Wednesday, May 01, 2002
Rockies 10, Pirates 0
The Associated Press
DENVER — It took Mike Hampton eight tries to earn his 100th career victory. Finally looking like the Hampton of old, it was worth the wait. Hampton won for the first time this season, pitching seven scoreless innings as the Colorado Rockies stayed unbeaten under new manager Clint Hurdle with a 10-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.
Colorado, 4-0 since Hurdle replaced Buddy Bell on Friday, broke it open with an eight-run fourth inning, keyed by Todd Helton's two-run single.
Helton added a solo homer, his fourth, in the eighth. Todd Zeile led off the second with a solo homer, his fourth.
Hampton (1-3) hadn't won since Sept. 19 and had gone 0-5 in his last seven starts.
“It was a long time coming,” Hampton said. “It's nice to get it out of the way. It's something I looked forward to. You have to have success in this game to win 100 games, and a lot of people can't say that.”
But winning his first game of the year was just as exhilarating.
“I won't lie to you, this is the first time I've had fun in a long time,” he said. “Tonight I kept the ball down in the strike zone and was able to get ahead pretty much. I went after guys. Even if the count was not in my favor, I felt I could make a pitch to get me out of the inning.”
Hampton limited the Pirates to singles in the first, second and fourth. He walked three and struck out three, and lowered his ERA from 8.88 to 6.96.
Rick White and Mike James each pitched an inning to finish the three-hitter — the 17th shutout ever and the eighth by Colorado in the eight-year-history of Coors Field.
Hampton's start extended a string of solid outings by the Rockies' staff. Rockies starters have combined to go 4-0 with a 1.01 ERA in the last four games, all at Coors Field.
“Hampton has battled through some tough times,” Hurdle said. “This had to be a real confidence booster for him. It was good to see him smile.”
After a 12-5 start, Pittsburgh has lost five of its last seven games.
The Rockies sent 12 batters to the plate in the fourth, chasing Dave Williams (2-3), who twice was called for a balk and who hit two batters in the inning.
“It was a very ugly night,” Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon said. “We had our opportunities early. We just couldn't get a hit. You give a pitcher like Hampton that much time to get it together and give them a lead, it makes it tough. Sure enough, he stuck it to us.”
McClendon said Williams wasn't the same after taking a liner off his left shin in the third.
“It seemed to affect him,” McClendon said. “The young kid got rattled.”
Benny Agbayani led off the fourth with a single. Jose Ortiz walked and Gary Bennett hit an RBI single. Hampton lined a run-scoring single to center. Juan Pierre was hit by a pitch, loading the bases, and Juan Uribe hit a sacrifice fly.
Larry Walker also was hit by a pitch, and Helton hit a two-run single to right-center. Zeile greeted Sean Lowe with an RBI single. Agbayani followed with a sacrifice fly and Ortiz with a run-scoring double.
It marked the most runs and most hits (six) in an inning by the Rockies this season, and also was the first time the Rockies batted around.
Hampton averted trouble in the second. The Pirates had runners on first and second with one out, but Hampton got Kevin Young to fly out. After a walk loaded the bases, Hampton struck out Williams.
In the fourth, Rob Mackowiak singled with one out and was balked to second, but Hampton got the next two batters on grounders. It started a string of nine straight batters retired by the left-hander.
Notes: Pittsburgh INF Aramis Ramirez served the final game of a seven-game suspension for a helmet-throwing incident on April 17. ... Walker returned to the lineup after missing Sunday's game with a sore throwing elbow and sore right big toe. ... Left-handed batters were 0-for-25 off the left-handed Williams this season before Helton singled in the fourth. ... Three balks were called in the fourth, one on Hampton and two on Williams. ... The loss snapped the Pirates' seven-game road winning streak.
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Rockies 10, Pirates 0 
