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Sunday, May 14 3:05pm ET
Rockies continue racking up runs | |||||
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BOX SCORE
DENVER (AP) -- Once dependent on the home run, the rebuilt Colorado Rockies are scoring runs in record numbers without leaving the ballpark. Todd Helton broke a tie game with an RBI double and the Rockies reached double figures for the seventh straight home game Sunday, beating the San Francisco Giants 11-7.
Surprisingly, the Rockies hit just three homers in their three-game sweep of the Giants, and they have scored 11 runs or more without a homer in four games this season. All four have been at Coors Field. "They have always been tough in this park," San Francisco manager Dusty Baker said. "We shut them out (twice) in our park and they get a ton of hits back here in their park. They feel very comfortable here as their record indicates." Helton raised his major league-leading average to .417 as he continued to set the pace for the Rockies, who are hitting .401 as a team during their seven-game double-digit streak. Colorado could be without Helton when they open a six-game road trip Tuesday in New York. He left the game with a strained right hamstring after his go-ahead double against Livan Hernandez (2-5) in the seventh. "I'm fine," said Helton, who also leads the NL with 41 RBI. "I hope I'm fine. We won't know until tomorrow." Jeffrey Hammonds followed Helton's double with an RBI triple and the Rockies added three runs in the eighth when San Francisco right fielder Armando Rios turned Tom Goodwin's single into a three-base error. Reflecting Colorado's emphasis on a more speed-oriented offense, Goodwin sprinted all the way around the bases just ahead of Jeff Kent's relay throw. He had a triple earlier in the game. "That's the type of ballpark this is," Goodwin said. "I don't think it's a made-for-power ballpark. It's more of a gaps ballpark, a doubles and triples park. Guys are going to hit home runs. You need to have guys that can HIT." Rios' gaffe gave the Rockies some insurance after Bobby Estalella's solo homer cut Colorado's lead to 8-7 in the eighth. Gabe White (3-0) got the final two outs of the inning for the victory in relief. "(Goodwin) hit it hard and all I'm thinking is we're down by one, you've got to throw the guy out (at home)," Rios said. "I went aggressive, I just didn't get down enough. That's the first time that ever happened to me. I've got to come up with that ball." Estalella went 3-for-4, and Terrell Lowery -- playing in place of injured Barry Bonds -- was 3-for-3 with a three-run homer for the Giants, who were swept by the Rockies for the first time since July 10-12, 1998. "I'm not satisfied yet," said Lowery, who was recalled from Triple-A Fresno on Saturday. "I want to have at-bats and do something with them. ... This was a good feeling. I wanted to make a contribution." Colorado trailed 5-1 after four but scored two unearned runs in the fifth and took the lead on four consecutive singles and a sacrifice fly in the sixth. Bill Mueller's pinch RBI single off Mike DeJean tied the game again in the seventh. The Giants played their first game without Bonds, who sprained a joint in his lower back Saturday. He was scheduled to fly back to San Francisco on Sunday and have an MRI and X-rays taken Monday.
Game notes | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard San Francisco Clubhouse Colorado Clubhouse Barry scary feeling, but Giants' Bonds back on his feet
RECAPS Kansas City 5 Cleveland 4
Colorado 11
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