DENVER – Jeff Francis finally got a win at Coors Field.
The North Delta, B.C., native pitched seven innings to earn his first home win in two years and the Colorado Rockies beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-3 Sunday to complete a three-game series sweep.
“It’s been a long time,” Francis said, “but wins are wins, regardless of where they are. I think it was a good day for everybody. The bats broke out nicely.”
Ryan Spilborghs homered twice and Carlos Gonzalez also connected for the Rockies, who picked up their second series sweep of the season. Gonzalez drove in three runs and Clint Barmes and Chris Iannetta had two RBIs apiece.
The Rockies had scored four or fewer runs in 10 of their previous 13 games before busting out for their highest total since they scored 11 runs May 29 against the Dodgers.
Francis (2-2) allowed two earned runs and five hits for his first win at Coors Field since June 18, 2008. The left-hander missed last season after undergoing shoulder surgery and didn’t make his 2010 debut until May 6.
Jesse Litsch (0-1) lasted 2 1-3 innings in his first start for Toronto since undergoing Tommy John surgery last June. The right-hander gave up seven runs and nine hits.
“He threw a couple of strikes and couldn’t put anybody away,” Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said. “What I saw today wasn’t what I saw in 2008 before he left. I don’t know what to think right now. I hope he is back.”
Spilborghs also tripled, tying a career high with 11 total bases. Todd Helton, trying to shake a season-long slump, matched his season high with three hits and scored twice. He is 7 for 16 in four games since moving into the second spot in Colorado’s lineup.
The Rockies finished a 4-3 homestand against Houston and Toronto and have not had a losing homestand since Jim Tracy took over as manager on May 29, 2009.
“We squared balls up,” Tracy said. “We took some good two-strike at-bats.”
Colorado scored three runs in the third to take a 7-3 lead. Spilborghs led off with his fifth homer, Barmes hit his second run-scoring double of the game and Francis added a sacrifice fly.
The Rockies’ outburst came after they helped Toronto score three runs in the top half.
Jose Bautista led off with a single, breaking a string of 23 hitless at-bats, and second baseman Jonathan Herrera made a wide throw trying to complete a double play on Aaron Hill’s bouncer. Left-fielder Spilborghs let Adam Lind’s single get past him, putting runners on second and third.
Vernon Wells drove in a run with a groundout and Alex Gonzalez had an RBI double. Herrera’s error on Lyle Overbay’s grounder allowed Gonzalez to score.
Francis retired the final 12 batters he faced after a leadoff walk in the fourth.
“The first four innings I was battling a lot of command issues,” he said. “My last three innings were pretty smooth and (I) really was putting the ball where I wanted to.”
The Rockies batted around in the first and jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Gonzalez had an RBI single, Iannetta singled in a pair with two out, and Barmes followed with a run-scoring double.
Gonzalez and Spilborghs went deep in the sixth. Gonzalez hit a two-run drive for his 10th homer. With two out, Spilborghs hit his sixth for the fifth multi-homer game of his career.
NOTES: Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki, who strained his right groin Friday, rested for the second straight game. The Rockies are off Monday and Tulowitzki is expected to be in the lineup Tuesday at Minnesota. … The four-run first was the Rockies’ biggest inning since May 27 when they scored four in the seventh against Arizona. … The Blue Jays entered the series with a major-league leading 98 homers but hit just one in the three games.
