Rockies Sweep 2 New York Teams In Same Year

Thursday, July 5th 2007, 7:14 am

By: News On 6

New York took another big beating in Denver. Todd Helton and Garrett Atkins both drove in a season-high five runs and the Colorado Rockies pounded out 20 hits and routed the Mets again Wednesday night, this time 17-7 to become the first team in more than half a century to sweep two New York clubs in the same year.

For the series, the Rockies outscored the Mets 34-12. Add in a three-game sweep of the Yankees from June 19-21, and Colorado outscored the Big Apple teams 47-17.

``You'd better not get caught wearing a Rockies cap in New York,'' reliever Tom Martin cracked.

The last team to sweep series from two New York clubs during the regular season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, was the Milwaukee Braves, who whitewashed the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants in 1956. After moving to Los Angeles, the Dodgers swept the Yankees in the 1963 World Series after sweeping the Mets four times during the season.

``Got that going for us,'' Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said with a smile.

In other NL games Wednesday, it was: Washington 6, Chicago 0; San Francisco 9, Cincinnati 5; Philadelphia 8, Houston 3; Pittsburgh 5, Milwaukee 3; St. Louis 5, Arizona 4; San Diego 1, Florida 0; and Atlanta 5, Los Angeles 2.

Atkins, Brad Hawpe and Troy Tulowitzki all homered for Colorado, which battered Mets pitchers for 47 hits overall and every starter scored at least once Wednesday night.

``It was a helpless feeling this (week),'' Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca said. ``We couldn't do anything to stop them. We could have had Jesus on the mound and they still would have gotten hits.''

Josh Fogg (4-6) overcame David Wright's three-run homer in the first inning for his first win in two weeks.

``I was able to hold it together long enough to get 17-run support,'' said Fogg, who allowed five runs and eight hits in six innings.

Mets starters struggled all series _ allowing 20 runs in 13 1-3 innings for a 13.50 ERA. Orlando Hernandez (4-4) tied a career worst with six walks in only four innings and allowed six runs and six hits.

``They came out swinging and never stopped,'' Shawn Green said. ``They hit the ball hard everywhere. It's frustrating. We couldn't stop them. They were an offensive force all three games. We scored runs, but nothing close to what they did. This was a real rough series for us.''

Braves 5, Dodgers 2

Andruw Jones homered and Chipper Jones and Brian McCann added RBI singles as visiting Atlanta snapped a three-game losing streak.

Braves starter Chuck James (8-7) allowed one run and four hits in five innings. Bob Wickman pitched the ninth for his 15th save, striking out pinch-hitter Olmedo Saenz to end the game and Los Angeles' three-game winning streak.

Mark Hendrickson (2-4) gave up two runs and seven hits in five innings and lost his fourth consecutive start.

Padres 1, Marlins 0

Chris Young allowed five hits and struck out nine in seven innings, and Mike Cameron scored on an error by Florida catcher Miguel Olivo with no outs in the ninth.

Young lowered his ERA to 2.00, tying the Dodgers' Brad Penny for the best in the majors.

Heath Bell (2-2) pitched a perfect ninth for the win. Matt Lindstrom (1-3) took the loss.

Nationals 6, Cubs 0

Dmitri Young hit a grand slam and Matt Chico pitched seven innings of four-hit ball for host Washington, which had lost seven of eight and hadn't scored more than three runs in 10 straight games.

Ryan Zimmerman also homered and Chico (4-5) struck out four and did not walk a batter in another strong performance.

Rich Hill (5-6) allowed six runs and 10 hits in six innings. He has lost five of his last six decisions and is winless in five outings since beating Atlanta 2-1 on June 7.

Phillies 8, Astros 3

Ryan Howard had a two-run homer and an RBI single to help Cole Hamels (10-4) earn his elusive 10th win for visiting Philadelphia.

Wes Helms, Jimmy Rollins and Pat Burrell homered and Chase Utley went 3-for-4 with a single, double and triple for the Phillies, who won for the third time in nine games.

Houston starter Chris Sampson (6-6) took a loss for the first time in five starts, giving up four runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings.

Giants 9, Reds 5

Fred Lewis hit another grand slam and slumping starter Matt Cain (3-9) turned it into a long-awaited win, while Barry Bonds watched from the dugout with a day off for visiting San Francisco.

Lewis, a 26-year-old rookie filling in for the Giants' slugger, had three hits, including a fourth-inning grand slam off Matt Belisle (5-6). Two of Lewis' three homers this year are grand slams, making him the first rookie in San Francisco history to hit two in a season.

Pirates 5, Brewers 3

Adam LaRoche hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth inning, and Ian Snell (7-5) shut out visiting Milwaukee over his final seven innings.

Ryan Doumit added a two-run drive for the Pirates. Matt Capps pitched the ninth for his eighth save.

Claudio Vargas (6-2) couldn't hold a three-run lead for the Brewers, whose 13-25 record on July 4th is the worst among clubs with more than 20 games played on the date.

Cardinals 5, Diamondbacks 4

Juan Encarnacion and Scott Rolen hit consecutive RBI doubles in the eighth inning to help host St. Louis overcome an early three-run deficit.

Starting pitcher Livan Hernandez and Miguel Montero both hit a two-run homer for Arizona. Chris Duncan and Brendan Ryan hit solo homers in the seventh for the Cardinals. Duncan's 16th homer tied Albert Pujols for the team lead.

Ryan Franklin (3-0) pitched the eighth and Jason Isringhausen worked the ninth for his 16th save. Brandon Lyon (5-3) took the loss.