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Tulowitzki helps Rockies walk off with win

Sep 14, 2008 - 10:50 PM By Brady Delander PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

DENVER (Ticker) -- Future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux and 2008 All-Star Aaron Cook dominated the action with a classic pitchers' dual - a rarity at high-altitude Coors Field - but a second-year shortstop was the one who decided the game.

Troy Tulowitzki delivered a bases-loaded single in the 10th inning to slow the Los Angeles Dodgers and snap the Colorado Rockies' seven-game losing streak with a 1-0 victory on Sunday.

"The pitchers kept putting up zeroes to keep us in play ? and it was a good at-bat for (Tulowitzki) and some good at-bats to set that up," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "It was a fun day to play baseball from the perspective of watching guys go out and pitch well. You need to be appreciative of that."

It was the first game in Coors Field history to go a full nine innings without a run.

"Oh, is it? Awesome" Maddux responded when informed of that bit of history. "I thought there'd never be a good day to pitch at Coors Field. ? Other than the way the ball flies here, it's really not a bad place to pitch. If you can keep it out of the air, it's pretty good."

Facing Hong-Chih Kuo, Matt Holliday opened the 10th inning with a hard single to left. Brad Hawpe struck out swinging for the fences, but Garrett Atkins followed with a single through the left side of the infield.

Ryan Spilborghs stepped in to pinch hit and sent a flare to right-center field. Juan Pierre moved in but stopped short, and Matt Kemp made a diving effort but missed as the bases loaded to set up Tulowitzki.

"I wasn't looking for anything in particular. I was just looking to put the ball in play," said Tulowitzki, who was down 0-2 in the count. "I didn't want to go down with a strikeout. I liked my chances if I put the ball in play, and hopefully we would get the run."

The Dodgers lost for just the second time in the past 14 games.

"The thing is you want to extend the good (streaks) and limit the bad ones," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "We'll go out tomorrow and try to get it going again."

Maddux and Cook battled to a scoreless draw before making way for their respective bullpens late in the action.

"I felt pretty comfortable out there today. I wasn't trying to do too much mechanically, I just wanted to stay within myself," Cook said. "I was able to execute pitches, kept my sinker down and mixed up my slider and breaking ball. I was able to keep them off balance."

Maddux surrendered two hits over seven innings and threw just 68 pitches in a masterful performance, but did not figure in the decision. He retired the first 10 batters in order before Atkins singled in the fourth.

"Greg was remarkable," Torre said. "It was one of those games where we just didn't threaten. We put those two (runners) on at one point, but that was about it."

The Rockies finally put a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh. Clint Barmes singled and stole second, but Maddux weaved through the heart of Colorado's lineup - forcing Holliday and Hawpe into harmless pop-ups before Atkins grounded out to third.

"Today was a good outing, but I've spit some hooks here too," Maddux said.

The Dodgers fared better against Cook, but not by much. Casey Blake opened the second inning with a single but Blake DeWitt grounded into a double play. It turned out to be a wasted opportunity for Los Angeles as both Angel Berroa and Danny Ardoin singled but were stranded.

Cook kept the Dodgers scoreless and allowed eight hits - all singles - before leaving the game after eight strong innings. The sinkerballer forced 17 groundouts and, like Maddux, did not issue a walk.

"I say it's a big win, but I think it's more for our confidence to finish the season strong and show there is still some fight in us," Tulowitzki said.