DENVER (AP) – Aaron Cook won for the first time in a month and the Colorado Rockies found some of their missing power at the plate in a 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.
Garrett Atkins and Matt Holliday hit back-to-back homers in the third inning as Colorado won consecutive games for the first time since a four-game sweep at Washington June 12-15.
It was also the Rockies’ 1,000th win in franchise history and allowed them to avoid a single-digit win total in July for just the fifth time in team history.
Cook (7-9) scattered four singles, walked three and struck out four in eight innings. Brian Fuentes pitched the ninth for his 20th save in 24 chances.
Plagued by poor run support, Cook hadn’t won since June 27, and the Rockies had lost 11 of his previous 12 starts.
Chris Capuano (10-7) surrendered seven hits in eight innings but remained winless in four starts since his first All-Star game appearance. He gave up two runs in the first inning and served up consecutive homers in the third, the first back-to-back shots by the Rockies since April 9, at San Diego.
Atkins’ homer was his 15th, a no-doubt 418-foot shot into the seats that left fielder Kevin Mench just turned and admired. Holliday sent Capuano’s next pitch into the stands in right for his career-best 20th homer and a 4-1 lead.
Capuano allowed two more hits, but the damage was already done.
The Brewers pulled to 4-2 on Prince Fielder’s sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Capuano was fortunate to escape the first inning down only 2-0. After Holliday’s RBI single, Todd Helton punched a pitch off the top of his bat down the third-base line. David Bell dived and knocked down the ball as it spun into foul territory, limiting Helton to a run-scoring single instead of a two-run double.
Then, Capuano got Yorvit Torrealba to ground into an inning-ending double play.
The Brewers got one run back on Damian Miller’s RBI single in the second.
Notes: SS Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado’s 2005 first-round draft choice, was placed on the minor league’s seven-day DL with a bruised left hand. … Rockies SS Omar Quintanilla (shin) will leave on a rehab assignment after Wednesday’s game. … The Rockies are 6-16 when Cook starts.
AP-ES-07-31-06 2314EDT
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