Tsao ties up Phillies on two hits
Helton 3-run homer helps Rockies gain on wild-card leaders
By Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News
August 7, 2003
Rookie right-handed pitcher Chin-hui Tsao is the newest hope for the Colorado
Rockies. And he has given the team reason to look forward to the future.
All-Star first baseman Todd Helton has become the old reliable.
And he continues to provide the Rockies a cornerstone upon which to build.
Wednesday night, the two most hyped players developed by the organization
combined to keep that wild-card dream the Rockies harbor flickering.
Tsao rebounded from a game-opening home run for six dominating innings, and
Helton provided the one big blow the Rockies needed to pull out a 5-1 victory
at Coors Field, ending a seven-game losing streak to the wild-card leading
Phillies and cutting the Rockies wild-card deficit to 6 ? games.
"These are big games," Helton said. "No doubt about it. The games mean a little
more. You lose a game, it's going to be very tough to make up ground. When you
are 7 ? games back, you can't go out and get swept by the team in front."
After losing 7-2 Tuesday night to the Phillies, the Rockies have avoided the
sweep, and this afternoon close out the series with a shot at claiming the
three-game series.
Helton more than answered the challenge against a Phillies team that has worked
hard to limit the damage he causes. Walked in seven of his first 19 plate
appearances against the Phillies this season, Helton finally got his chance
with two on and two out in the fifth Wednesday.
Phillies starter Brian Duckworth threw a 3-1 changeup that Helton drove deep
over the right-center field fence. The homer erased the disappointments
concerning Ronnie Belliard's inability to get down a sacrifice bunt and
Charles Johnson's failure to tag and advance to third on an ensuing Belliard
fly ball to deep center.
Helton's 24th home run of the season gave the Rockies a 4-1 lead.
"You have to have a mind-set of looking to hit every pitch and try to have the
discipline to not swing at bad pitches," said Helton, whose home run was the
Rockies' only hit in 12 at-bats with a runner in scoring position.
Tsao, in his third big-league start, didn't make many bad pitches. He caught
the Phillies off guard when - after back-to-back two-out walks to Jim Thome and
Bobby Abreu in the third - he debuted a two-seam fastball that had the type of
action that could be mistaken for a slider.
Tsao retired the final 10 batters he faced. He threw only eight balls among
the 33 pitches he needed to get those 10 outs.
"I can't tell you about this stuff, but after the first two, three innings, he
kicked in a new gear," Helton said. "His whole demeanor, his competitiveness.
He was fun to play behind. He was going after people. I think we fed off him."
The Rockies needed some type of a pick-me-up against the Phillies, who had
never trailed in the 39 innings the two teams had played this season before
Helton's home run.
And Tsao was ready to provide the lift, once he got past giving up a
game-opening home run, which was similar to his big-league debut 13 days ago
at Coors Field. Milwaukee's Eric Young led off with a home run, and Tsao
wound up with the win.
"I want to pitch perfectly every time I start," Tsao said through interpreter
Howard Chao. "I get in too much of a rush with my body and it hurts my control.
Usually after a base hit or home run, I slow down and relax."
There were still some rough moments in the early innings against the Phillies,
particularly when Tsao, known for his ability to throw strikes, issued the
walks to Thome and Abreu in the third. That's when he decided to try the
two-seam pitch he began working on in bullpen sessions since he was called up
from Class AA Tulsa two weeks ago.
"(Bullpen coach and former minor league pitching coordinator) Rick Matthews
knows Tsao a little more than I do, and he said if anybody could throw the
two-seamer it would be him," pitching coach Bob Apodaca said. "We worked on
it (in sessions between starts) and he threw a couple warming up before the
game.
"He was having trouble getting his fastball in to right-handed hitters, so he
decided to try the (two-seam fastball in the third inning). I think it helped
him locate the ball better.
"Maybe in his mind he knows it's not a power pitch, so he relaxes a little
when he throws it."
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