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Friday, Aug. 18 9:05pm ET
Helton's batting .399 | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
DENVER (AP) -- Moving out of the leadoff spot was all it took to awaken the bat of Mark Kotsay. "Being in the No. 2 took pressure off me to hit home runs," Kotsay said after going 3-for-5 with a solo homer and three runs Friday night in the Florida Marlins' 9-8 win over the Colorado Rockies. Kotsay, who swapped places in the order with Luis Castillo two months ago, is 22-for-61 (.361) in his last 17 games. "Luis has done a lot for me by getting on base," Kotsay said, "and having Henry Rodriguez behind me makes it a good spot to be successful." Kotsay also credited Todd Helton, who went 3-for-5 and raised his batting average to .399, with helping him. "Todd uses the left side of the field better than anybody," Kotsay said. "If you stay in that frame of mind, you will be successful." Helton's average is the highest for any player this late in the season since George Brett was batting over .400 in September 1980. Brett, bidding to become the first .400 hitter since Ted Williams batted 406 in 1941, finished at .390. "I'd rather not talk about the .400 right now. I'm more more concerned about the wins and losses," Helton said. "I am disappointed. I had a chance to drive in some runs and had a bad swing one time and swung at bad pitch on the other." Ramon Castro hit a three-run homer, Derrek Lee had three hits and Rodriguez added a two-run homer for the Marlins, who have won three of four. Kotsay improved to .462 (17-for-36) in nine games at Coors Field. "Kotsay is just a good player," Florida manager John Boles said. "A lot of players say they like to hit at Coors Field, but not that many actually do it." Chuck Smith (2-4) allowed five runs and 13 hits in six innings, and drove in his first run with a single to win for the first time in four starts. Jeffrey Hammonds went 4-for-5 for the Rockies, who have lost four of five. Hammonds is second in the league to Helton, hitting .364. Brian Rose (1-1) allowed eight runs and nine hits in three-plus innings. "Rose couldn't get the ball down from the very beginning," Colorado manager Buddy Bell said. "When he finally found a way to get it down better, he couldn't find his command." Antonio Alfonseca got three outs for his 35th save in 39 chances. "This didn't feel like a win," Boles said after Colorado scored twice in the ninth. "It felt like a pardon." Kotsay gave the Marlins a 1-0 lead in the first inning, homering over the scoreboard in right field. In the second, Castro followed infield singles by Lee and Andy Fox with a drive to left-center. Two outs later, Rodriguez hit a two-run homer for a 6-0 lead. Ben Petrick and Juan Pierre each drove in a run with singles in the bottom half as Colorado closed to 6-2. Smith got a run back in the third for the Marlins by slapping a two-out single to right. Successive singles by Helton, Hammonds and Larry Walker to open the Rockies third accounted for one run, and Todd Walker's sacrifice fly drove in a second to cut it to 7-4. Two-out RBI singles by Mike Lowell and Lee in the fourth gave the Marlins a 9-4 lead. Todd Walker drove in Hammonds with a two-out single in the fifth for the Rockies. Todd Hollandsworth hit a pinch-homer, a solo shot in the eighth off Dan Miceli to make it 9-6. Jeff Cirillo's RBI double and Petrick's run-scoring infield single in the ninth capped the scoring. Game notesCastro's second-inning homer was the first for a Marlins catcher this year. ... Florida SS Alex Gonzalez (sprained MCL) and LF Cliff Floyd (sprained knee) are on the DL, but accompanied the team to Denver. ... Marlins starters allowed three or fewer runs in nine consecutive games before Friday. ... Helton has a 10-game hitting streak. ... Pierre has an 11-game hitting streak. ... RHP Kevin Jarvis threw a simulated game without pain in his lower back Friday at Triple-A Colorado Springs. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Florida Clubhouse Colorado Clubhouse RECAPS Boston 6 Texas 4
Florida 9
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