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Quintanilla, Baker guide Rockies past Indians

Jun 19, 2008 - 5:32 AM DENVER (Ticker) -- Omar Quintanilla went 2-for-3 with two RBI and Jeff Baker belted a solo home run as the Colorado Rockies posted a 4-2 victory Wednesday over the Cleveland Indians in an interleague matchup.

It was the 10th win of the month for Colorado, which totaled just nine victories in May.

"We're just going to stay focused on playing the game and coming out here every day and working hard and getting better," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "That's what we've said since the beginning. It took us longer to get some traction than we wanted to. We've developed some traction now, we're clicking in a lot of areas that were problematic."

"It's a long season, and we're trying to win some series and make up some games," Baker added. "That's all we're trying to do. Last year, things started to rally for us, and hopefully we can get on another run this season."

Quintanilla opened the scoring in the second inning, plating Baker with a double to right field. After Cleveland pulled within 2-1 in the sixth, the 26-year-old drove in Baker with a single for his third multi-RBI effort of the season.

"Omar very quietly has jumped his average about 40 points in the last 10 days," Hurdle said. "(Quintanilla and Baker) are making the most of their opportunity. They're both playing well."

Baker, who hit an inside-the-park homer in Tuesday's series opener, launched a shot over the left field wall in the fourth for his third blast of the year. He has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games, with 10 of his last 16 hits going for extra bases.

"I'm just going out there trying to get good at-bats and drive the ball," Baker said. "That's all I'm thinking about."

Jeff Francis (3-6) tossed six-plus effective innings, allowing two runs - one earned - and five hits with two strikeouts. The lefthander has won two of his last three decisions after beginning the season with a 1-5 record.

"It's amazing how a couple breaks go your way in the first couple innings and the next thing you know, it's the third or fourth inning and you're on a bit of a roll and you've got a better feel for what you've got going," Francis said. "I don't think I did a lot of things differently than I've done before. I didn't look at the numbers, but I probably threw a lot of first-strike pitches."

"The last two times out, he's throwing strikes and he's locating the ball better," Hurdle said. "I think that's the biggest key."

Jason Grilli and Taylor Buchholz each pitched a scoreless inning before Brian Fuentes worked around a leadoff single in the ninth for his 12th save.

Ryan Spilborghs capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the seventh for the reigning National League champion Rockies, who have won 10 of their last 14 games.

Trailing, 2-0, the Indians halved the deficit in the sixth on former Rockie Jamey Carroll's RBI double. Carroll moved to third on Ben Francisco's flyout and Ryan Garko was hit by a pitch, but Francis induced Jhonny Peralta to fly out to center, ending the threat.

After Quintanilla's run-scoring single in the bottom half restored Colorado's two-run advantage, pinch hitter Shin-Soo Choo lifted a sacrifice fly in the seventh to draw Cleveland within 3-2.

Cleveland starter Aaron Laffey (4-4) surrendered three runs and eight hits in six innings. The lefthander, who fell to 0-2 on the road this season, walked three and struck out one.

"The last two or three outings, my fastball location has been terrible," said Laffey, who lost for the first time since May 22. "I've been able to get some groundball outs when I needed them, but the fastball location has not been there. Last year, it didn't matter if I gave up five runs or no runs, I had enough run support to get the win. It's kind of the opposite this year, but that's baseball."

Indians manager Eric Wedge was pleased with Laffey's effort.

"Laffey threw the ball well and gave us every opportunity to win the ballgame," Wedge said. "For a young pitcher to find it after being a little erratic early on is a great sign. He settled in and pitched a great game."

Casey Blake collected two hits and scored a run for Cleveland, which has lost three of its last four.

"We've hit some balls right on the screws the last couple nights, but we just weren't able to get that one hit to tie the ballgame or take the lead," Wedge said. "It's baseball. We've been hitting some balls right at people."