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Homer by Iannetta propels Rockies past Pirates

Jul 18, 2008 - 5:18 AM By Brady Delander PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

DENVER (Ticker) -- Chris Iannetta sticks with a good thing, even if it's broken.

Iannetta hit a two-run home run with a cracked bat to cap a sixth-inning rally that powered the Colorado Rockies to a 5-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday with the same bat he cracked two innings earlier.

"I think the bat was already broken. I think I broke it on that base hit up the middle," Iannetta said. "You can't really tell. Sometimes it's hard to see the cracks."

Iannetta finished with two hits and three RBI, Jeff Baker hit two doubles and drove in a run and Garrett Atkins added two hits with an RBI double as the Rockies ended a four-game slide.

"Not everybody can break a bat and hit a home run. I tip my hat to him," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said of Iannetta. "He is starting to realize his strengths and he is also starting to realize what happens when he gets out."

Brian Fuentes struck out the side in the ninth to collect his 15th save of the season and 100th of his career - all for Colorado.

"It wasn't something I aspired to do when I got into baseball," Fuentes said of being a closer. "It's one of those addictive things. And once you get a taste of it, that's all you want to do."

In the decisive frame, Baker started the rally with his second double and scored on Atkins' double to tie the score at 3-3.

One batter later, Iannetta belted his 10th home run - a two-run shot - over the left field wall, even though the pitch from Pirates starter Paul Maholm (6-6), a changeup, broke his bat.

"I wasn't looking changeup, but I don't go up looking for a particular pitch," Iannetta said. "I just went up there looking to hit, and he left it out."

Ubaldo Jimenez's fastball registered in the upper 90s, but he struggled with control of his breaking ball and found some trouble in the third.

The Pirates opened the scoring on a wild pitch. Adam LaRoche crushed a double to the wall in left-center field, scoring two runs to make it 3-0.

Jimenez (5-9) regained traction, retiring seven straight. He worked through seven frames with four strikeouts and five hits allowed.

"I was trying to slow everything down and forget about that one inning," Jimenez said. "I just kept going."

After Maholm retired the first nine batters, Baker's double off the scoreboard in right field plated Willy Taveras. Iannetta hit a two-out double to score Baker and cut the deficit to 3-2.

Maholm gave up five runs and eight hits with seven strikeouts over six innings.

"He was throwing the ball alright," Pirates manager John Russell said. "The guy's two-run homer, the bat shattered. Obviously he caught it pretty well, but that hurt."