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Saturday, Jun. 17 8:05pm ET
Hammonds (2 HR, 4 RBI) rocks D-Backs | |||||
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
DENVER (AP) -- Jeffrey Hammonds wasn't about to let the Colorado Rockies be snake-bitten. Hammonds hit two home runs, including a solo homer that helped the Rockies quash Arizona's comeback hopes, as Colorado beat the Diamondbacks 14-5 on Saturday night. The Diamondbacks nearly erased a seven-run deficit before Hammonds led off the seventh with his 13th home run of the season. Mike Lansing and Todd Helton each homered in the eighth to help the Rockies pull away. "That's a little bit of a momentum shift right there," Colorado third baseman Jeff Cirillo said. "We're like, `Oh boy. Put the chin strap on. This game isn't over yet.' Then Hammonds hits the home run and it's a sigh of relief." The victory moved the Rockies within one game of first-place Arizona in the NL West. It's the closest Colorado has been to the top spot this late in the season since June 11, 1997. "I'd rather be where we're at right now than where a couple other teams are," Rockies manager Buddy Bell said. "We deserve to be where we're at." Brian Bohanon (3-4) pitched into the seventh inning and Cirillo and Mike Lansing each had three hits and two RBIs for the Rockies. They have won 19 of 23 at Coors Field and improved to a major league-best 24-8 at home. "They have a lot of good things happening for them right now," Arizona manager Buck Showalter said. "They've been playing great and we've been having some trouble with our offense. Any time you score five runs in a ballpark like this, it won't be enough." While Colorado's hitters had no problem against Brian Anderson (6-2), Bohanon stifled Arizona for the first five innings before leaving to a standing ovation in the seventh. "Everything started working and it's just a good feeling, especially with that crowd tonight," Bohanon said. "That's the most I've heard from a crowd since the Yankees-Mets when I was there. It was amazing." Staked to a 7-0 lead, Bohanon gave up a two-run homer to Tony Womack in the sixth and left with one out in the seventh after singles by Matt Williams and Greg Colbrunn. Stan Belinda relieved and induced a grounder by Danny Bautista, but Rockies shortstop Neifi Perez kicked it for an error to load the bases. Damian Miller followed with a three-run double to cut the lead to 7-5. "We felt good at the time," Miller said. "At the time it was big because we cut the gap to two runs, and we just couldn't hold them." Hammonds, who hit a two-run homer off Anderson in the fifth, has 10 career multihomer game and his three this season. "We put the pressure on them early and we just kept it going," Hammonds said. "We started feeling the emotion and it got a little contagious out there." The Rockies pulled away in the eighth when Lansing hit a two-run homer and Helton had a three-run shot off Matt Mantei. Colorado had a franchise-record 11 extra-base hits. Banished to the bullpen earlier in the year, Bohanon gave up four runs and five hits in 6 1-3 innings. Anderson surrendered seven runs and nine hits in 4 1-3 innings. "Lately, I'm cringing every time a ball goes between the white lines," Anderson said. "I know they have a chance to go in." The Rockies led 3-0 after three and chased Anderson with four runs in the fifth. Cirillo, 10-for-19 against Anderson, had an RBI double and scored on Helton's run-scoring single. Hammonds followed with a 422-foot homer onto the left-field concourse. Game notesBecause of Friday's rainout, the Diamondbacks will play 18 games over the final 17 days of the season, including 11 on the road. ... Before the game, the Rockies acquired C Adam Melhuse from Los Angeles for a player to be named later and cash. Melhuse was expected to be added to the 25-man major league roster Sunday with INF Aaron Ledesma the likely candidate to be replaced. ... The Diamondbacks had won 17 straight games when Anderson started but are 2-3 in his last five starts. ... Hammonds extended his hitting streak to 15 games. ... Womack has hit in 10 straight. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Arizona Clubhouse Colorado Clubhouse RECAPS Detroit 8 Cleveland 6
Colorado 14
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