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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
DENVER (AP) -- One day after undergoing root-canal surgery,
Jeffrey Hammonds dragged himself off his couch and drove in five
runs. Now everybody is going to want one.
|  | | Jeffrey Hammonds feels no pain in 18-3 victory |
"I wouldn't recommend that," Hammonds countered Tuesday. "It
hurt. I was down for a while. I watched yesterday's games from the
couch."
Hammonds put the hurt on the Oakland Athletics, hammering a
homer among his three hits as the Rockies drilled the A's 18-3.
The Rockies, posting their second straight victory after
snapping an 11-game losing streak in the second game of a day-night
doubleheader on Monday, pounded out 21 hits.
It was the second-largest victory margin in team history,
trailing only a 19-2 win over Arizona on June 18.
Pedro Astacio (8-6) pitched seven strong innings, allowing three
runs on eight hits and striking out eight -- including five in
succession to tie the club record.
Hammonds hit his 15th homer, a solo shot off Scott Service, in
the sixth inning.
A's manager Art Howe, his bullpen exhausted from 11-10 and 10-9
games on Monday, brought in shortstop Frank Menechino to pitch in
the eighth when T.J. Mathews developed a blister on the middle
finger of his pitching hand. The Rockies scored six runs in the
inning, including Todd Walker's three-run homer.
The Rockies took an early 4-1 lead off A's rookie Mark Mulder,
then made it 10-2 with a six-run fourth. That big inning was
highlighted by Hammonds' two-run single and a two-run double by
Butch Huskey.
Huskey and Walker, both of whom were acquired in a trade with
Minnesota on Sunday, made major contributions. Huskey had three
hits and three RBI, and Walker had two hits and three RBI.
"Petey (Astacio) gave us exactly what we needed," Rockies
manager Buddy Bell said. "We got some big hits, a few coming from
our new guys, which makes it nice. It makes them feel comfortable
when they feel like they can contribute.
"It's a weird game, man. I can't explain it. You go through a
stretch like we did and then all of a sudden have a game like we
did last night (a 10-9 victory). I'm sure last night's game had a
lot to do with how we played today. These last two games were
really, really, really important to us."
Howe said Mulder "gave us what he had today. It wasn't enough.
He will continue to get the ball."
Asked about using Menechino, Howe said, "I could have had Doug
Jones come in and finish the game, but I need some fresh arms for
the next series. It's a big series (with Seattle). Frank had been
bragging to me about his pitching, and I found out today."
Did he have any other options?
"Me. So I opted for Frank," Howe said.
Jason Giambi's solo homer, his 23rd, gave the A's a 1-0 lead in
the first.
Colorado countered with two runs in its half on Todd Helton's
RBI single and Hammonds' sacrifice fly.
The Rockies pushed across two more runs in the third, thanks to
shortstop Miguel Tejada's throwing error on Hammonds' grounder. The
miscue allowed Helton, who had walked, to score from first and
Hammonds to reach third. Huskey's RBI double scored Hammonds.
Tejada doubled to lead off the fourth and scored on Eric
Chavez's single.
Mulder (5-6) departed after the fourth, when six straight
Colorado batters reached base and all of them scored.
With one out, Brian Hunter and Mike Lansing both singled, and
Jeff Cirillo hit an RBI single. Helton walked, and Hammonds hit a
two-run single to left. Huskey, obtained in a trade with Minnesota
on Sunday, followed with a two-run double down the right-field
line, and Neifi Perez hit a sacrifice fly.
Giambi led off the fifth with a single, but Astacio then struck
out the side. Astacio also struck out the first two batters he
faced in the sixth.
A's pinch-hitter Jeremy Giambi had a run-scoring single in the
seventh after Astacio had walked two batters.
Colorado got a run in its half when Walker and Hunter singled.
Walker scored on Lansing's groundout.
Game
notes
Helton's RBI single in the first was his 500th career hit.
... Mulder lost his fourth straight start. ... Tejada's error was
Oakland's 89th of the season -- worst in the majors. ... Astacio
became the fourth Rockies pitcher to strike out five straight
batters. ... Before his home run in the first, Giambi had gone 14
games and a season-high 51 at-bats without a homer. ... Rockies
reliever Bobby Chouinard, who pitched two scoreless innings,
singled in the eighth for his first major-league hit in six
at-bats.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Oakland Clubhouse
Colorado Clubhouse
RECAPS
Colorado 18
Oakland 3
Anaheim 3
San Diego 2
Boston 3
Montreal 1
Cleveland 8
Houston 2
Cincinnati 5
Detroit 4
NY Yankees 3
Philadelphia 1
NY Mets 11
Toronto 7
Atlanta 8
Tampa Bay 2
Florida 7
Baltimore 0
Chi. White Sox 7
Milwaukee 5
Kansas City 12
Chicago Cubs 4
Minnesota 3
St. Louis 2
Seattle 5
Arizona 2
San Francisco 5
Texas 3
Pittsburgh 8
Los Angeles 6
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