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Iannetta, Holliday homer to power Rockies

May 6, 2007 - 5:24 AM CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- In a game where Aaron Harang needed a pick-me-up, the Cincinnati Reds' bullpen laid another egg.

Harang fell apart in the sixth inning and relievers Todd Coffey and Victor Santos yielded two homers in a span of six batters as the Reds dropped a 9-7 decision to the Colorado Rockies on Saturday in a contest delayed at the start by one hour because of rain.

Brad Hawpe delivered a go-ahead two-run single in the sixth and rookie Chris Iannetta and Matt Holliday homered for the Rockies, who have taken the first two games of this three-game set.

"It is important for this offense to score runs," Holliday said. "We have a lot of good hitters. It takes the pressure off the pitchers. Sometimes we have to pick them up."

Harang (4-1), who emerged as one of the top pitchers in the league last season and was off to a 4-0 start in 2007, held a 3-2 lead entering the decisive frame before he and the bullpen fell apart.

Harang committed the cardinal sin by walking Helton, who was 2-for-11 all-time against the righthander, to lead off the inning. Garrett Atkins followed with a double to deep left and Hawpe singled up the middle, plating both runners for a 4-3 lead.

Narron, who replaced Harang in a game with Houston on the last homestand only to watch the bullpen blow that lead, visited the mound prior to Hawpe's at-bat.

"When he came out, I told him I could get this guy," Harang said. "He said, 'Alright, we'll take it one guy at a time and see what happens.' I made the pitch I wanted to make (to Hawpe). He broke his bat, but he got just enough on it to get it over the drawn-in infield. Not my lucky day."

Harang threw 120 pitches.

"We were going to do everything we could to keep him under 125 pitches," Narron said. "We were looking at getting a couple of quick outs there, and he gives up a broken-bat hit."

Coffey replaced Harang and Iannetta blasted a 1-1 pitch over the left field wall for his first homer of the season and third career for a 6-3 edge.

The Reds got within 6-5 on a two-run, pinch-hit homer by Edwin Encarnacion against Colorado starter Aaron Cook in their half of the sixth, before Santos yielded a first-pitch single to rookie Troy Tulowitzki, a first-pitch homer to Holliday and a second-pitch double to Helton. One out later, Hawpe singled home Helton for a 9-5 lead.

The Reds' bullpen entered the game with a 4.44 bullpen ERA - last in the National League - and has been horrible since a great run in the season's first 10 games.

"The bullpen is somewhere between where we were the first week of the season and last week," Cincinnati manager Jerry Narron said.

"We'll take any kind of win back-to-back," Colorado manager Clint Hurdle said.

The Rockies last won back-to-back games on April 17-18. They have not won three in a row since April 3-6.

Cook (1-1), from nearby Hamilton, Ohio, allowed five runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings to pick up his first win of the season and first against the Reds. In his only other outing at Great American Ball Park, Cook allowed a run and six hits in seven innings in a no-decision last season.

"I enjoy pitching here. It is my hometown team," said Cook, who bought 500 tickets for family and friends. "My family is pretty good. They know to leave me alone. I'm here to pitch not entertain."

Cincinnati scored twice in the eighth on a two-out, two-run single by Scott Hatteberg to cut its deficit to 9-7 before Brian Fuentes worked around a leadoff single, retiring rookie Josh Hamilton to fly out to left to notch his seventh save in eight chances.

Hamilton was 4-for-5 with four runs scored, finishing a homer shy of the cycle. He also made a diving catch in short center field, robbing the Rockies of a run in the first inning. Cincinnati has lost four straight and seven of 10.

The Reds got an RBI single by Ken Griffey Jr. in the first and a run-scoring base hit by Ryan Freel in the second for a quick two-run lead.

Colorado tied it in the next inning on a run-scoring groundout by Holliday and a RBI single by Helton. A second RBI single by Freel in the fourth gave the Reds a 3-2 edge.