Colorado’s Aaron Cook (8-3) has been on a roll lately. The starting pitcher took a shutout into the ninth inning and won his fifth consecutive start as the Rockies triumphed over the Oakland Athletics 3-1. The right hander has a 1.75 ERA over his past five starts. Colorado’s manager Jim Tracy said even when other teams get one or two hits off Cook; he manages to retire the sides before a runner gets to home plate. The manager continued to say that this was a matchup where his ace pitcher got better as the game went on. Cook allowed nine hits while striking out four batters. He also walked one. Seth Smith, Chris Iannetta, and Carlos Gonzales each drove in a run for the Rockies, who completed their first sweep of the A’s and their fourth sweep in June.

Colorado (22-7 in the last month) has averaged six and a half runs during the past five games Cook has been on the hill. The Rockies have won 20 of their last 23 games. Get Colorado Rockies tickets and see the Rockies win more games. Oakland tried to generate some offense when Ryan Sweeney had three hits and drove in a run. Orlando Cabrera also contributed with two hits. However, it was not enough to get by the Rockies. The A’s have lost their fifth straight game, which ties their season high. Former A’s pitcher, Huston Street earned his 19th save in 20 chances by striking out the last three batters. The relief pitcher saved all three games of the series. Street told the press that this was a big series for Colorado.

Vin Mazzaro (2-3) was on the hill for Oakland. He allowed three runs on five hits in five-plus innings. The right-hander walked four and struck out eight batters. It was his third straight loss, all in interleague play. Oakland’s manager Bob Green said he thought Mazzaro did a good job holding down a pretty good hitting club. The manager continued to say that the right-hander is one of the best young pitchers in the majors. He admitted that the Rockies put together some good at bats against them during the series. The manager noted that the big difference was the extra base hits. The A’s did not hit a long ball against Cook’s sinkers. The A’s wrapped up their interleague play with a 5-13 record, which is their worst performance in the American League. The Rockies matched their best record (11-4) in interleague play.

Jason Giambi has been having problems at the plate and his average dropped below .200 before he hammered his eighth-inning single. He snapped a 1-for-19 streak and was able to reach .203 (the lowest in the American League among everyday players). Colorado scored twice in the second inning on Iannetta’s RBI force-out and Smith’s run-scoring double. Gonzalez added an RBI double in the sixth inning. After Kurt Suzuki’s single in the ninth inning, Cook left the mound. Street gave up singles to Cabrera and Sweeney. The former A’s closer struck out Mark Ellis and Nomar Garciaparr. He was able to get Adam Kennedy to fly out to left field.

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[tags]Colorado Rockies, sports, tickets, baseball, MLB[/tags]