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Brown's three-run homer keeps Royals rolling

May 19, 2007 - 6:01 AM DENVER (Ticker) -- Emil Brown picked an opportune time to hit his first home run of the season.

Brown capped a five-run eighth inning with a three-run homer as the Kansas City Royals rallied for a 5-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Friday in the opener of interleague play for both teams.

Brown finished with three hits and Mike Sweeney added two for the Royals, who have won a season-high three straight games and five of six.

"This time of year he gets going," Royals manager Buddy Bell said. "He had a couple hits earlier in the night and that adds to your confidence. He was facing a tough pitcher if you are a righthanded batter. I'm happy for him."

Colorado starter Jeff Francis carried a shutout into the eighth inning before allowing a leadoff double by Esteban German. He struck out David DeJesus on his 74th pitch of the night, but Colorado manager Clint Hurdle inexplicably popped out of the dugout to remove the lefthander.

"I think a pitcher always feels like he can keep going," Francis said. "Every starting pitcher we have on this team keeps pitching til they take the ball away. I'm not going to second-guess anything. He makes the decisions that he thinks will put this team in a position to win."

"He was pitching good, I'm surprised he came out," Emil Brown said. "He was only at 74 pitches. It worked out good for us. I was surprised, but that is why I'm not the manager or the pitching coach of the Rockies."

Hurdle was greeted with a loud chorus of boos from the fans, whose displeasure with the decision was made worse by the bullpen.

"I was just pulling for us to come back not to get me out of anything, but for our team to win a game," Hurdle said. "I made a decision, it definitely didn't work, and there's not a worse feeling you can carry professionally."

Manny Corpas (0-2) allowed five straight batters to reach, including Brown, whose three-run blast to left snapped a 2-2 tie and sent many of the Rockies' faithful to the exits. The righthander departed three batters later and Hurdle was booed mercilessly when he appeared to make the change.

"I think I can sit here and explain all the reasons why I did the things I decided to do, but they didn't work," Hurdle said. "I've got to wear this one. I made a bad decision, it didn't work out and it cost the team the game."

The move did not look the bad on paper. Corpas entered with a 1.35 ERA and had yielded just two hits in his previous five appearances. But he was tagged for four runs and five hits while recording just one out in this one.

Brandon Duckworth (1-3) pitched 1 2/3 innings in relief of Kansas City starter Jorge De La Rosa to pick up the win. Closer Joakim Soria allowed two baserunners in the ninth before notching his eighth save in 10 chances.

Corpas' implosion spoiled what would have been Francis' second straight win. The 26-year-old Canadian was charged with one run and seven hits in 7 1/3 innings, striking out six without a walk.

It was the fourth consecutive start in which Francis has pitched at least seven frames and third straight with fewer than three runs allowed.

While Francis was working toward a shutout, De La Rosa quietly kept his club in the game. The lefthander yielded two runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings.

"He has been consistently good," Buddy Bell said. "He was in the zone and only had one walk. That is the issue with him. If he can throw strikes, he is going to be good. That is what he has been doing and he is tough."

Colorado scored its first run in the opening frame, when rookie Troy Tulowitzki hit a one-out single and advanced on a balk before Matt Holliday stroked an RBI single to left field.

De La Rose retired 13 of the next 14 batters before Francis leadoff the sixth with a single. The Rockies tacked on another run in the seventh, when Garrett Atkins singled and scored on a triple by Jeff Baker.