GAME THREAD: NL: COLORADO (47-46) at PITTSBURGH (40-53)

NL: COLORADO at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
COLORADO 5
PITTSBURGH 3 FINAL</div>

 

NL: COLORADO at PITTSBURGH

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COLORADO (5) AT PITTSBURGH (3) - HOW THEY SCORED
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PITTSBURGH 1ST: R Davis singled to right. F Sanchez doubled to deep right,
R Davis to third. A LaRoche grounded out to second, R Davis scored, F Sanchez
to third. X Nady struck out swinging. J Bay struck out swinging. (1 Run,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 0, PITTSBURGH 1.

COLORADO 3RD: T Tulowitzki doubled to center. C Iannetta grounded out to
second, T Tulowitzki to third. J Francis singled to center, T Tulowitzki
scored. C Sullivan flied out to left. K Matsui struck out looking. (1 Run,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 1, PITTSBURGH 1.

COLORADO 4TH: M Holliday walked. T Helton flied out to center. G Atkins
lined out to center. B Hawpe homered to right, M Holliday scored.
T Tulowitzki struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 3,
PITTSBURGH 1.

COLORADO 6TH: K Matsui singled to left. M Holliday grounded out to
catcher, K Matsui to second. T Helton homered to right, K Matsui scored.
G Atkins lined out to third. B Hawpe flied out to center. (2 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) COLORADO 5, PITTSBURGH 1.

PITTSBURGH 6TH: M Kata hit for I Snell. M Kata grounded out to third.
R Davis struck out swinging. F Sanchez homered to left. A LaRoche struck
out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 5, PITTSBURGH 2.

PITTSBURGH 9TH: M Corpas relieved J Julio. A LaRoche homered to right.
X Nady flied out to right. J Bay grounded out to shortstop. J Castillo
struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 5, PITTSBURGH 3.</div>

 

NL: COLORADO at PITTSBURGH

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COLORADO (5) AT PITTSBURGH (3) - EVENT LOG
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Colorado Starting Lineups -- C Sullivan CF, K Matsui 2B, M Holliday LF,
T Helton 1B, G Atkins 3B, B Hawpe RF, T Tulowitzki SS, C Iannetta C, J Francis LHP.

Pittsburgh Starting Lineups -- R Davis CF, F Sanchez 2B, A LaRoche 1B, X Nady RF,
J Bay LF, J Castillo 3B, R Paulino C, J Wilson SS, I Snell RHP.

Umpires -- Adam Dowdy (HP), Larry Poncino (1B), Bruce Dreckman (2B),
Jerry Meals (3B).

Gametime Weather: 75 degrees, Cloudy, wind out to left at 8 mph.


COLORADO 1ST: C Sullivan grounded out to second. K Matsui grounded out to
first. M Holliday struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 0,
PITTSBURGH 0.

PITTSBURGH 1ST: R Davis singled to right. F Sanchez doubled to deep right,
R Davis to third. A LaRoche grounded out to second, R Davis scored, F Sanchez
to third. X Nady struck out swinging. J Bay struck out swinging. (1 Run,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 0, PITTSBURGH 1.

COLORADO 2ND: T Helton struck out looking. G Atkins struck out swinging.
B Hawpe struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 0, PITTSBURGH 1.

PITTSBURGH 2ND: J Castillo reached on infield single to shortstop.
R Paulino flied out to center. J Wilson grounded into double play, second
to shortstop to first, J Castillo out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
COLORADO 0, PITTSBURGH 1.

COLORADO 3RD: T Tulowitzki doubled to center. C Iannetta grounded out to
second, T Tulowitzki to third. J Francis singled to center, T Tulowitzki
scored. C Sullivan flied out to left. K Matsui struck out looking. (1 Run,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 1, PITTSBURGH 1.

PITTSBURGH 3RD: I Snell singled to right. R Davis bunted into fielder's
choice to first, I Snell out at second. R Davis caught stealing second,
pitcher to first to shortstop. F Sanchez popped out to shortstop. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 1, PITTSBURGH 1.

COLORADO 4TH: M Holliday walked. T Helton flied out to center. G Atkins
lined out to center. B Hawpe homered to right, M Holliday scored.
T Tulowitzki struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 3,
PITTSBURGH 1.

PITTSBURGH 4TH: A LaRoche grounded out to first. X Nady struck out
swinging. J Bay grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
COLORADO 3, PITTSBURGH 1.

COLORADO 5TH: C Iannetta grounded out to pitcher. J Francis grounded out
to second. C Sullivan popped out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
COLORADO 3, PITTSBURGH 1.

PITTSBURGH 5TH: J Castillo fouled out to first. R Paulino flied out to
right. J Wilson lined out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 3,
PITTSBURGH 1.

COLORADO 6TH: K Matsui singled to left. M Holliday grounded out to
catcher, K Matsui to second. T Helton homered to right, K Matsui scored.
G Atkins lined out to third. B Hawpe flied out to center. (2 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) COLORADO 5, PITTSBURGH 1.

PITTSBURGH 6TH: M Kata hit for I Snell. M Kata grounded out to third.
R Davis struck out swinging. F Sanchez homered to left. A LaRoche struck
out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 5, PITTSBURGH 2.

COLORADO 7TH: J Grabow relieved I Snell. T Tulowitzki struck out swinging.
C Iannetta grounded out to first. J Francis struck out swinging. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 5, PITTSBURGH 2.

PITTSBURGH 7TH: X Nady grounded out to pitcher. J Bay singled to left.
J Castillo struck out swinging. R Paulino flied out to right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) COLORADO 5, PITTSBURGH 2.

COLORADO 8TH: C Sullivan grounded out to second. K Matsui lined out to
second. M Holliday struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 5,
PITTSBURGH 2.

PITTSBURGH 8TH: J Julio relieved J Francis. J Wilson flied out to center.
N McLouth hit for J Grabow. N McLouth grounded out to shortstop. R Davis
singled to center. R Davis to second on wild pitch by J Julio. F Sanchez
struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 5, PITTSBURGH 2.

COLORADO 9TH: D Marte relieved J Grabow. T Helton walked. G Atkins walked,
T Helton to second. B Hawpe struck out swinging. S Torres relieved D Marte.
T Tulowitzki flied out to center. C Iannetta struck out looking. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 5, PITTSBURGH 2.

PITTSBURGH 9TH: M Corpas relieved J Julio. A LaRoche homered to right.
X Nady flied out to right. J Bay grounded out to shortstop. J Castillo
struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 5, PITTSBURGH 3.</div>

 

Francis leads Rockies past Pirates

<h3>COLORADO 5, PITTSBURGH 3</h3>PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Jeff Francis tossed seven strong inningsto win his fifth consecutive decision, leading the ColoradoRockies to a 5-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates onWednesday.


Francis (10-5) gave up two runs and six hits, striking out sixwithout a walk. The lefthander departed after throwing 94pitches.


Brad Hawpe and Todd Helton each hit two-run homers for theRockies, who completed a three-game sweep. It marked theirfirst sweep in Pittsburgh since August 25-27, 2000, when thePirates played at Three Rivers Stadium.


The Pirates lost their season-high sixth straight game as theyremained winless since the All-Star break.


It didn't start bad for the Pirates, as they jumped on top inthe bottom of the first inning on Adam LaRoche's RBI groundout.

Colorado tied the score in the third. Troy Tulowitzki led offwith a double after center fielder Rajai Davis slipped, allowingthe ball to drop in.


After Chris Ianetta grounded out, Francis helped his own causewith a run-scoring single. It was his third RBI of the season,all coming in the last two outings.


The Rockies took the lead for good in the fourth. With two outs,Hawpe deposited a ball into the right field seats for his 17thhomer, giving Colorado a 3-1 advantage.


Helton's ninth blast of the season came in the sixth, pushingthe lead to 5-1. Kazuo Matsui had led off the frame with asingle.


Snell (7-7) was roughed up for five runs and five hitsin six innings. The righthander walked one and struck out six.

In the bottom of the sixth, Freddy Sanchez hit his fourth homerof the season and second in four games to pull the Pirateswithin 5-2.


But Francis retired his final four batters as he improved to 9-1in his last 13 starts dating to May 12.


Jorge Julio pitched the eighth and Manny Corpas worked around aleadoff homer to LaRoche in the ninth for his third save.

Colorado won for the ninth time in 12 games.

 

Francis leads Rockies past Pirates

<h3>COLORADO 5, PITTSBURGH 3</h3>PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Jeff Francis tossed seven strong inningsto win his fifth consecutive decision, leading the ColoradoRockies to a 5-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates onWednesday.


Francis (10-5) gave up two runs and six hits, striking out sixwithout a walk. The lefthander departed after throwing 94pitches.


"My fastball wasn't what I expected it to be but I had a littlebetter luck with my offspeed stuff in terms of getting peopleout," Francis said. "I changed speeds well enough to get guys tomis-hit some balls and the result was good, we won the game."

Brad Hawpe and Todd Helton each hit two-run homers for theRockies, who completed a three-game sweep. It marked theirfirst sweep in Pittsburgh since August 25-27, 2000, when thePirates played at Three Rivers Stadium.


"That's the beautiful thing about winning, that each win breedsmore confidence, so we will just keep going after it, keep goingalong and hopefully in a couple months things will look realgood for us," Hawpe said.


The Pirates lost their season-high sixth straight game as theyremained winless since the All-Star break.


"When you've got things going on like we have going right nowoffensively since the (All-Star) break, the margin for error isso slight," Pittsburgh manager Jim Tracy said.


It didn't start bad for the Pirates, who jumped on top inthe bottom of the first inning on Adam LaRoche's RBI groundout.

Colorado tied the score in the third. Troy Tulowitzki led offwith a double after center fielder Rajai Davis slipped, allowingthe ball to drop in.


After Chris Ianetta grounded out, Francis helped his own causewith a run-scoring single. It was his third RBI of the season,all coming in the last two outings.


The Rockies took the lead for good in the fourth. With twoouts, Hawpe deposited a ball into the right field seats for his17th homer, giving Colorado a 3-1 advantage.


"He's murdered righthanded pitching, he's murdered it," Coloradomanager Clint Hurdle said, referring to Hawpe's .339 averageagainst righthanders this season, including 16 of his 17 homersand 54 of his 64 RBI. "He's put in a lot of hard work, andthere's a lot of hard work paying dividends for him."

"The first six weeks, I started off pretty slow, but the lastcouple months I've felt good," Hawpe said. "I'm seeing thescouting reports, trying to get on base, keep things simple,find pitches to drive and try not to overswing."


Helton's ninth blast of the season came in the sixth, pushingthe lead to 5-1. Kazuo Matsui had led off the frame with asingle.


Snell (7-7) was roughed up for five runs and five hits in sixinnings. The righthander walked one and struck out six.

Afterward, Snell was livid, feeling that the Rockies werestealing signs.


"I heard something from another player that somebody was givingsignals so hopefully I won't pitch in Colorado (August 20-23)because I know who it is and I will get them," Snell said. "Itjust doesn't make any sense to give signals but it's alright,I'll get them next time.


"I'll just wait `til next time and see if I pitch against them.If not, I'll let the guy know it's a crock of you know what.I'll just let it breeze over this time."


When asked, Hawpe didn't agree with Snell's assessment.

"I don't even know how many guys we had at second base, so Idon't think that was the deal, no," Hawpe said. "You look forfastball and adjust for everything else. Not even close (tostealing signs)."


In the bottom of the sixth, Freddy Sanchez hit his fourth homerof the season and second in four games to pull the Pirateswithin 5-2.


But Francis retired his final four batters as he improved to 9-1in his last 13 starts dating to May 12.


"Results-wise, it's been good lately but a starting pitchercan't do that on his own," Francis said. "If you look at the runsupport I've had behind me, it's been unbelievable. The defenseI've had behind me has been almost ridiculous. There's no waythat I could take that upon myself."


Jorge Julio pitched the eighth and Manny Corpas worked around aleadoff homer to LaRoche in the ninth for his third save.

Colorado won for the ninth time in 12 games.


"It's nice to come in here and win these games," Helton said."We just have to keep it going, and keep the same approach forthe next four games."