Chase Utley started a little late this season. Utley hit his third career grand slam and homered twice for the second straight day, and the Philadelphia Phillies held off the Colorado Rockies 10-8 Friday night. Utley was in a 1-for-19 slide with no homers this season before connecting twice in Thursday's 7-6 win at Atlanta. "It doesn't look too much different, to be honest with you," he said. |
STATS Senior Writer Philadelphia's Chase Utley started off the season slow, but he's making up for it now. Utley looks to stay hot at the plate as the Phillies continue their three-game series with the Colorado Rockies Saturday at Coors Field. Utley was in a 1-for-19 slide before homering twice in Thursday's 7-6 win at Atlanta. He followed that game up with a 3-for-5, two-homer performance in Friday's 10-8 victory over the Rockies (6-4). |
Barry Wesson hit a two-run, pinch-hit single in the eighth inning that stood as the game-winner for Colorado in an 8-6 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night. |
Todd Helton collected his seventh hit in seven at-bats to start a run-scoring rally in the first inning, then walloped his second homer of the spring in the seventh. |
Frank Thomas hit a home run in his first game with Oakland, and the Athletics beat the Colorado Rockies 3-1 on Sunday. Nick Swisher and Jay Payton also homered for the A's. Matt Holliday had two hits, including a home run, for the Rockies. Eli Marrero also had two hits. After striking out on a check swing in his first at-bat, Thomas hit a 1-1 pitch off Josh Fogg that sailed high over the billboards beyond the left-center field fence, setting off a mild celebration in the A's dugout. |
In his first "A" game since being away from the Rockies for more than three weeks, Byung-Hyun Kim -- who pitched for Korea in the World Baseball Classic -- strained a hamstring on Tuesday, an injury he can ill afford so close to the beginning of the season. |
Even though all that baserunning affected Jeff Francis' delivery, he eventually settled down as the Colorado Rockies beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-6 Monday night. Francis singled twice, scored twice and drove in a run, delivering an RBI single in the top of the fourth. He scored from first base later in the inning, sliding underneath a tag at the plate in a three-run inning. Francis gave up four runs and five hits in six innings, but allowed all his runs in the first three innings. |
After giving up four runs and four hits in the first three innings Monday, left-hander Jeff Francis retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced and was the winning pitcher in Colorado's 8-6 victory over Milwaukee. Seven of those 10 outs came on strikeouts, six of them swinging. The difference, Francis said, was keeping his head steadier after releasing the ball. "I tried to stay on the plate and always keep it in view," said Francis, who pitched six innings. |
--SS Clint Barmes hit one ball well Monday when he lined out to left field, but he went hitless in five at-bats, dropping his spring average to .190 (9-for-45). After going 4-for-11 to begin the spring, Barmes has gone 5-for-34 (.147) in his last 11 games. --1B Todd Helton will make his only road trip outside Tucson on Saturday when the Rockies conclude spring training with a game in the Phoenix area against Milwaukee. |
Colorado Rockies pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim strained his right hamstring running the bases Tuesday during a 6-6, 10-inning tie against the San Francisco Giants. Kim, who pitched four games for South Korea in the World Baseball Classic, pitched two innings Tuesday, then batted in the seventh and walked. Cory Sullivan doubled and Kim appeared to get hurt when he rounded third. He limped home and was tagged out. |
The Rockies will open the season without a new face in the stating rotation or lineup. They will go into Year II of the youth movement giving the inexperienced players of a year ago a chance to build off their first seasons. ROTATION: 1. RHP Jason Jennings 2. RHP Aaron Cook 3. LHP Jeff Francis 4. RHP Byung-Hyun Kim 5. RHP Zach Day The bottom two spots are major questions. |
