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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
DENVER (AP) – The vein above Todd Walker's left temple was still
bulging as he recounted what he considered an egregious error more
than an hour earlier.
|  | | Jon Lieber drops his ERA under 3.00 by giving up two runs in seven innings at Coors Field. |
With runners at second and third and the Colorado Rockies
leading 2-1 in the fourth inning on Thursday, Walker checked his
swing on a two-out, two-strike pitch from Jon Lieber.
The Chicago Cubs appealed to third base umpire Morris Hodges,
who ruled that Walker went around. Replays showed that Walker's bat
did not go through the hitting zone.
"I didn't even come close," Walker said after Colorado's 7-2
loss to the Cubs. "When they checked down at third, I was kind of
surprised they were even checking, and then when he called it, it
just really took me by surprise."
Walker disgustedly flipped his bat to the dirt, and Rockies
manager Buddy Bell was ejected minutes later as things unraveled
for Colorado. The Cubs scored five runs in the fifth and got
another solid performance from Lieber (2-1) to snap their
three-game losing skid.
After watching Chicago pitchers surrender 20 runs in the first
two games of the series, Lieber gave up two runs and seven hits in
seven innings. He walked four, struck out eight and has pitched at
least seven innings in all five of his starts.
"He's a very underrated starter," Cubs manager Don Baylor
said. "I know I counted on him last year. I knew I was always in a
ballgame with him. If he gives up two or three runs early, that was
going to be it."
Lieber gave up an RBI single to Brent Mayne in the second and a
run-scoring double to Jeff Cirillo in the third but was never in
much trouble after Walker struck out to end Colorado's threat in
the fourth.
While crediting Lieber for an impressive start at altitude, Bell
could not contain his frustration with the umpiring crew after
being ejected for the second time this year and the 11th time in
the last two seasons.
Plate umpire Mike DiMuro tossed Bell for continuing to argue
Hodges' call.
"I'm getting so sick of this," Bell said. "I really made a
conscious effort this year to come in and try not to say anything,
but to hell with that. I'm just going to tell them what's on my
mind because it doesn't do anybody any good. I'm going to stick up
for these players."
Rockies starter Brian Bohanon (0-3) allowed six runs – five
earned – and nine hits in six innings. All his losses have come at
home, where he has given up 19 earned runs in 14 1-3 innings.
Bohanon had no luck in Chicago's decisive fifth-inning rally. He
gave up an infield single, threw late to second on a sacrifice bunt
by Lieber and surrendered a bloop RBI single by Eric Young before
Gary Matthews Jr. hit a two-run triple.
"You make good pitches and get bled to death," Bohanon said.
"I made quality pitch after quality pitch. The only one that was
bad was the one to Matthews. I was breaking bats. It was
ridiculous. I've got enough firewood to start a bonfire."
Rondell White later added an RBI single in the inning and
another run scored on an error by Colorado third baseman Terry
Shumpert, who came in after Cirillo left with spasms near his rib
cage.
Cirillo, hitting .295 with five homers and 18 RBI, said he felt
pain during batting practice, and he grabbed his lower back while
leaving the batter's box on his run-scoring double.
"It doesn't feel terrible right now. It doesn't feel great,"
he said. "I don't see it as being a long-lasting injury.
Hopefully, I was just a little dehydrated and cramped."
Game notes
Chicago has not been swept by Colorado since July 24-27,
1997. ... Cubs OF Sammy Sosa is 1-for-18 against Bohanon after
going hitless in three at-bats against him Thursday. ... Colorado
failed to homer for the first time in 37 games against the Cubs at
Coors Field. ... Rockies OF Todd Hollandsworth extended his hitting
streak to 11 games and singled in the eighth for his 500th career
hit.
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OTHER GAMES
Baseball Scoreboard
Chicago Cubs Clubhouse
Colorado Clubhouse
RECAPS
Kansas City 6
Tampa Bay 0
Detroit 8
Baltimore 2
Boston 2
Minnesota 0
Cleveland 6
Anaheim 5
Seattle 7
NY Yankees 3
Oakland 16
Chi. White Sox 6
Montreal 4
St. Louis 3
Milwaukee 12
NY Mets 8
Chicago Cubs 7
Colorado 2
Cincinnati 7
San Francisco 5
San Diego 11
Philadelphia 0
Arizona 13
Atlanta 6
Los Angeles 6
Pittsburgh 3
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