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Cook keeps Bonds, Giants in check as Rockies win

May 11, 2007 - 5:25 AM DENVER (Ticker) -- Aaron Cook kept Barry Bonds in the ballpark, did his part at the plate and helped lead the Colorado Rockies to a much-needed victory.

Cook was solid over six innings as the slumping Rockies started their four-game series against the San Francisco Giants on Thursday with a 5-3 victory.

The Rockies entered the game having lost five of their last seven at home and four of their last seven overall. But they jumped on Giants starter Noah Lowry for three runs in the third and added another in the fourth to open a 4-0 lead.

Troy Tulowitzki hit a two-run double in the third and scored from second when shortstop Omar Vizquel made a throwing error following a grounder by Matt Holliday.

"I got behind 0-2 on two pretty good pitches by him," Tulowitzki said. "I think he was trying to throw that slider in the dirt and he left it in the middle of the plate, and I put a good swing on it."

Cook helped his own cause in the fourth with a sacrifice. It appeared Giants first baseman Ryan Klesko could have gone home for a play at the plate, but he fielded it and threw to first for the second out of the inning, allowing Yorvit Torrealba to score the Rockies' fourth run.

"It's huge, us pitchers take pride in getting our bunts down in key situations," Cook said.

On the mound, Cook (2-1) allowed three runs, six hits and four walks. He had his way until Ray Durham, Bengie Molina and Fred Lewis all hit RBI singles with two outs in the sixth.

"I pitched real good through the first five innings, but in the sixth, I kind of lost the feel, and I wish I could have put a finger on it," Cook said. "(Manager Clint Hurdle) left me out there to fight through it, and I was able to get out of there with only three runs."

Lowry (4-3) allowed four runs and six hits in seven innings.

"Every loss is going to bark at you a little bit," Lowry said. "I just had one inning where I gave up walks here and a hit there, and I wasn't able to go out and shut them down."

Colorado tacked on an insurance run in the eighth, when Holliday tripled off the wall in right field and scored on a sacrifice fly by Garrett Atkins.

Bonds belted his 745th homer Tuesday, leaving him 10 shy of tying Hank Aaron's all-time mark. In 76 games here, Bonds had 25 homers, 61 RBI and a .344 batting average.

He entered Thursday's game 11-for-23 against Cook, who earned his first home win against San Francisco since July 9, 2003.

Bonds nearly hit his 746th shot in the fourth, lining a 3-1 pitch off the wall in right. Bonds was walked intentionally in the seventh with a runner on second with two outs and San Francisco trailing, 4-3.

The decision paid off for Colorado as reliever Manny Corpas got Durham to pop out on an 0-1 pitch to end the inning.