Rockies-Braves box score

ATLANTA - It wasn't that long ago when the Rockies would finish up a trip to Florida and Atlanta with a .500 record and feel like celebrating.

But that was when the Rockies were merely hoping to survive a season.

Things are different now.

The Rockies want to be a factor in the National League West.

So instead of feeling good about a .500 trip, what the Rockies saw after their 6-5, 10-inning loss to the Braves at Turner Field on Sunday afternoon was a challenge that was growing.

After winning two of three in Florida earlier in the week, they lost two of three to the Braves. At the same time division-leading Arizona was sweeping a three-game series at Dodger Stadium. That not only leaves the Rockies in fourth place in the NL West, but 5 1/2 games out of first, a deficit that grew by two games in the past six days.

The good news for the Rockies is that 30 of their final 81 games are at Coors Field. That includes a three-game series against Milwaukee beginning tonight, and the Rockies have given indications of late that they once again have an attitude at altitude.

The Rockies won a franchise-record eight consecutive series at Coors Field, and they have won 16 of their past 20 home games. They are 30-21 at Coors Field, the third-best home record in the NL, behind only Arizona (33-21) and Milwaukee (39-20).

"We have been on a roll at home and we feel good at home, but we still have to go out and play the game," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said.

The Brewers are only 21-32 on the road, the third-worst road record in the NL. And that's why they are suddenly struggling to hold off the Cubs in the NL Central.

"We are going to face a team that needs to put its foot down, but we need to do the same thing," Hurdle said. "We need to challenge ourselves to do something good."

Not much good came out of the Rockies' failure in their road finale.

Aaron Cook struggled with his command, giving up 10 hits, equaling the most he has allowed on the road this year.

Jamey Carroll had a rare challenging day in the field. He had only his second error of the season on a two-out groundball ahead of a Chipper Jones home run in the fifth inning.

A bullpen that had been near brilliant had a couple of slip-ups that were costly. Left-hander Jeremy Affeldt served up a go-ahead double in the sixth to left-handed-hitting rookie Willie Harris, and Taylor Buchholz tried to rebound from two innings of work Saturday and managed to retire only one of four batters in the bottom of the 10th. Rookie shortstop Yunel Escobar drove home the winning run with one out.

And the offense backfired. With the bases loaded and nobody out in the sixth, Braves reliever Tyler Yates stuck out Troy Tulowitzki swinging and Chris Iannetta looking, and Cook popped up. With Willy Taveras on second and one out in the ninth, Matt Holliday grounded to short. After an intentional walk to Todd Helton, Garrett Atkins struck out on three pitches, taking the final one.

"Obviously, the result was frustrating but we did played with them," Holliday said. "Now we're going home. Everybody has a good feeling about how we play at Coors Field. We've had quite a bit of success there of late. Success breeds confidence."

Success, though, has been minimal for the Rockies in Atlanta, a team bidding for its return to the postseason after its professional sports record streak of 15 consecutive first-place finishes ended a year ago. The Rockies are now 20-42 in Atlanta, and have lost 12 of their past 15 at Turner Field.

That added to the frustrations Sunday, when the Rockies knew that they had their chances to win the game but failed to cash in.

"You can't make (mistakes) if you expect to be a good ballclub, and continue to move forward," Hurdle said. "We had opportunities. We battled long. We battled hard. We had the opportunities and didn't take advantage of them."

None were more frustrating than in the sixth. With Atlanta taking a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth, the Rockies answered with Carroll drawing a leadoff walk followed by back-to-back singles by Holliday and Helton, tying the score at 3-3. With runners on first and third, Atlanta manager Bobby Cox yanked starter Chuck James in favor of Yates.

It only added to the disappointment that Cook, after making the final out in the top of the inning, was relieved three batters into the bottom half.

"Hindsight is a wonderful thing," Hurdle said. "We are in the sixth inning. We have our best pitcher on a roll. We wanted to give him an opportunity to go out and put up a shutdown inning."

The opportunity was wasted, a lot like the Rockies weekend.

ringolsbyt@RockyMountainNews.com

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