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Big hit by Holliday fuels comeback by Rockies

Aug 24, 2008 - 5:31 AM DENVER (Ticker) -- Matt Holliday highlighted a four-run seventh inning with a three-run double as the Colorado Rockies rallied for a 7-6 triumph over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday.

Trailing, 5-3, Colorado loaded the bases against Mike Lincoln (1-4) on singles by Yorvit Torrealba, Clint Barmes and Willy Taveras. Nick Masset came on to face Holliday, who plated all three runners with a double to deep right field.

"I was just looking for something I could handle," Holliday said. "Trying to be a little more aggressive and take the thinking out of it. Go up there and look for a pitch to hit, swing and hope to hit something. ... You don't get that many chances with the bases loaded."

"When you're hitting third on any team, you are hitting third for a reason," Colorado manager Clint Hurdle said. "You are going to come up with one of those opportunities. He more often than not has put good swings on the balls and scored some runs. It just goes to show you it's not always the long ball. He goes both sides of the field, center field, and he pulls the ball the other way. That's what makes him so dangerous."

Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker knew facing Holliday in that situation would not be an easy task.

"Anytime you face Matt Holliday with the bases loaded, he can hurt you," Baker said.

Taveras made the play interesting, as he slid into the plate a split-second after Barmes scored.

"It wasn't that close," Taveras said. "I picked up the ball right away, the way the (outfielder) was playing it and how hard Holliday hit it. I just tried to go for home plate."

"Willy had a lot better read on it than I did," Barmes said. "I saw him coming to round second already and I was standing still. I knew I better get going. I'm glad we both ended up safe."

Brad Hawpe added a much-needed insurance run, driving in Holliday with a single to deep right.

Jay Bruce drew Cincinnati within 7-6 with a solo homer in the eighth, his 14th blast of the season. But Brian Fuentes worked around a walk in the ninth for his 25th save.

Luis Vizcaino (1-0) picked up the win despite allowing a run in the seventh. But the righthander relieved starter Aaron Cook with two on and none out in the sixth and struck out all three batters he faced in the frame.

"For the past two weeks, he's shown up well," Hurdle said of Vizcaino. "He's become much more pitch effective, much better slider and much better location on his fastball. That was a big inning for us to stop the runs right there."

The Reds opened the scoring on Joey Votto's RBI single in the first inning, but the Rockies scored twice in the second, when catcher Paul Bako made a throwing error on Cook's bunt, allowing Jeff Baker and Ian Stewart to come home.

"I tried to hit a slider and missed it by six feet, and I figured I wasn't going to have a good chance of hitting it," Cook said. "I figured my best shot was to lay down a bunt, and we made something happen right there."

Stewart pushed Colorado's advantage to 3-1 with a run-scoring single in the third.

Cincinnati began its comeback an inning later as Bruce delivered a two-run single. Edwin Encarnacion plated a run with a base hit in the sixth and Chris Dickerson launched a solo homer in the seventh for a 5-3 bulge.

Edinson Volquez worked six innings for the Reds, allowing three runs, six hits and three walks with five strikeouts.

"He pitched really well," Dusty Baker said. "A couple of walks and the error on that bunt really were the difference in the game."

Cook surrendered four runs and eight hits in five-plus frames for the Rockies.

"I felt like a lot of my misses were down," Cook said. "They had the one double to lead off the (first) inning, but everything else was singles through the hole or up the middle."

"The execution hasn't been as crisp in some areas," Hurdle said. "I think there are areas for improvement."

Taveras went 2-for-3 and recorded his league-leading 61st stolen base for Colorado, which has won six of eight.