News
Padres stunned by Rockies in ninth
Bell lets shutout slip away with two down in final frame
By Corey Brock / MLB.com
09/12/09 2:50 AM ET
SAN DIEGO -- The confidence that normally gushes from San Diego closer Heath Bell was instead replaced by second-guessing on Friday after the All-Star found himself on the wrong end of a stunning twist of events at PETCO Park. Sure, everyone's human, only Bell hasn't pitched much like one in 2009, but instead like a well-engineered closing machine, one who before this game, hadn't blown a save at home and only three this entire season. Blowing No. 4, though, had an even greater adverse reaction on Bell than any of the three blown saves, probably because his command was out of sorts and he was left more or less kicking himself In a game where pitching mattered most, nearly all of it good, Bell allowed four runs over one fitful inning as the Rockies rallied for a stunning 4-1 victory before what qualified as an equally stunned crowd of 18,022. The culprit, of course, wasn't a party of one, these losses never are, though Bell was the one standing in front of his locker after the game, going over a miserable sequence that he would just as soon forget. "My mechanics were off. I wasn't hitting my spots, and I should have thrown by curveball. ... If I would have thrown my curveball, we would have won the game," Bell said. "I just couldn't throw a fastball for a strike. "I think it's a horrible season to blow four saves." The reality is Bell -- who has now converted 37 of 41 saves this season -- has surely been very good for a team that has gone 25-17 since July 28 and was coming off a 4-2 road trip to Los Angeles and San Francisco. "He's had a great run," Padres manager Bud Black said. The strong pitching, both from the rotation and bullpen that has fueled this second-half push, was again on display against the Rockies (82-60), who have moved 5 1/2 games in front of the Giants for the National League Wild Card lead. The Padres (63-79) were left holding onto a 1-0 lead after scoring a run in the first inning and then watching spot starter Edward Mujica cruise through four frames and 56 pitches, allowing two hits. The Padres then used Sean Gallagher, Adam Russell, Joe Thatcher and Luke Gregerson to get to the ninth. But in the ninth inning, Todd Helton walked on seven pitches before Troy Tulowitzki hit a fly ball down the right-field line that Edgar Gonzalez caught. Brad Hawpe then punched a single to left field, and Bell walked Jason Giambi to load the bases. Bell got a brief reprieve when he struck out pinch-hitter Matt Murton. But after running the count to 2-2 on pinch-hitter Yorvit Torrealba, Bell left a fastball over the plate that ended up in the left-center-field gap, allowing three runs to score. Of the first six batters Bell faced in the ninth inning, four reached base on 24 pitches, all but two being fastballs. Bell said afterward that he should have mixed in a curveball to Torrealba, if for no other reason than a little variety. "He's a not a good breaking-ball hitter," said Bell, who nearly got Torrealba to strike out earlier in the at-bat on a checked swing. "We went out and battled and scored a run. That should have been enough." Lost in the Padres' ninth-inning struggles was the outing by Mujica, who struck out three and didn't walk a single batter. He lowered his ERA this season to 3.33 and might get at least one more start. He was filling in for rookie Mat Latos, who has had his innings for the season capped. "He threw the ball well," Black said. "He's been a strike thrower, he has gone to a full windup, and he feels comfortable." Mujica, who was making his first Major League start after 116 relief appearances, didn't have any issues with the adjustment to working longer or pitching out of a windup instead of the stretch, as he has done exclusively as a reliever. "It felt pretty good, these guys put me in a good situation," he said. "Three weeks ago, I told [pitching coach Darren Balsley] that I want to try my windup. He told me if I like it, then keep doing it." The Padres managed one run in seven innings against Rockies left-hander Jorge De La Rosa, who walked four and struck out eight. One of those walks, in the first inning, was to Oscar Salazar, and it forced in a run for a 1-0 Padres lead.Corey Brock is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
