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DENVER (AP) -
Stephen Drew
turned an embarrassing moment into a winning one.
One pitch after thinking he had drawn a walk, Drew hit a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the ninth and the
Arizona Diamondbacks
ended their 11-game road losing streak with a 5-3 victory over the
Colorado Rockies
on Saturday night.
''It was my most embarrassing moment,'' Drew said. ''I thought I had four balls.''
Drew had worked the count to 2-2 before Rockies closer
Brian Fuentes
threw a slider low and away. Drew dropped the bat and started down the first-base line before he was called back. He turned
an awkward moment into a game-winning hit when he turned on a fastball.
''I had a good laugh,'' he said. ''What can you do? I still would have been laughing regardless because that is my most embarrassing
moment. At least I made up for it.''
He also helped Arizona's postseason hopes. The win helped the Diamondbacks keep pace with the Dodgers in the NL West. Los
Angeles beat San Francisco 10-7 later Saturday.
''We're rooting for the Giants and whoever's going against them,'' Arizona starter
Doug Davis
said. ''It's not over yet.''
Jeff Baker
had two hits, including a home run, and two RBIs, and
Troy Tulowitzki
and
Ian Stewart
had two hits apiece for the Rockies.
Chris Young
led off the ninth with a walk, and after
Augie Ojeda
popped out and
Conor Jackson
lined out to left, Drew hit his 19th homer of the season to give Arizona its first road victory since Aug. 16 at Houston.
''I knew I hit it well and I knew I hit it high,'' Drew said. ''That's a big wall out there and I didn't think it was going
to go out. It's a great feeling to see it go out.''
Earlier in the at-bat, Drew lined a ball down the right-field line that landed just foul.
''That's not an easy at-bat for a left-hander,'' Diamondbacks manager
Bob Melvin
said. ''To get your heart broken down the line and stay with it and hit a ball out of a park is definitely atonement.''
Fuentes (1-5) lost for the first time since June 30 against San Diego.
Tony Pena
(3-2) got the win despite giving up the tying run in the eighth on
Garrett Atkins
' sacrifice fly.
Chad Qualls
pitched the ninth for his fifth save.
The Diamondbacks took the lead in the seventh.
Chris Snyder
and Ojeda walked and pinch-hitter
Tony Clark
lifted a fly to deep center that
Willy Taveras
misplayed into a two-base error, allowing Snyder to score and make it 3-2.
''I just think he sprinted so hard off the bat and ended up overrunning it,'' Rockies manager
Clint Hurdle
said of Taveras.
Davis struck out four, walked one and gave up two earned runs in six innings.
Aaron Cook
allowed five hits, three runs, struck out four and walked three in 6 1-3 innings. Cook failed in his bid to become the fourth
Rockies pitcher to win 17 games in a season. Cook is 0-1 in his four starts since winning his 16th game on Aug. 29.
Drew led off the game with a double and came home on a double by
Chad Tracy
. In the second inning, Snyder scored when Davis grounded into a bases-loaded double play to make it 2-0.
Cook retired 13 of 14 batters after giving up a single to Ojeda in the second inning.
''After the second I just knew I had to settle down, try to keep the game right there,'' he said. ''Give the guys a chance
to come back and score some runs.''
The Rockies got one back in the fourth when Baker's bloop single scored Tulowitzki, but Davis got out of further trouble by
striking out Stewart with the bases loaded.
''We're not getting all the breaks in the world,'' Melvin said. ''There is some resiliency, definitely.''
Baker tied the game in the sixth with a solo home run, his 11th of the year.
Notes: With his double in the first inning, Drew became the fifth shortstop in NL history with 40 doubles, 10 triples and
10 home runs in a season. ... Hurdle said 1B
Todd Helton
will probably not play the final seven games of the season. Helton, who was on the DL with a back injury, missed 54 games
before being activated Sept. 2. He has been used as a pinch hitter since coming off the DL.
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