Tulowitzki-Led Rocks Sock Giants 8-2
Giants' Sanchez falls to 3-9 in loss
AP
San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez, front, watches the flight of a three-run home run hit by Colorado Rockies' Troy Tulowitzki, back, in the fourth inning of the Rockies' 8-2 victory in a baseball game in Denver on Saturday.
Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies, a Sunnyvale, Calif. native, homered and drove in a career-high five runs in an 8-2 drubbing of the Giants Saturday.
The Rockies also moved a game ahead of the Giants in the NL wild-card race as Jorge De La Rosa won his career-best sixth straight start for Colorado.
Jonathan Sanchez (3-9) matched De La Rosa inning for hitless inning until Todd Helton led off the fourth with a line-drive single to right for Colorado's first hit. One night earlier, Matt Cain had held the Rockies without a hit until Ian Stewart's single with two outs in the fifth.
Right after Helton's single, rain sent the fans scurrying for shelter or umbrellas. Garrett Atkins drew a walk and one out later, the Fremont High School grad, Tulowitzki sent Sanchez's first offering into a downpour and over the wall in right-center for his 18th homer and a 3-0 lead.
The Giants pulled to 3-1 on Sandoval's RBI double in the sixth, which scored Andres Torres from first base.
Tulowitzki's run-scoring double in the bottom half of the sixth restored Colorado's three-run cushion and chased Sanchez, who gave up five earned runs on five hits over five-plus innings.
Chris Iannetta sent a pitch from right-handed reliever Justin Miller to the track in center for a sacrifice fly and a 5-1 lead over the Giants, who fell to 3-6 on their 10-game trip that concludes Sunday at Coors Field.
Randy Winn's one-out triple in the eighth ended De La Rosa's night and brought in Rafael Betancourt. Pinch-hitter Fred Lewis grounded out to short, scoring Winn to make it 5-2.
Again, Tulowitzki responded, slapping an RBI single off Merkin Valdez in the bottom half of the inning, sparking a three-run that included a run-scoring double from Iannetta and a sacrifice fly from pinch-hitter Seth Smith.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC Bay Area
Posted Saturday, Jul 25, 2009 - 9:05 PM PST
