The Rockies are trying to sort out the back end of their rotation, a job made easier by a bullpen that has been practically invulnerable.
During a 6-1 homestand that ended with a 5-3 win over the Dodgers, the Rockies relievers combined to pitch 14 1/3 scoreless innings in five of the victories; Ubaldo Jimenez threw a complete-game four-hitter Tuesday. The relievers allowed eight runs Monday, a deceptive figure when the bullpen was pressed into pitching 8 2/3 innings because Kip Wells retired one batter during an eight-run first. Six relievers paraded to the mound. Four relievers followed starter Glendon Rusch on Wednesday. Manuel Corpas in the seventh and Taylor Buchholz in the eighth each finished those innings with two successive strikeouts, paving the way for Brian Fuentes.
The closer earned his 17th save of the season and No. 102 in his career, tying the franchise record set by Jose Jimenez. Fuentes retired the first two batters he faced in the ninth before a Matt Kemp single. That hit ended Fuentes' franchise-record string of retiring 23 consecutive batters, breaking the record of 22 set by Tim Harikkala from April 20-May 1, 2004.
"I knew it had been a while (since a batter reached base), but I wasn't really counting," Fuentes said. "For me, it's just trying to get guys out, trying to keep guys off the basepaths, and I knew I'd been doing a good job of that lately."
Fuentes said tying Jimenez was of far less consequence than nailing down a series-clinching win. He said he already had enjoyed a private moment before this accomplishment.
"A hundred was a nice milestone," Fuentes said. "Having a hundred saves is a neat thing to say. That means we had a hundred wins where I was involved. That's great."
ROCKIES 5, DODGERS 3: After getting pounded 16-8 on Monday, the Rockies won the final two games and captured the series with a victory that moved them within five games of the second-place Dodgers. Glendon Rusch won his third straight start, working five innings before four relievers combined to pitch four scoreless innings. Matt Holliday drove in two runs, and Brad Hawpe, Garrett Atkins and Ian Stewart drove in one apiece.
