday to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. The streak is tied with Brad Hawpe for the longest by a Rockies player this season. ... Of Chris Iannetta's 52 hits, 24 have been extra bases. He homered in the fourth inning Friday. ... The Rockies starting rotation took over the Major League lead in quality starts with 68 on Ubaldo Jimenez's 6 2/3-inning gem Friday. The Cubs are second with 67. Tickets
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• Sunday: Rockies (Jason Hammel, 6-6, 4.62) vs. Cubs (Randy Wells, 8-4, 2.73), 1:10 p.m. MT
• Monday: Rockies (Jorge De La Rosa, 9-8, 5.00) vs. Cubs (Tom Gorzelanny, 4-1, 3.38), 6:40 p.m. MT
• Tuesday: Rockies (Aaron Cook, 10-4, 3.93) vs. Pirates (Ross Ohlendorf, 9-8, 4.29), 6:40 p.m. MT
Cheng Sio is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
