NewsRox drop chance to further Card lead
Morales can't hold on after Tulo's 30th homer in loss
By Owen Perkins / Special to MLB.com
09/25/09 2:20 AM ET
DENVER -- Before Thursday's rubber match with the Padres, manager Jim Tracy talked about the way the 162-game schedule will "tax and test" a team. The Rockies tasted it first hand as the game unfolded, jumping to a three-run lead on Troy Tulowitzki's opposite-field homer in the first, only to see the lead disappear as the Padres rallied to tie it in the seventh, jumped ahead in the eighth, and ultimately handed Colorado a 5-4 loss. The Rockies' National League Wild Card lead shrunk to 3 1/2 games over the idle Braves, as the Giants stayed four games behind the pace, thanks to former Colorado infielder Jeff Baker's game-winning homer in the ninth for the Cubs. The game was a serious stumble for the Rockies bullpen, which gave up three runs in the seventh and eighth with its best arms in action, and it laid Jason Hammel's strong start to waste. He lasted 6 1/3 innings and yielded two runs on six hits, striking out six while walking none. It was his fifth no-decision in his past seven starts, and his fifth quality outing during that span, but the game turned on Tracy's decision to go to the 'pen in the seventh. Leading 3-1 with one on and one out in the seventh, Tracy pulled starter Jason Hammel and went to Franklin Morales, who was seven-for-seven in save situations in September while closer Huston Street was unavailable. "I don't think you can be the least bit shy about bringing Morales in," Tracy said. "This guy was closing games in the absence of Huston Street. And if you look at Tony Gwynn's [poor] history against left-handed pitching knowing they're not going to remove him -- he's their center fielder and they don't have another good choice there -- that's the guy that you want to bring in." Morales gave up a bloop single to Gwynn, walked the bases loaded, then walked in a run to make it a one-run game. "Franklin made a very good pitch to Tony Gwynn," Tracy said. "I don't know that he could have walked it out there himself and set it in any better spot. I really believe he would have gotten out of the inning very easily, but Tony Gwynn hits a ball that's completely in no-man's land. It's got all kinds of hang time, but it's perfectly placed. That's baseball." The bloop wasn't as big a problem as the two walks. Hammel had neutralized the Padres by completely avoiding the base-on-balls, but Morales' two free passes proved the difference Wednesday. "I tried to make good pitches," Morales said. "I tried to throw my fastball inside for a double play. I missed my spot." Morales has struggled his past two times out, earning a save on Tuesday while yielding a run on two hits and a walk to bring the tying run within 90 feet of scoring. He said the shifting role did not affect him, and that his confidence remains high. "I'm ready for any situation when they say to go in," Morales said. "Tomorrow is a new game. I never get down. I always keep my head up. Tomorrow is a new day." To hear Tracy tell it, Morales does not have to worry about finding a new role out of the 'pen when the Cardinals come to town on Friday. Tracy used the cream of his crop in the final innings, throwing Matt Daley, Joe Beimel, Rafael Betancourt, and Street after Morales, with only Street and Daley escaping unscathed. Street pitched a perfect ninth, striking out the side. "You can't sit there and assume that Franklin Morales isn't going to throw the ball over the plate," Tracy said. "He's throwing the ball 96, 97 mph. He's done some unbelievable things up to this point. I don't question or second guess myself with that decision at all." The relief woes continued in the eighth when Beimel gave up a leadoff single to Chase Headley, who advanced on a sacrifice. Betancourt entered the game after being idle since Saturday night and gave up a pair of RBI singles to Nick Hundley and Gwynn, leaving the Rockies down by two. Though the bullpen bore the brunt of the blame in losing the series clincher to the Padres, the Rockies bats were largely silent for six innings when they could have been building on their quick start. They ended the extended drought with Ian Stewart's first swing of the bat in the eighth, a towering solo shot over the right-field scoreboard. Clint Barmes followed with a single up the middle, and Tracy brought two pinch-hitters to the plate, but Jason Giambi was called out on strikes and Carlos Gonzalez went down swinging. "It just came down to where we couldn't do enough to win a game," Tulowitzki said. "We control our destiny still. There's nine games left, and we're up 3 1/2. We're in a good spot. It would have been nice to win tonight to put some more pressure on them, but we control it, and if we win some games, we're going to do it." Though the clubhouse remained relaxed and loose, there was a hint of tension as Colorado watched its cushion shrink while losing for the seventh time in 11 games. "We know what the mathematics are," Tracy said. "The mathematics are totally in our favor. If we can win a few baseball games, we're going to make it. If I had a choice, I'd like to see us go a couple days in a row offensively where not only we get some output early on, but it's sustained and it goes on. We catch two or three different opportunities to score runs and we capitalize on all occasions, because that's something that hasn't been happening on too much of a regular basis."It allows the other team to hang around, and that's exactly what happened tonight."
Owen Perkins is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
