NL: LA DODGERS at COLORADO <div class="pre">NL AT COLORADO - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: M Sweeney hit for W Valdez. SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 2 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: LA DODGERS 1 COLORADO 3 TOP, 9TH DUE UP FOR LA DODGERS: M Sweeney (.257, 2 HR, 13 RBI)</div>
NL: LA DODGERS at COLORADO <div class="pre">NL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - LA DODGERS 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 7 0 COLORADO 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 x 3 7 0 (FINAL) BATTERIES: LOS - CHAD BILLINGSLEY, MARK HENDRICKSON (6TH), SCOTT PROCTOR (7TH), JOE BEIMEL (8TH) AND RUSSELL MARTIN COL - JEFF FRANCIS, LATROY HAWKINS (7TH), BRIAN FUENTES (8TH), MANNY CORPAS (9TH) AND YORVIT TORREALBA HOME RUNS: LOS - OLMEDO SAENZ (4) OFF JEFF FRANCIS IN THE 7TH, 0 ON COL - NONE</div>
Francis pitches superbly as Rockies defeat Dodgers <h3>COLORADO 3, LA DODGERS 1 (1ST GAME)</h3>DENVER (Ticker) -- Jeff Francis put a dent in the Los AngelesDodgers' playoff hopes. Francis pitched 6 2/3 superb innings as the Colorado Rockiesposted a 3-1 victory over the Dodgers in the opener of aday-night doubleheader on Tuesday. Matt Holliday, Todd Helton and rookie Joe Koshansky each had anRBI single for Colorado, which has won two straight contestsfollowing a three-game losing streak. The loss to the Rockies dropped Los Angeles (79-71) 4 1/2 gamesbehind the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks (84-67) in theNational League West Division. Los Angeles also fell 3 1/2games behind the San Diego Padres (82-67) in the NL wild cardrace. Francis (16-8) was outstanding, yielding a run, six hits andthree walks while setting a career high with 10 strikeouts. Itwas much better than his last performance, when lefthander wastagged for a season-high eight runs and eight hits in just 3 1/3innings. Francis improved to 3-0 this season vs. Los Angeles and is 3-0all-time when facing the Dodgers at Coors Field. He is also onevictory shy of matching the team's single-season record set byKevin Ritz in 1996 and tied by Pedro Astacio three years later. The only run Francis allowed was a one-out homer in the seventhto Olmedo Saenz, who was pinch-hitting Rafael Furcal. The blastwas the fourth this season for Saenz, his second as a pinchhitter. LaTroy Hawkins relieved Francis in the seventh and worked arounda two-out double to Matt Kemp by inducing Jeff Kent to groundout. Brian Fuentes pitched a perfect eighth before Manny Corpas cameon in the ninth to record his 15th save in 17 opportunities. The Rockies broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourthwhen Cory Sullivan led off with a double off Los Angeles starterChad Billingsley (11-5) and scored two batters later on asingle by Holliday. Two innings later, another leadoff double by Sullivan and aone-out walk to Holliday put runners on first and second beforea base hit to right field by Helton gave Colorado a 2-0 lead. Billingsley allowed two runs, four hits and three walks in 5 1/3innings. The righthander, who struck out six, lost for thefirst time in six starts. Leading, 2-1, in the seventh, Brad Hawpe singled off relieverScott Proctor before moving to second on a sacrifice. Koshansky, pinch-hitting for Omar Quintanilla, boomed a doubleto the base of the right field wall for the first hit and secondRBI of his career. Kemp and Russell Martin each had two hits for the Dodgers.
NL: LA DODGERS at COLORADO <div class="pre">NL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - LA DODGERS 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 7 0 COLORADO 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 x 3 7 0 (FINAL) BATTERIES: LOS - CHAD BILLINGSLEY, MARK HENDRICKSON (6TH), SCOTT PROCTOR (7TH), JOE BEIMEL (8TH) AND RUSSELL MARTIN COL - JEFF FRANCIS, LATROY HAWKINS (7TH), BRIAN FUENTES (8TH), MANNY CORPAS (9TH) AND YORVIT TORREALBA WP - JEFF FRANCIS (16-8) LP - CHAD BILLINGSLEY (11-5) SAVE - MANNY CORPAS (15) HOME RUNS: LOS - OLMEDO SAENZ (4) OFF JEFF FRANCIS IN THE 7TH, 0 ON COL - NONE TIME: 2:52 ATT: 23,282 PROBABLES: LOS - CHAD BILLINGSLEY (11-5, 3.15) & LOS - DAVID WELLS (8-8, 5.27) COL - JEFF FRANCIS (16-8, 4.25) & COL - MARK REDMAN (1-4, 9.67)</div>
NL: LA DODGERS at COLORADO <div class="pre">LA DODGERS (1) VS COLORADO (3) - FINAL (1ST GAME) LA DODGERS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg R Furcal ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .270 a-O Saenz ph 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .190 W Valdez ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .236 c-M Sweeney ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .254 J Pierre cf 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 .291 M Kemp rf 4 0 2 0 0 1 1 .340 J Kent 2b 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 .296 J Loney 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .325 R Martin c 3 0 2 0 1 1 0 .295 A LaRoche 3b 3 0 0 0 0 3 3 .193 M Hendrickson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .038 S Proctor p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 b-N Garciaparra ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281 J Beimel p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 A Ethier lf 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 .287 C Billingsley p 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 .121 T Abreu 3b 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .262 Totals 34 1 7 1 3 11 16 a-homered to left for R Furcal in the 7th; b-grounded to second for S Proctor in the 8th; c-flied out to center for W Valdez in the 9th. BATTING: 2B - R Martin (32, J Francis); M Kemp (8, L Hawkins). HR - O Saenz (4, 7th inning off J Francis 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - O Saenz (18). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Kent 1, R Furcal 1, J Loney 2, A Ethier 1. Team LOB - 9. BASERUNNING: SB - J Pierre (59, 2nd base off J Francis/Y Torrealba). FIELDING: DP: 3 (R Furcal-J Loney, R Martin-R Furcal, T Abreu-J Loney). COLORADO ab r h rbi bb so lob avg C Sullivan cf 4 2 2 0 0 0 1 .322 T Tulowitzki ss 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 .294 M Holliday lf 3 0 1 1 1 1 3 .334 T Helton 1b 4 0 1 1 0 1 1 .315 G Atkins 3b 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 .290 B Hawpe rf 3 1 1 0 1 1 0 .276 Y Torrealba c 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 .258 O Quintanilla 2b 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .238 a-J Koshansky ph 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .167 J Carroll pr-2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .215 J Francis p 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 .169 L Hawkins p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 b-I Stewart ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .211 B Fuentes p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 M Corpas p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 27 3 7 3 4 7 12 a-doubled to right for O Quintanilla in the 7th; b-hit by pitch for L Hawkins in the 7th. BATTING: 2B - C Sullivan 2 (5, C Billingsley 2); J Koshansky (1, S Proctor). S - Y Torrealba. RBI - M Holliday (123), T Helton (80), J Koshansky (2). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Holliday 2. GIDP - O Quintanilla, G Atkins. Team LOB - 6. BASERUNNING: CS - B Hawpe (2, 2nd base by C Billingsley/R Martin). ---------------------------------------------------- LA DODGERS - 000 000 100 -- 1 COLORADO - 000 101 10x -- 3 ---------------------------------------------------- LA DODGERS ip h r er bb so hr era C Billingsley (L, 11-5) 5 1/3 4 2 2 3 6 0 3.15 M Hendrickson 2/3 2 1 1 0 0 0 5.27 S Proctor 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 3.04 J Beimel 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.02 COLORADO ip h r er bb so hr era J Francis (W, 16-8) 6 2/3 6 1 1 3 10 1 4.25 L Hawkins (H, 15) 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.37 B Fuentes (H, 5) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.27 M Corpas (S, 15) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.83 M Hendrickson pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. IBB - J Kent (by J Francis), M Holliday (by C Billingsley). HBP - I Stewart (by S Proctor). Pitches-strikes: C Billingsley 102-55; M Hendrickson 9-5; S Proctor 22-11; J Beimel 15-10; J Francis 119-76; L Hawkins 8-4; B Fuentes 8-7; M Corpas 9-5. Ground balls-fly balls: C Billingsley 5-4; M Hendrickson 2-0; S Proctor 1-2; J Beimel 1-1; J Francis 5-5; L Hawkins 1-0; B Fuentes 2-0; M Corpas 2-1. Batters faced: C Billingsley 21; M Hendrickson 3; S Proctor 6; J Beimel 3; J Francis 29; L Hawkins 2; B Fuentes 3; M Corpas 3. UMPIRES: HP--Tim Welke. 1B--Brian Knight. 2B--Gary Cederstrom. 3B--Lance Barksdale. T--2:52. Weather: 74 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 7 mph, in from center.</div>
NL: LA DODGERS at COLORADO <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LA DODGERS (1) AT COLORADO (3) - HOW THEY SCORED (1ST GAME) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COLORADO 4TH: C Sullivan doubled to left. T Tulowitzki lined out to first. M Holliday singled to center, C Sullivan scored. T Helton struck out swinging. G Atkins struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) LA DODGERS 0, COLORADO 1. COLORADO 6TH: C Sullivan doubled to right. T Tulowitzki lined out to right, C Sullivan to third. M Holliday intentionally walked. M Hendrickson relieved C Billingsley. T Abreu at third base. T Helton singled to right, C Sullivan scored, M Holliday to second. G Atkins grounded into double play, third to first, M Holliday out at third.(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) LA DODGERS 0, COLORADO 2. LA DODGERS 7TH: T Abreu grounded out to second. O Saenz hit for R Furcal. O Saenz homered to left. J Pierre struck out looking. L Hawkins relieved J Francis. M Kemp doubled to deep right. J Kent grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) LA DODGERS 1, COLORADO 2. COLORADO 7TH: W Valdez at shortstop. B Hawpe singled to center. S Proctor relieved M Hendrickson. Y Torrealba sacrificed to pitcher, B Hawpe to second. J Koshansky hit for O Quintanilla. J Koshansky doubled to right, B Hawpe scored. J Carroll ran for J Koshansky. I Stewart hit for L Hawkins. I Stewart hit by pitch. C Sullivan flied out to center, J Carroll to third. T Tulowitzki walked, I Stewart to second. M Holliday popped out to first. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) LA DODGERS 1, COLORADO 3.</div>
NL: LA DODGERS at COLORADO <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LA DODGERS (1) AT COLORADO (3) - EVENT LOG (1ST GAME) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ La Dodgers Starting Lineups -- R Furcal SS, J Pierre CF, M Kemp RF, J Kent 2B, J Loney 1B, R Martin C, A LaRoche 3B, A Ethier LF, C Billingsley RHP. Colorado Starting Lineups -- C Sullivan CF, T Tulowitzki SS, M Holliday LF, T Helton 1B, G Atkins 3B, B Hawpe RF, Y Torrealba C, O Quintanilla 2B, J Francis LHP. Umpires -- Tim Welke (HP), Brian Knight (1B), Gary Cederstrom (2B), Lance Barksdale (3B). Gametime Weather: 74 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind in from center at 7 mph. LA DODGERS 1ST: R Furcal popped out to shortstop. J Pierre walked. M Kemp flied out to right. J Pierre stole second. J Kent intentionally walked. J Loney popped out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA DODGERS 0, COLORADO 0. COLORADO 1ST: C Sullivan lined out to shortstop. T Tulowitzki flied out to center. M Holliday struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA DODGERS 0, COLORADO 0. LA DODGERS 2ND: R Martin singled to center. A LaRoche struck out swinging. A Ethier flied out to left. C Billingsley struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA DODGERS 0, COLORADO 0. COLORADO 2ND: T Helton grounded out to second. G Atkins grounded out to shortstop. B Hawpe struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA DODGERS 0, COLORADO 0. LA DODGERS 3RD: R Furcal grounded out to pitcher. J Pierre singled to left. M Kemp singled to center, J Pierre to second. J Kent grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, M Kemp out at second, J Pierre to third. J Loney struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) LA DODGERS 0, COLORADO 0. COLORADO 3RD: Y Torrealba singled to center. O Quintanilla grounded into double play, shortstop to first, Y Torrealba out at second. J Francis grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA DODGERS 0, COLORADO 0. LA DODGERS 4TH: R Martin walked. A LaRoche struck out looking. A Ethier struck out looking. C Billingsley singled to right, R Martin to second. R Furcal grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, C Billingsley out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA DODGERS 0, COLORADO 0. COLORADO 4TH: C Sullivan doubled to left. T Tulowitzki lined out to first. M Holliday singled to center, C Sullivan scored. T Helton struck out swinging. G Atkins struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) LA DODGERS 0, COLORADO 1. LA DODGERS 5TH: J Pierre flied out to left. M Kemp struck out swinging. J Kent struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA DODGERS 0, COLORADO 1. COLORADO 5TH: B Hawpe walked. Y Torrealba struck out swinging. B Hawpe caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop. O Quintanilla walked. J Francis struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA DODGERS 0, COLORADO 1. LA DODGERS 6TH: J Loney grounded out to first. R Martin doubled to left. A LaRoche struck out swinging. A Ethier struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA DODGERS 0, COLORADO 1. COLORADO 6TH: C Sullivan doubled to right. T Tulowitzki lined out to right, C Sullivan to third. M Holliday intentionally walked. M Hendrickson relieved C Billingsley. T Abreu at third base. T Helton singled to right, C Sullivan scored, M Holliday to second. G Atkins grounded into double play, third to first, M Holliday out at third.(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) LA DODGERS 0, COLORADO 2. LA DODGERS 7TH: T Abreu grounded out to second. O Saenz hit for R Furcal. O Saenz homered to left. J Pierre struck out looking. L Hawkins relieved J Francis. M Kemp doubled to deep right. J Kent grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) LA DODGERS 1, COLORADO 2. COLORADO 7TH: W Valdez at shortstop. B Hawpe singled to center. S Proctor relieved M Hendrickson. Y Torrealba sacrificed to pitcher, B Hawpe to second. J Koshansky hit for O Quintanilla. J Koshansky doubled to right, B Hawpe scored. J Carroll ran for J Koshansky. I Stewart hit for L Hawkins. I Stewart hit by pitch. C Sullivan flied out to center, J Carroll to third. T Tulowitzki walked, I Stewart to second. M Holliday popped out to first. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) LA DODGERS 1, COLORADO 3. LA DODGERS 8TH: J Carroll at second base. B Fuentes relieved L Hawkins. J Loney grounded out to second. R Martin struck out swinging. N Garciaparra hit for S Proctor. N Garciaparra grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA DODGERS 1, COLORADO 3. COLORADO 8TH: J Beimel relieved S Proctor. T Helton grounded out to first. G Atkins struck out swinging. B Hawpe flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA DODGERS 1, COLORADO 3. LA DODGERS 9TH: M Corpas relieved B Fuentes. A Ethier grounded out to first. T Abreu grounded out to third. M Sweeney hit for W Valdez. M Sweeney flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA DODGERS 1, COLORADO 3.</div>
Francis pitches superbly as Rockies defeat Dodgers <h3>COLORADO 3, LA DODGERS 1 (1ST GAME)</h3>DENVER (Ticker) -- Jeff Francis put a dent in the Los AngelesDodgers' playoff hopes. Francis pitched 6 2/3 superb innings as the Colorado Rockiesposted a 3-1 victory over the Dodgers in the opener of aday-night doubleheader on Tuesday. Matt Holliday, Todd Helton and rookie Joe Koshansky each had anRBI for Colorado, which has won two straight contests followinga three-game losing streak. The loss to the Rockies dropped Los Angeles (79-71) 4 1/2 gamesbehind the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks (84-67) in theNational League West Division. Los Angeles also fell 3 1/2games behind the San Diego Padres (82-67) in the NL wild cardrace. The Rockies are on the periphery of both races, 5 1/2 gamesbehind the Diamondbacks and 4 1/2 in arrears of the Padres. "We aren't too worried in the clubhouse about what we need todo," Francis said. "We're just trying to win and that is all wehave control over. We know the next three series are reallybig. We just need to win. We did it today and we need anotherone tonight to keep us going." Francis (16-8) was outstanding, yielding a run, six hits andthree walks while setting a career high with 10 strikeouts. Itwas much better than his last performance, when lefthander wastagged for a season-high eight runs and eight hits in just 3 1/3innings. "The last start I didn't do a lot of things right," Francissaid. "This one I executed a lot better. I was able to makebetter pitches in some tough situations." Francis improved to 3-0 this season vs. Los Angeles and is 3-0all-time when facing the Dodgers at Coors Field. He is also onevictory shy of matching the team's single-season record set byKevin Ritz in 1996 and tied by Pedro Astacio three years later. "Francis's changeup was outstanding," Dodgers manager GradyLittle said. "That was the difference today." The only run Francis allowed was a one-out homer in the seventhto Olmedo Saenz, who was pinch-hitting Rafael Furcal. The blastwas the fourth this season for Saenz, his second as a pinchhitter. "We had quite a few chances but we weren't able to get any runsother than the homer by Olmedo," Little said. LaTroy Hawkins relieved Francis in the seventh and worked arounda two-out double to Matt Kemp by inducing Jeff Kent to groundout. Brian Fuentes pitched a perfect eighth before Manny Corpas cameon in the ninth to record his 15th save in 17 opportunities. The Rockies broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourthwhen Cory Sullivan led off with a double off Los Angeles starterChad Billingsley (11-5) and scored two batters later on asingle by Holliday. Two innings later, another leadoff double by Sullivan and aone-out walk to Holliday put runners on first and second beforea base hit to right field by Helton gave Colorado a 2-0 lead. Billingsley allowed two runs, four hits and three walks in 5 1/3innings. The righthander, who struck out six, lost for thefirst time in six starts. Leading, 2-1, in the seventh, Brad Hawpe singled off relieverScott Proctor before moving to second on a sacrifice. Koshansky, pinch-hitting for Omar Quintanilla, boomed a doubleto the base of the right field wall for the first hit and secondRBI of his career. Kemp and Russell Martin each had two hits for the Dodgers.
