GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: COLORADO (67-65) at SAN FRANCISCO (61-72)

NL: COLORADO at SAN FRANCISCO

<div class="pre">COLORADO (8) VS SAN FRANCISCO (0) - FINAL

COLORADO ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
K Matsui 2b 4 1 4 0 1 0 0 .301
T Tulowitzki ss 3 1 0 0 1 2 5 .292
M Holliday lf 3 1 1 2 2 1 2 .336
T Helton 1b 4 1 1 0 1 0 3 .298
G Atkins 3b 5 2 2 4 0 0 2 .278
R Spilborghs cf 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 .298
B Hawpe rf 5 1 1 1 0 2 1 .283
C Iannetta c 4 1 2 1 1 0 0 .199
J Francis p 5 0 2 0 0 2 3 .173

Totals 37 8 13 8 7 7 16

BATTING: 2B - K Matsui 2 (19, S Atchison, N Lowry). HR - G Atkins 2 (20, 2nd
inning off N Lowry 0 on, 0 Out, 3rd inning off N Lowry 2 on, 0 Out), C Iannetta
(3, 2nd inning off N Lowry 0 on, 2 Out), B Hawpe (25, 7th inning off S Atchison
0 on, 1 Out). S - T Tulowitzki. RBI - G Atkins 4 (91), C Iannetta (18), M
Holliday 2 (105), B Hawpe (88). 2-out RBI - C Iannetta. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - T Helton 1, G Atkins 1, J Francis 1, T Tulowitzki 2. GIDP - T
Helton 2. Team LOB - 10.

BASERUNNING: SB - K Matsui (29, 3rd base off P Misch/G Rodriguez), T
Tulowitzki (7, 2nd base off P Misch/G Rodriguez).

FIELDING: DP: 2 (T Tulowitzki-K Matsui-T Helton, G Atkins-K Matsui-T Helton).



SAN FRANCISCO ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Davis cf 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 .295
D Ortmeier 1b-lf 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .253
R Winn rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .298
B Bonds lf 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
K Frandsen ss 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .230
R Durham 2b 3 0 1 0 1 0 2 .224
R Aurilia ss-1b 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .250
P Feliz 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .250
G Rodriguez c 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 .282
N Lowry p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .088
P Misch p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-O Vizquel ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .248
S Atchison p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
T Walker p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-B Molina ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
J Taschner p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 31 0 6 0 1 3 11

a-grounded to second for P Misch in the 5th; b-flied out to left for T Walker
in the 8th.

BATTING: Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - R Aurilia 1, R Durham 1.
GIDP - R Winn, O Vizquel. Team LOB - 5.

BASERUNNING: SB - R Durham (8, 2nd base off J Francis/C Iannetta).

FIELDING: DP: 2 (R Aurilia-R Durham-D Ortmeier, K Frandsen-R Durham-R
Aurilia).


----------------------------------------------------
COLORADO - 023 200 100 -- 8
SAN FRANCISCO - 000 000 000 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

COLORADO ip h r er bb so hr era
J Francis (W, 14-6) 9 6 0 0 1 3 0 4.10

SAN FRANCISCO ip h r er bb so hr era
N Lowry (L, 14-8) 3 7 7 7 4 1 3 3.92
P Misch 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 3.16
S Atchison 2 4 1 1 1 3 1 5.06
T Walker 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.00
J Taschner 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 4.89

N Lowry pitched to 2 batters in the 4th.

Pitches-strikes: J Francis 119-76; N Lowry 75-42; P Misch 35-21; S Atchison
39-23; T Walker 12-8; J Taschner 17-10. Ground balls-fly balls: J Francis
13-11; N Lowry 4-4; P Misch 4-1; S Atchison 2-1; T Walker 3-0; J Taschner 1-0.
Batters faced: J Francis 32; N Lowry 20; P Misch 7; S Atchison 11; T Walker 3;
J Taschner 4.

UMPIRES: HP--Tony Randazzo. 1B--Charlie Reliford. 2B--Greg Gibson. 3B--Larry
Vanover.

T--2:33. Att--38,397.
Weather: 77 degrees, sunny. Wind: 7 mph, in from
right.</div>

 

NL: COLORADO at SAN FRANCISCO

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
COLORADO 8
SAN FRANCISCO 0 FINAL</div>

 

NL: COLORADO at SAN FRANCISCO

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COLORADO (8) AT SAN FRANCISCO (0) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

COLORADO 2ND: G Atkins homered to center. R Spilborghs lined out to right.
B Hawpe lined out to second. C Iannetta homered to left. J Francis singled
to left. K Matsui singled to left, J Francis to second. T Tulowitzki grounded
out to first. (2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 2, SAN FRANCISCO 0.

COLORADO 3RD: M Holliday walked. T Helton singled to right, M Holliday to
second. G Atkins homered to left, M Holliday and T Helton scored.
R Spilborghs grounded out to third. B Hawpe lined out to third. C Iannetta
walked. J Francis struck out looking. (3 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 5,
SAN FRANCISCO 0.

COLORADO 4TH: K Matsui walked. T Tulowitzki walked, K Matsui to second.
P Misch relieved N Lowry. K Matsui stole third, T Tulowitzki stole second.
M Holliday singled to shallow center, K Matsui and T Tulowitzki scored. T Helton
grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, M Holliday out at
second. G Atkins popped out to second. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 7,
SAN FRANCISCO 0.

COLORADO 7TH: D Ortmeier in left field. K Frandsen at shortstop. R Aurilia
at first base. R Spilborghs grounded out to shortstop. B Hawpe homered to
center. C Iannetta grounded out to second. J Francis singled to center.
K Matsui reached on infield single to pitcher, J Francis to second. T Tulowitzki
struck out swinging. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 8, SAN FRANCISCO 0.</div>

 

NL: COLORADO at SAN FRANCISCO

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COLORADO (8) AT SAN FRANCISCO (0) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Colorado Starting Lineups -- K Matsui 2B, T Tulowitzki SS, M Holliday LF,
T Helton 1B, G Atkins 3B, R Spilborghs CF, B Hawpe RF, C Iannetta C, J Francis LHP.

San Francisco Starting Lineups -- R Davis CF, D Ortmeier 1B, R Winn RF, B Bonds LF,
R Durham 2B, R Aurilia SS, P Feliz 3B, G Rodriguez C, N Lowry LHP.

Umpires -- Tony Randazzo (HP), Charlie Reliford (1B), Greg Gibson (2B),
Larry Vanover (3B).

Gametime Weather: 77 degrees, Sunny, wind in from right at 7 mph.


COLORADO 1ST: K Matsui doubled to deep right. T Tulowitzki sacrificed to
first, K Matsui to third. M Holliday fouled out to catcher. T Helton grounded
out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 0, SAN FRANCISCO 0.

SAN FRANCISCO 1ST: R Davis flied out to left. D Ortmeier singled to left.
R Winn grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, D Ortmeier out
at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 0, SAN FRANCISCO 0.

COLORADO 2ND: G Atkins homered to center. R Spilborghs lined out to right.
B Hawpe lined out to second. C Iannetta homered to left. J Francis singled
to left. K Matsui singled to left, J Francis to second. T Tulowitzki grounded
out to first. (2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 2, SAN FRANCISCO 0.

SAN FRANCISCO 2ND: B Bonds popped out to third. R Durham walked.
R Aurilia flied out to left. P Feliz flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) COLORADO 2, SAN FRANCISCO 0.

COLORADO 3RD: M Holliday walked. T Helton singled to right, M Holliday to
second. G Atkins homered to left, M Holliday and T Helton scored.
R Spilborghs grounded out to third. B Hawpe lined out to third. C Iannetta
walked. J Francis struck out looking. (3 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 5,
SAN FRANCISCO 0.

SAN FRANCISCO 3RD: G Rodriguez grounded out to shortstop. N Lowry grounded
out to third. R Davis singled to center. D Ortmeier grounded into fielder's
choice to third, R Davis out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 5,
SAN FRANCISCO 0.

COLORADO 4TH: K Matsui walked. T Tulowitzki walked, K Matsui to second.
P Misch relieved N Lowry. K Matsui stole third, T Tulowitzki stole second.
M Holliday singled to shallow center, K Matsui and T Tulowitzki scored. T Helton
grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, M Holliday out at
second. G Atkins popped out to second. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 7,
SAN FRANCISCO 0.

SAN FRANCISCO 4TH: R Winn grounded out to third. B Bonds popped out to
shortstop. R Durham singled to right. R Durham stole second. R Aurilia
grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 7, SAN FRANCISCO 0.

COLORADO 5TH: R Spilborghs walked. B Hawpe struck out swinging.
C Iannetta grounded out to shortstop, R Spilborghs to second. J Francis grounded
out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 7, SAN FRANCISCO 0.

SAN FRANCISCO 5TH: P Feliz grounded out to shortstop. G Rodriguez singled
to left. O Vizquel hit for P Misch. O Vizquel grounded into double play, third
to second to first, G Rodriguez out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
COLORADO 7, SAN FRANCISCO 0.

COLORADO 6TH: S Atchison relieved P Misch. K Matsui doubled to left center.
T Tulowitzki struck out swinging. M Holliday struck out looking. T Helton
walked. G Atkins flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 7,
SAN FRANCISCO 0.

SAN FRANCISCO 6TH: R Davis grounded out to second. D Ortmeier grounded out
to third. R Winn popped out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 7,
SAN FRANCISCO 0.

COLORADO 7TH: D Ortmeier in left field. K Frandsen at shortstop. R Aurilia
at first base. R Spilborghs grounded out to shortstop. B Hawpe homered to
center. C Iannetta grounded out to second. J Francis singled to center.
K Matsui reached on infield single to pitcher, J Francis to second. T Tulowitzki
struck out swinging. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 8, SAN FRANCISCO 0.

SAN FRANCISCO 7TH: K Frandsen flied out to center. R Durham lined out to
left. R Aurilia flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 8,
SAN FRANCISCO 0.

COLORADO 8TH: T Walker relieved S Atchison. M Holliday walked. T Helton
grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, M Holliday out at
second. G Atkins grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 8,
SAN FRANCISCO 0.

SAN FRANCISCO 8TH: P Feliz grounded out to shortstop. G Rodriguez struck
out swinging. B Molina hit for T Walker. B Molina flied out to left. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 8, SAN FRANCISCO 0.

COLORADO 9TH: J Taschner relieved T Walker. R Spilborghs grounded out to
shortstop. B Hawpe struck out looking. C Iannetta singled to left. J Francis
struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 8, SAN FRANCISCO 0.

SAN FRANCISCO 9TH: R Davis reached on infield single to third. D Ortmeier
struck out swinging. R Winn singled to left, R Davis to second. K Frandsen
struck out swinging. R Durham flied out to center. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
COLORADO 8, SAN FRANCISCO 0.</div>

 

Francis outstanding as Rockies blank Giants

<h3>COLORADO 8, SAN FRANCISCO 0</h3>By Ryan Leong
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- Jeff Francis tossed a six-hitter andGarrett Atkins belted two home runs as the Colorado Rockiesposted an easy 8-0 victory over the streaking San FranciscoGiants on Wednesday afternoon.


Atkins drove in four runs for the Rockies (68-65), who movedwithin five games of the San Diego Padres (72-59) for firstplace in the National League wild card standings. The Padresface off with the NL West Division-leading Arizona Diamondbacks(74-59) later Wednesday night.


Francis (14-6), who tied his career high in wins, pitched atwo-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals on July 24, 2006 -his last shutout. On Wednesday, he tossed 119 pitches whilestriking out three and walking one.


Atkins hit his first homer of the game in the second inning, a415-foot blast just to the left of the batter's eye in center.Two outs later, Chris Iannetta added a line-drive homer to leftto make it 2-0.


The Rockies scored three times in the third to expand the leadto five. Matt Holliday walked and Todd Helton singled, settingup Atkins, who crushed a fastball up in the zone to left for hissecond blast.


In the fourth, Giants starter Noah Lowry walked Kaz Matsui androokie Troy Tulowitzki before leaving the game. Patrick Mischcame on to face Holliday, who greeted the rookie with a two-runsingle to left to for a 7-0 bulge.


Brad Hawpe capped the scoring in the seventh against relieverScott Atchison with an opposite-field homer to deep left-centerfield.


For the second straight start, Lowry (14-8) was hit hard. Thelefthander allowed a season-high seven runs and seven hits whilewalking four in just three innings.


He suffered his first career loss in August after entering witha lifetime 12-0 record in the month. In his last outing, Lowrygave up six runs and a career-high 12 hits but managed to hangin for the win.


Rajai Davis had two hits for the last-place Giants (61-73), whohad won 11 of their previous 13 games, including six in a rowprior to the defeat.

 

Francis outstanding as Rockies blank Giants

<h3>COLORADO 8, SAN FRANCISCO 0</h3>By Ryan Leong
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- Jeff Francis tossed a six-hitter andGarrett Atkins belted two home runs as the Colorado Rockiesposted an easy 8-0 victory over the streaking San FranciscoGiants on Wednesday afternoon.


Atkins drove in four runs for the Rockies (68-65), who movedwithin five games of the San Diego Padres (72-59) for firstplace in the National League wild card standings. The Padresface off with the NL West Division-leading Arizona Diamondbacks(74-59) later Wednesday night.


Francis (14-6), who tied his career high in wins, pitched atwo-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals on July 24, 2006 -his last shutout. On Wednesday, he tossed 119 pitches whilestriking out three and walking one.


"It's kind of icing on the cake," Francis said. "You go outthere and try to win, and when you can do something like that,it's special. But the fact that we win is satisfaction enough.

"I was throwing a good two-seamer in some offensive counts, andI'd throw them up there and they'd ground it out or hit it rightback at guys. The defense behind me today was outstanding, notto mention the offense as well."


Atkins hit his first homer of the game in the second inning, a415-foot blast just to the left of the batter's eye in center.Two outs later, Chris Iannetta added a line-drive homer to leftto make it 2-0.


The Rockies scored three times in the third to expand the leadto five. Matt Holliday walked and Todd Helton singled, settingup Atkins, who crushed a fastball up in the zone to left for hissecond blast.


In the fourth, Giants starter Noah Lowry walked Kaz Matsui androokie Troy Tulowitzki before leaving the game. Patrick Mischcame on to face Holliday, who greeted the rookie with a two-runsingle to left for a 7-0 bulge.


"Today, we were swinging the bats the way we're capable of, andJeff pitched a great ballgame," Atkins said. "We didn't know(Lowry) hadn't pitched well in his last outing. We've seen himenough to know what he's got, and I think today was just amatter of him not locating it where he wanted to. His stuff wasall right, he just didn't have the command he usually does."

"It carried well for us today," Rockies manager Clint Hurdlesaid. "We put some swings on some balls that were out over theplate and up a little bit, and our guys were able to takeadvantage of it. A four-homer day for us is always a good day."

Brad Hawpe capped the scoring in the seventh against relieverScott Atchison with an opposite-field homer to deep left-centerfield.


For the second straight start, Lowry (14-8) was hit hard. Thelefthander allowed a season-high seven runs and seven hits whilewalking four in just three innings.


He suffered his first career loss in August after entering witha lifetime 12-0 record in the month. In his last outing, Lowrygave up six runs and a career-high 12 hits but managed to hangon for the win.


"I think he felt a little fatigued there, which could benormal," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "We've gone through agrinding schedule here and those starters have been going everyfifth day. He just had trouble getting the ball where hewanted, and it was an off-day for him."


"I hate to say it, but I was reaching back and there was nothingbehind it," Lowry said. "I thought I got the pitches in onthem, but I must not have got it in on them enough if they hitthem out."


Rajai Davis had two hits for the last-place Giants (61-73), whohad won 11 of their previous 13 games, including six in a rowprior to the defeat.


"We played well, I thought, during that span," said Bochy, whoseteam had just played 31 games in 30 days. "This is the firstgame we've had like this in a while, and it just got away fromus. Overall, we've been in the games, won some tight ones andplayed some better baseball.


"We just got shut down by a pretty good pitcher that was on topof his game."