Rockies' rally falls short

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13573066.post-1153512085928729272006-07-21T13:00:00.000-07:002006-07-21T13:01:25.933-07:00Rockies' rally falls short07/19/2006 PITTSBURGH -- Colorado had hoped to build some momentum after snapping an eight-game losing streak on Tuesday night. But the Pirates held the Rockies down to take the rubber game of a three-game series, 6-5, before 19,881 on Wednesday afternoon at PNC Park. Colorado staged a ninth-inning rally against Pirates closer Mike Gonzalez, but came up short. Choo Freeman led off with a single. After pinch-hitter J.D. Closser struck out, Jamey Carroll drew a walk. Clint Barmes then singled to load the bases and Garrett Atkins singled to drive in Freeman and make it a one-run affair. Not wanting to get doubled up on Atkins' hit, Carroll hesitated at second and only made it to third base. Gonzalez then struck out Matt Holliday and Ryan Shealy to end the game. "We didn't make a clean read at second base on the single by Atkins," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle lamented. "We had a runner that broke back to second base, unfortunately. Jamey is probably one of our best baserunners. He just didn't get a clean read on it. He broke back to second base on a ball where really nobody is there. You don't want to get doubled off, but I think in that situation, he knew where the guys were. He wasn't sure, but when he looked around, he saw that he might have misread it." "When he hit it, it just kind of froze me," Carroll said. "You don't want to get doubled off in that situation. I went too cautious of a route, and knowing that Holliday and Shealy were coming up, I just froze on it. I just played too cautious." Hurdle bemoaned the missed opportunities. "There were opportunities a couple of times today to get it done," Hurdle stated. "We were talking earlier about finding a way to get a run going. Today is a perfect example. We had different situations where guys could have showed up and given us that opportunity." Rockies starter Jason Jennings (6-8) gave up six runs on seven hits in six innings of work and was tagged with the loss. "The way [Jennings] pitched -- it wasn't his best day," Hurdle said. "[Pittsburgh] didn't pound the ball on him in the sixth inning, but he got the balls up. Whenever you get the ball up, more often than not, good things don't happen. A couple balls dropped in that weren't hit hard to score the three runs. He wasn't able to get the big out." The loss was a stinging one for Jennings. "I feel like I made the pitches to get out of the inning," Jennings explained. "We were winning and I had two outs in the sixth and we were leading, 4-3, and I come out and we're losing, 6-4. It's frustrating all the way around. Today, I didn't throw as good, but for most of the game, I had us in a position to win and let it slip by." Pittsburgh lefty starter Zach Duke got the win and upped his record to 7-8. He tossed six innings and allowed four runs on seven hits. Colorado nicked Duke for a run in the second inning. First baseman Shealy paid immediate dividends after being recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs on Monday. In his first action of the season, he led off with a double to right-center field and scored on a two-out single by Freeman. Jennings did not allow a Pittsburgh hit until the bottom of the fourth inning. With one out, Jack Wilson tripled. He later scored on a two-out RBI single by Sean Casey, tying the game at 1. Veteran Joe Randa then smacked a two-run double to left-center field, giving the Pirates a 3-1 lead. Shealy struck again in the sixth inning. With one out after a walk to Atkins, Shealy stroked a run-scoring double to center field. He scored on a two-out RBI double by Yorvit Torrealba. Duke surrendered his third RBI double of the inning to Luis Gonzalez, putting the Rockies on top, 4-3. Pittsburgh rallied with two outs in the bottom of the sixth and tied the score at 4 on a bloop RBI single by Randa. Ronny Paulino then delivered a two-run double, putting Pittsburgh on top, 6-4. Gonzalez notched his 15th save for Pittsburgh. The loss was a tough one to swallow for the Rockies. "It's definitely a frustrating loss," Carroll explained. "If I scored, it could have been a totally different ballgame." Source: http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13587134747234821796noreply@blogger.com