Choosing Youth Baseball Equipment

]]> http://youthbaseballglove.info/youth-baseball-video/choosing-youth-baseball-equipment/feed/ 0 http://youthbaseballglove.info/baseball-news/twins-improve-to-4-0-vs-greinke-ap/ http://youthbaseballglove.info/baseball-news/twins-improve-to-4-0-vs-greinke-ap/#comments Thu, 09 Sep 2010 21:46:07 +0000 admin http://youthbaseballglove.info/baseball-news/twins-improve-to-4-0-vs-greinke-ap/

MINNEAPOLIS – Brian Duensing allowed one run and struck out seven over eight innings and the Minnesota Twins continued an impressive run of success against Kansas City ace Zack Greinke with a 4-3 victory Wednesday night to complete a three-game sweep.

Duensing (8-2) allowed six hits and dropped his ERA to 2.02. J.J. Hardy homered and Denard Span added a two-run triple for the Twins, who have won six straight games to take a 5 1/2-game lead over the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.

Greinke (8-12) fell to 0-4 with an 8.18 ERA against the Twins this season. He allowed four runs and five hits with four strikeouts and three walks in eight innings.

The Royals scored twice in the ninth off Matt Capps on a groundout from Brayan Pena and a single from Alex Gordon. But Capps got pinch-hitter Mitch Maier to fly out for his 11th save in 13 tries.

Duensing, who was moved from the bullpen to the rotation on July 23 to take the place of the struggling Nick Blackburn, has allowed one earned run or fewer in four of his last five starts.

Greinke was mowing down the Twins through 4 2-3 innings, getting eight groundball outs and two strikeouts while Kansas City went ahead 1-0 on a single by Pena in the second.

The reigning AL Cy Young winner had two walks and the Twins got another baserunner on an error by first baseman Wilson Betemit, but Greinke didn’t allow a hit until the Twins had two outs in the fifth.

Greinke walked designated hitter Jose Morales, who was filling in after Jim Thome was scratched with a mild abdominal strain. The Twins jumped on the next three pitches they saw from Greinke, getting a single by Hardy, an RBI-single by Matt Tolbert and a two-run triple from Span to take a 3-1 lead.

It was the second straight start that Greinke had taken a no-hitter into the fifth inning. Last time he took a 4-0 lead into the seventh against Detroit before allowing four runs in a no-decision.

The Twins just seem to have his number. They entered the game hitting .365 with 16 earned runs in 14 innings against one of the best pitchers in the American League.

“Nothing you do against Zack Greinke is easy,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said before the game.

The Twins just make it look that way.

NOTES: The Twins honored injured 1B Justin Morneau (concussion) before the game as the team’s nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, given annually to the player who displays excellence on the field and in the community. Morneau hasn’t played since July 7 but said before the game he is optimistic he will return this season. … Royals 1B Billy Butler had further X-rays on his right hand Wednesday. Just like the initial test on Tuesday night, they showed a bruise and no break. Manager Ned Yost said he hoped Butler would be ready by Friday. … Twins setup man Brian Fuentes was taken for an MRI on his back. He has pitched just 1-3 of an inning since being acquired from the Angels.

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BOSTON – Tim Wakefield became the oldest pitcher to win for Boston, and the Red Sox backed their 44-year-old knuckleballer with five home runs Wednesday night to rough up the Tampa Bay Rays 11-5.

Marco Scutaro hit two homers and Adrian Beltre, David Ortiz and Victor Martinez also connected as warm temperatures on a late-summer night helped the ball carry out of Fenway Park. Four of the shots came off Matt Garza (14-8).

Wakefield (4-10) surpassed Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley, who was 43 when he got his last win for the Red Sox.

The Rays dropped to 2 1/2 games behind the AL East-leading Yankees. Boston is nine behind New York.

Wakefield allowed five runs on six hits and four walks in five innings. B.J. Upton hit a three-run homer for Tampa Bay.

Ahead 4-0 early, the Rays let Boston tie it through three innings. Jason Bartlett’s RBI single in the fourth put Tampa Bay in front, but the Red Sox took the lead 7-5 and chased Garza with a three-run fifth.

Martinez tied it with a leadoff homer into the back of the Red Sox bullpen. Ryan Kalish greeted reliever Chad Qualls with a go-ahead double off the left-field wall, a ball Carl Crawford might’ve caught if he hadn’t pulled up and played the carom. Kalish scored when third baseman Evan Longoria bounced a throw to first for an error.

Garza gave up nine hits and six runs in 4 1-3 innings. He came in with a 3-0 with a 0.99 ERA in his last four starts.

Martinez’s RBI single off reliever Randy Choate made it 8-5 in the sixth. Scutaro’s second homer, his career-high tying fourth hit, made it 11-5 against Grant Balfour in the seventh.

Longoria’s sacrifice fly had put the Rays ahead 1-0 in the first. They increased it to 4-0 in the second on Upton’s homer, a drive that hit a billboard above the Green Monster.

The Red Sox tied it by scoring two runs in both the second and third. Beltre homered into the Monster seats after Ortiz walked, cutting it to 4-2 in the second. The homer gave Beltre 1,001 career RBIs.

Scutaro and Ortiz each hit solo shots into the left-field seats in the third.

Boston’s Lars Anderson got his first two major league hits, both singles, and drove in a run.

NOTES: This was Scutaro’s first four-hit game with Boston. … The Red Sox tied their season-high with five homers. … Rays manager Joe Maddon said right-handed starter Jeff Niemann “had a great workout. There’s nothing wrong. Once he gets his confidence back, he’ll throw like he did the last year and a half.” Niemann has given up 23 runs in 16 2-3 innings over three starts since coming off the DL from a strained shoulder on Aug. 25. … Maddon also said that Balfour, on the DL for 32 games with a strained ribcage suffered horsing around with pitching coach Jim Hickey before being activated Sept. 1, “is not quite where he had been.” … Scutaro was back at shortstop after playing second on Tuesday because he has inflammation in the rotator cuff of his throwing shoulder, and the club wanted him to avoid longer throws. … Tampa Bay’s Carlos Pena snapped 0-for-25 drought with a fifth-inning single.

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PHILADELPHIA – Ryan Howard homered and had six RBIs and the Philadelphia Phillies backed Cole Hamels with a rare burst of the run support he had been missing most of the season in a 10-6 win over the Florida Marlins on Wednesday night.

Howard hit his 28th homer of the season and the NL East-leading Phillies had a season-high 18 hits.

Hamels (10-10) tossed four-hit ball over seven innings and extended his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 25. He struck out five and won his third straight start.

His record would be well over .500 if not for receiving the fourth-lowest run support (3.18 runs per start) of any starter this season entering the game.

He got plenty in Philadelphia’s third straight win.

Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins left with tightness in his right hamstring. He is day-to-day.

Gaby Sanchez hit a three-run homer for the Marlins as part of a six-run eighth off Nate Robertson.

Hamels was sensational and earned a standing ovation when he struck out Brad Davis to end the seventh. Hamels, the 2008 World Series MVP, might have 15 wins by now if the Phillies had some pop in their bats in his starts.

The Phillies were shut out in four of his starts — including consecutive 1-0 losses in early August. The Phillies entered having scored only 19 runs in Hamels’ last 11 starts. They scored two or fewer runs in 13 of his first 28 starts.

They tried to make it up to him from the start Wednesday, scoring runs in each of the first five innings and staked him to a 10-0 lead.

Howard did the bulk of the damage against Andrew Miller (1-1). He had a two-run single in the first inning and went deep with an opposite-field, three-run shot to left in the fourth that made it 7-0.

Miller was long gone when Howard’s line-drive single to right in the seventh put the Phillies ahead 10-0. Howard was batting .188 in 16 games since returning from the disabled list on Aug. 21.

Put in perspective, the Phillies scored 10 runs combined in Hamels’ last six starts.

Hamels never really groused about his lack of support and kept giving the Phillies the kind of quality starts that has them convinced they can make another deep October run. The Phillies started the day a half-game ahead of Atlanta in the NL East as they make a run toward their fourth straight division title.

The Phillies don’t know if they will have to move on without Rollins.

Rollins — who has slumped so badly this season he was dropped from leadoff to sixth in the batting order — gingerly ran to second base and didn’t slide on a two-out double in the third. He didn’t have his usual burst around third base when he scored on Carlos Ruiz’s single.

Rollins slid at home and slowly walked back to the dugout. He had his head down as he talked with manager Charlie Manuel. Rollins was 2 for 2 and was replaced by Wilson Valdez.

The three-time All-Star shortstop has twice been on the 15-day disabled list this season because of a calf problem. He got hurt warming up before the Phillies’ home opener and missed 31 games, then re-injured himself less than a week later on May 21.

Chase Utley had two RBIs for the Phillies.

NOTES: Marlins SS Hanley Ramirez was held out of the starting lineup with a sore back. … Marlins RHP Josh Johnson has right shoulder inflammation and a strained mid-back, making it unclear when the All-Star will return to the mound. There was no structural damage found and he will rejoin the Marlins on Friday for a series in Washington, but the team has not decided when he might pitch again. … Phillies closer Brad Lidge was unavailable because of a tender right elbow. Pitching coach Rich Dubee says he’s “very confident” Lidge will be ready by Friday. … Phillies rookie OF Domonic Brown is day-to-day with a strained right quadriceps.

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MILWAUKEE – Ryan Braun hit a three-run homer and the Milwaukee Brewers roughed up St. Louis rookie Jaime Garcia in an 8-1 win Wednesday night that kept the slumping Cardinals from gaining ground in the postseason chase.

Albert Pujols hit his 36th homer in the first for the Cardinals, but that was the only run Chris Capuano (3-3) allowed over seven innings.

Garcia (13-7) had been looking for his fourth straight win. Instead, he gave up a career-high seven runs as his ERA rose to 2.69.

The Cardinals began the day six games behind Cincinnati in the NL Central. The Reds played later at Colorado.

St. Louis has fallen flat chasing the Reds, losing 11 of the last 15 with 25 games to go. those four wins, Garcia had three of them with an 0.86 ERA in the span.

The 24-year-old left-hander was again expected to be the stopper, but after the second inning, it was clear he didn’t have his best stuff and was gone after the fourth.

Capuano scattered four hits in his longest outing since 2007 after missing the last two seasons because of his second Tommy John surgery.

All of Milwaukee’s runs came with two outs. Braun tied it in the third with a single and Milwaukee scored two more on Casey McGehee’s single. After Corey Hart’s RBI single in the fourth made it 4-1, Braun homered.

Braun has been sizzling down the stretch and his fourth-inning drive carried just beyond the reach of Colby Rasmus at the left-center field wall. Since Aug. 2, Braun is hitting .403 with four homers and 20 RBIs after being mired in the worst slump of his young career most of the summer.

Braun joined teammates Prince Fielder (30), Hart (27), Rickie Weeks (26) and McGehee (20) with at least 20 homers.

Pujols, who homered for the first time in 11 games, should reach the 100-RBI mark for the 10th straight year in the coming days after driving in his 98th with his first-inning shot.

Notes: The Brewers won the season series 8-7. … Career saves leader Trevor Hoffman got another loud ovation before the game after highlights of his 600th save notched Tuesday night were shown on the scoreboard. … Cardinals LHP Trever Miller (left forearm strain) had an MRI scan and is considered day to day. 3B David Freese had minor surgery to his left ankle after the club previously announced he was out for the season following right ankle surgery.

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CHICAGO – Brett Myers struck out eight in seven crisp innings, Hunter Pence homered and the Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs 4-0 on Wednesday night.

Myers (11-7) allowed three hits and walked one, improving to 10-3 with a 2.21 ERA in 17 career games against the Cubs. The right-hander is 3-0 with a 1.76 ERA in his last six starts overall.

Myers has lasted at least six innings in all 29 of his starts — the longest streak in team history and longest in the majors since Curt Schilling’s run of 35 straight for Arizona in 2002.

Surging Houston, which won for the 13th time in 17 games, took all five series against the Cubs this season.

Randy Wells (6-13) allowed four runs and nine hits in six innings for Chicago.

Myers retired the first 14 batters he faced. He got some help from his defense when second baseman Jeff Keppinger made a backhanded stop and a leaping throw to get Starlin Castro in the fourth inning.

Geovany Soto walked with two outs in the fifth for Chicago’s first baserunner and Alfonso Soriano followed with a single. But Myers got Darwin Barney to ground out to end the threat.

Myers also worked out of a jam in the seventh, retiring two straight after the Cubs put runners on the corners with one out. He is 3-0 with a 1.21 ERA in four starts against Chicago this year.

Fernando Abad, Matt Lindstrom, Tim Byrdak and Wilton Lopez combined to finish the five-hitter, Houston’s ninth shutout of the season. Abad and Byrdak each got one out, and Lindstrom and Lopez retired two batters apiece.

The Cubs finished a nine-game homestand with a 5-4 record and lost back-to-back games under Mike Quade for the first time. Quade took over when manager Lou Piniella retired on Aug. 23.

The Cubs were shut out for the 10th time this season.

Humberto Quintero hit an RBI single in the second and Pence connected in the third for his 23rd homer. Chris Johnson added an RBI single in the fifth and Keppinger drove in a run with a groundout in the sixth.

After being benched the previous two games by Quade, Castro committed an error on Carlos Lee’s grounder to shortstop in the first inning. Quade sat Castro for his poor defensive play and not knowing how many outs there were during the seventh inning of Chicago’s 18-5 loss to the Mets on Sunday.

NOTES: The Cubs are 26-41 against divisional opponents.

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DENVER – A little more than a year ago, Carlos Gonzalez looked like he needed more seasoning in Triple-A. Now, he’s a contender for the Triple Crown.

“I would say that’s rapid development,” Colorado Rockies manager Jim Tracy said.

Gonzalez’s remarkable 2 1/2-week tear has put the Rockies back into the thick of the pennant race and placed him squarely in the hunt to become the first hitter to lead his league in homers, RBIs and batting average since Boston’s Carl Yastrzemski did it in 1967.

No NL player has done it since St. Louis’ Joe Medwick in 1937.

Heading into action Thursday, the man his teammates have dubbed “CarGo” was the NL leader in batting average (.340) and RBIs (100) and his 32 homers trailed leader Albert Pujols by four.

During a career-best 16-game hitting streak that began Aug. 23, Gonzalez’s graceful swing has been on full display with a 32-for-62 streak that includes nine doubles, two triples, seven homers and 21 RBIs as he’s packed 25 points onto his batting average.

He’s put up these numbers despite batting leadoff for 44 games earlier this season. Since moving into the third spot in the batting order in June 22, Gonzalez is batting .377 and since that date he leads the National League in hits, batting average, home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage.

“When you talk about what’s been done already and what’s looming out there on the horizon, it’s a little scary to think about how talented this guy is,” Tracy said. “This guy’s a very, very special player. He makes a strong argument he’s the best player in the league when you add it all up.”

If he doesn’t win the Triple Crown, how about Most Valuable Player?

The 24-year-old slugger flashes solid credentials regardless of where the Rockies finish. He’s the only player in the National League with a slugging percentage above .600 and he recently became just the 12th player since 1952 to collect extra-base hits in 10 consecutive games.

It’s not just his bat that’s turning heads, either.

He’s swiped 23 bases. He roams all three outfield spots at cavernous Coors Field as if he’s been playing each position his entire career, routinely making terrific catches at the wall and nailing runners with one of the best arms in baseball. He’s made just one error all season.

“He’s capable of doing anything,” Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez said. “He can play defense, he can run and steal some bases, throw runners out. He can do it all.”

Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker sees not a single weakness in Gonzalez’s game.

“He’s a real tough out, he’s got a great swing. He’s going to hit the ball all over the ballpark,” Baker said. “You really don’t know where to play him. He has the ability to hit all kinds of pitches. He’s a heck of a ballplayer.”

Before the All-Star break in 2009, Tracy was dealing with questions about why he was stubbornly sticking with Gonzalez in the lineup.

Sure, he was showing occasional flashes of brilliance as he had in the Arizona and Oakland farm systems and with the Athletics in 2008, when he hit 22 doubles before joining the Rockies in the no-longer-debated Matt Holliday trade, but his lack of discipline at the plate was making it easy on pitchers.

Things began to click right after the break last season and he finished with a .284 average with 13 homers and 29 RBIs in 89 games.

Then, he went wild in the playoffs, collecting 10 hits in 17 at-bats against the Philadelphia Phillies in the division series. Remarkably, nine of those hits came off lefties.

He’s on the same kind of roll now.

“He absolutely loves this time of the year,” Tracy said. “This guy rises. He goes to another level.”

Cleanup hitter Troy Tulowitzki, who provides protection for Gonzalez to see some better pitches than he would otherwise, said Gonzalez is sporting a swagger that’s only helping him get better.

“The confidence oozes out of him,” Tulowitzki said. “I think that’s the biggest difference in him from last year to this year is the confidence. That’s huge. If you can walk up there with a swagger and know that you’re a special player, that’s going help you a lot in the field. And that’s what he does each and every day.”

Gonzalez said his playoff performance made him realize how good he could be.

“That totally changed my mentality, my preparation and everything because maybe I wasn’t trying that hard before and now I’m trying really hard because during the playoffs, that was special and that was something that I wanted to win so bad and I wanted to be really good,” Gonzalez told The Associated Press.

“My whole mentality and preparation were really good. So, I carried that into the season, and that’s why I’ve been doing so good.”

Gonzalez has heeded Tracy’s instructions to shrink his strike zone this season, forcing pitchers to elevate their offerings.

Now that Tulowitzki has found his power stroke after returning from a broken wrist that sidelined him for six weeks, the Rockies sport one of the league’s best 1-2 punches in 3-4 spots in the order.

“I always let him know that the reason he’s having such a big year is because his protection’s there,” Tulowitzki said, only half-jokingly.

“It’s true,” Gonzalez said. “Well, Tulowitzki was out for like a month and I was doing pretty well then, too.”

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DENVER – Troy Tulowitzki homered twice and the Colorado Rockies beat the struggling Cincinnati Reds 9-2 on Wednesday night, earning their sixth consecutive victory despite losing starter Aaron Cook to a leg injury.

Cook was struck in the lower right leg by a line drive off the bat of Joey Votto in the sixth inning. The right-hander hobbled around the mound for a few minutes, before gingerly walking off the field and into the dugout. The team reported the injury as a bruise and said he left the park to get X-rays.

Cook (6-8) was cruising along before he was struck by the comebacker, allowing one run and six hits in five-plus innings. It was his second straight win since coming off the disabled list with a right big toe ailment.

Tulowitzki provided the bulk of the offense, hitting a three-run homer in the third and a solo shot two innings later for his second career multihomer game.

Seth Smith had a solo shot while youngsters Jonathan Herrera and Eric Young Jr. each delivered a two-run single. Carlos Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a bloop single in the sixth.

The Rockies matched their longest winning streak of the season and remained 4 1/2 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL wild-card race.

Despite their fourth straight loss, the Reds still lead the NL Central by six games over St. Louis. The Cardinals lost 8-1 at Milwaukee.

Bronson Arroyo (14-10) was hit hard, yielding seven runs in 4 1-3 innings and surrendering a season-high three homers.

Votto went 3 for 3 to raise his average to .326. He also drove in a run in the first inning to give him 99 RBIs this season.

With Gonzalez swinging such a hot bat, teams are electing to pitch around him and take their chances with cleanup hitter Tulowitzki.

The strategy backfired Wednesday. After Dexter Fowler led off the third with a single, Arroyo carefully pitched to Gonzalez before walking him.

Tulowitzki jumped all over a hanging curve, hitting a drive to left for his 16th homer.

Then again, pitching to Gonzalez also can be quite hazardous. He hit a three-run drive in Tuesday night’s 4-3 victory and is challenging for the NL Triple Crown. He leads in batting average (.340) and RBIs (100), while trailing Albert Pujols by four homers.

Herrera made the most of a spot start, driving in two runs with a single to right in the second. Herrera was filling in for third baseman Melvin Mora, who was given the night off.

Votto singled in Drew Stubbs in the first and Paul Janish had an RBI single in the seventh for Cincinnati.

NOTES: Reds manager Dusty Baker said there hasn’t been much improvement lately with OF Laynce Nix (left ankle). Nix is eligible to come off the DL on Friday. … Reds OF Jay Bruce (right side strain) took more batting practice Wednesday. … Rockies INF Ian Stewart (strained oblique) took a day off from baseball activities after showing up Wednesday stiff and sore. … Nuggets F Chris Andersen sat in the lower section for the game, his hair styled into a Mohawk. … Rockies C Mike McKenry made his major league debut as a pinch hitter, flying out to shallow center.

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ANAHEIM, Calif. – Jeff Mathis drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the 16th inning and the Los Angeles Angels got home runs from Mike Napoli and rookie Peter Bourjos in a 4-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night, the longest game of the season for both teams.

Cleveland rookie Hector Ambriz (0-2), working his fourth inning of relief, gave up a leadoff double to left-center by Torii Hunter on the 500th pitch of the game. Hunter advanced on Alberto Callaspo’s grounder to first base and jogged home after Mathis’ flyball to right field.

Matt Palmer (1-1) pitched three innings of two-hit relief for the victory, striking out the side in the 15th.

Fernando Rodney, who took over the closer’s role for the Angels after Brian Fuentes was traded to Minnesota on Aug. 27, gave up the tying run in the ninth on a one-out RBI single by pinch-hitter Jayson Nix. The blown save was Rodney’s fourth in 12 opportunities this season, and just his fifth in 52 chances dating to 2008 with Detroit.

Callaspo singled with one out in the bottom half of the ninth and tried to score on a pitch from Joe Smith that broke off the glove of catcher Lou Marson and to the right of home plate. But Marson, who entered the game that inning after Nix batted for starting catcher Chris Gimenez, hustled after the ball and threw to Smith for the tag on Callaspo.

Cleveland center fielder Michael Brantley robbed Juan Rivera of a home run leading off the 10th against Justin Germano, after the Indians stranded two runners in scoring position in the top of the inning on a groundout by Andy Marte against Bobby Cassevah. The rookie right-hander escaped another jam in the 11th, retiring Asdrubal Cabrera on a comebacker with runners at the corners.

The Angels loaded the bases in the 11th against Germano, who gave up a walk and a hit-and-run single to Hunter before walking Callaspo intentionally to set up a possible double play. But Mathis fouled out to Marson on an attempted suicide squeeze bunt and Erick Aybar struck out.

Scott Kazmir matched Cleveland’s Josh Tomlin pitch-for-pitch through four hitless innings and left after six with a 3-1 lead before the Angels’ bullpen squandered it.

Marte, who came in with four hits in five career at-bats against Kazmir, struck out both times up against the left-hander. His next time up, he hit his fourth homer of the season with one out in the seventh off rookie right-hander Jordan Walden to trim the Angels’ lead to 3-2.

Kazmir allowed a run and two hits, struck out six and walked three. The two-time All-Star came in with a 7.07 ERA and .360 opponents batting average against Cleveland, his highest numbers against any team.

Kazmir was 1-8 with a 7.74 ERA in his previous starts after winning his previous four — all on the road. He was 0-7 with a 6.81 ERA in his previous seven starts at Angel Stadium after winning his first two outings at the Big A in April.

Tomlin gave up three runs and three hits over six innings, walked three and struck out four in his eighth career start.

Neither team had a hit until Cleveland’s Jason Donald led off the fifth with a double inside third base and scored one out later on a single by Trevor Crowe. But Napoli put the Angels ahead in the bottom half with his 23rd homer, a two-run shot.

Bourjos led off the sixth with a drive that just cleared the fence in left-center and increased the Angels’ margin to 3-1. It was the third homer for Bourjos, who came in batting .196 in 28 games following his promotion from Triple-A on Aug. 3.

NOTES: The Indians stranded a season-high 16 baserunners, surpassing the 14 they left on base against the Angels in a 5-2 loss on April 26 at Anaheim. … For the third straight game, an Angels pitcher threw the ball away trying to pick off a runner at first base. This time it was in the 16th, when Shin-Soo Choo advanced on the error by Palmer after drawing a two-out walk. But Brown stranded him with a comebacker. … Kazmir surpassed the 1,000-inning mark for his career, and is 16 strikeouts shy of 1,000. … Despite the loss, the Indians won their first series from the Angels since May 2005 after winning the first two games, 3-2 and 6-1.

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DENVER – Colorado Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook has a broken leg after being hit by a line drive from Cincinnati’s Joey Votto.

Cook’s lower right leg was fractured in the sixth inning Wednesday night. Rockies manager Jim Tracy confirmed the injury after a 9-2 win over the Reds, but said the injury may not end his season.

Cook hobbled around the mound as the ball ricocheted toward catcher Miguel Olivo. After the team trainer and Tracy spent several minutes with him on the mound, Cook walked off the field.

The right-hander allowed six hits and one run in five innings.

Cook was making his second start since coming off the 15-day disabled list Sept. 3. He missed 27 games with turf toe on his right foot.

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