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Wednesday, May 24 9:05pm ET
Cubs' pen (7.67 ERA) battered again | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
DENVER (AP) -- Chicago Cubs manager Don Baylor is running out of bullpen options. His patience isn't far behind. Jeffrey Hammonds homered twice and had three RBIs as the Colorado Rockies again took advantage of Chicago's beleaguered bullpen, rallying to beat the Cubs 9-4 Wednesday night. "It is to a point where it is beyond embarrassing," Baylor said after watching two relievers give up six runs and four homers. "It is a major league club and guys go out and continue to do the same thing and accept it. I refuse to accept it. I won't." Bubba Carpenter, Jeff Cirillo and Darren Bragg also homered for the Rockies, who have won eight straight home games -- three short of the team record. Colorado (23-20) moved three games above .500 for the first time since the end of the 1997 season. "We've played well here at home. We have a lot of confidence," Cirillo said. "I don't know what the magic ingredient is, but it's just a lot of confidence that we're going to be able to come back." Rockies starter Pedro Astacio (6-2) gave up three runs and nine hits in eight innings to win his sixth straight decision. He struck out 11 and walked one while his offense fell short of 10 runs for the first time in eight games at Coors Field. "Same old Pedro," Colorado manager Buddy Bell said. "The middle part of the game, he had a lot of innings that weren't easy but he was able to make big pitches. That's Pedro. He just does enough to win." Following a 58-minute rain delay, Jose Jimenez got two outs for his seventh save. The Cubs, who wasted a 6-0 lead on Tuesday, have lost 13 of 18 and their bullpen's ERA rose to 7.67. Kyle Farnsworth (1-5) gave up three homers, spoiling a gallant performance by starter Ismael Valdes. "This was a shame," Chicago catcher Joe Girardi said. "Valdes was throwing great and tweaked his hamstring again. It's disappointing. We have to move on. Sometimes the best thing to get right back on the field. We don't need a long time to think what happened." Willie Greene's two-run homer off Astacio gave the Cubs a 3-1 lead in the fifth, but Valdes faltered after his right hamstring tightened up while running out his second double of the game in the sixth. Valdes, who retired 10 straight at one point, walked Tom Goodwin to start the Colorado sixth and gave up a one-out single to Cirillo. He left the game after Todd Helton's RBI groundout that might have turned into a double play if Valdes could have sprinted to cover first base. Hammonds, hitting .486 at Coors Field and .353 overall, greeted Farnsworth with a two-run homer into the bullpen beyond right-center field for his ninth career multihomer game and second this season. "I knew Jeff Hammonds was a good player," Bell said. "I knew he was a talented kid. The thing I didn't know about him was how intense and how hard he plays. That kind of goes unnoticed when you have the kind of skills that he has." Carpenter followed Hammonds with his third homer of the year, and Cirillo added a three-run shot after Farnsworth gave up back-to-back walks with two outs in the seventh. The bullpen woes have been commonplace for the Cubs this season. Chicago relievers are 6-14, and the Cubs have lost six games when leading after seven. Hammonds gave the Rockies a 1-0 lead in the second with his seventh homer of the season, but the Cubs tied it on a two-out single by Girardi and a double by Valdes in the fourth. Girardi homered in the ninth off Stan Belinda. Game notesCubs 1B Mark Grace, on the 15-day DL with a strained left hamstring, has started light running but remains at least 10 days from returning. ... Chicago's Sammy Sosa broke an 0-for-11 spell with a first-inning single. He has not homered since May 20, a span of 44 at-bats. ... The Rockies have hit a home run in all 30 games played against Chicago at Coors Field. ... Farnsworth has surrendered 12 homers in 42 2/3 innings and allowed 9 of 11 inherited runners to score. ... Colorado is 19-0 when leading after seven inning. ... Astacio recorded his 500th strikeout with the Rockies. ... Cubs SS Ricky Gutierrez left with a strained left hamstring and a shoulder injury in the seventh. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Chicago Cubs Clubhouse Colorado Clubhouse RECAPS Baltimore 4 Seattle 3
Colorado 9
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