Todd Helton's two-run double off the wall in the fifth inning sparked the Colorado Rockies past the Atlanta Braves 6-4 on a wet and chilly Friday night at Coors Field.
The Rockies loaded the bases with nobody out in the fifth and Braves third baseman Willy Aybar made a nice, barehanded play to nail Kaz Matsui at the plate for the first out. But Helton barely missed a grand slam, sending Tim Hudson's next pitch off the fence in centre field to erase Atlanta's 3-2 lead.
Troy Tulowitzki followed with a run-scoring groundout to cap a three-run rally that made it 5-3.
Colorado had loaded the bases with one out an inning earlier only to come up empty when Aybar threw out his first runner at the plate and right-hander Josh Fogg struck out on three pitches.
Fogg (10-9) gave up three earned runs, eight hits and two walks in 6 2-3 innings. His 30th start triggered a US$50,000 contract incentive and came after a meeting with manager Clint Hurdle earlier in the week when it appeared as though he wouldn't get another start this season.
Brian Fuentes pitched the ninth for his 27th save in 32 chances.
Hudson (12-12) allowed six earned runs, nine hits and four walks in 5 1-3 innings.
Rockies rookie Jeff Baker hit his fourth homer this week, a two-run shot that travelled 421 feet into the rock pile beyond the centre-field wall and gave Colorado a 2-1 lead in the first. Jeff Francoeur had singled home a run in the top half.
Brian McCann, who has 54 RBIs since the all-star break, restored the Braves' lead with a two-run double in a driving rain in the third inning, putting Atlanta ahead 3-2. He added an RBI double off Ray King with one out in the eighth that pulled Atlanta to 6-4.
Tony Pena pinch-ran for McCann and immediately made a baserunning blunder, breaking for third on Francoeur's chopper to shortstop. Tulowitzki threw him out and Aybar ended the threat with a groundout.
Matsui's run-scoring single off Hudson made it 6-3 in the sixth.
Notes: Braves OF Chipper Jones (toe) was out of the starting lineup for the second straight night, and manager Bobby Cox said he'd prefer to hold him out of Saturday night's game, too. ... Rockies RHP Jose Mesa is appealing his three-game suspension for plunking San Francisco's Mark Sweeney this week. ... The Braves have to go 7-1 over their final eight games to keep Cox's streak of 15 winning seasons alive. ... Hudson is 99-17 in games in which his team has scored at least four runs.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
