DENVER -- A badly bruised finger wasn't about to keep Mike Sweeney out of the lineup. The Colorado Rockies wished it had.
Sweeney hit a grand slam and the Kansas City Royals built an 11-run lead, then held off the Rockies 13-11 Saturday in the first game of a day-night doubleheader.
 | |
| Mike Sweeney helps the Royals take a 12-1 lead with his second career grand slam. (AP) |
"Sweeney is OK, his hand is fine," Royals manager Tony Pena said.
Rockies starter Shawn Chacon gave up a franchise-record 12 runs. But Colorado, which trailed 12-1 in the fourth, rallied late, including a grand slam by Charles Johnson in the eighth off Jason Grimsley.
It was the makeup of a game postponed Friday night by rain, with Colorado leading 3-1 in the top of the fifth.
Sweeney's grand slam -- the second of his career -- triggered the Royals' early surge.
Angel Berroa and Desi Relaford each had three hits for the Royals, who snapped Colorado's four-game winning streak and eight-game run at home.
Todd Helton had a three-run homer for the Rockies, Larry Walker also went deep and Chris Stynes had three hits.
Pena was visibly relieved after his team withstood Colorado's rally.
"You don't feel safe here," he said. "This place is like nowhere else. This is Colorado, this is Coors Field.
"You score a lot of runs and that team over there won't let you relax. It doesn't help that those guys fight back."
Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said Chacon lacked command.
"Six walks in this ballpark and you're asking for trouble," Hurdle said.
Chris George (6-4), who was staked to a 12-1 lead, earned the win despite allowing six runs in the fifth. George yielded seven runs on seven hits in five innings.
Mike MacDougal worked the ninth for his 14th save in 18 chances.
Chacon (8-3), who won his previous four starts and was tied for the NL lead in wins, was roughed up in 3 2/3 innings. He allowed nine hits.
Chacon departed in the fourth down 10-1 with two runners aboard, and Nelson Cruz gave up two more runs.
"I never found a groove," Chacon said. "Some days you get away with stuff, but this was one of those days where they didn't let me get away with anything."
Kansas City went up 5-0 in the second. Berroa hit a solo homer and, after two singles and a walk, Sweeney hit a two-out grand slam, his 10th homer of the season.
Jose Hernandez led off the Rockies' third with a 433-foot homer, his seventh.
The Royals sent 12 batters to the plate in the fourth, scoring seven runs -- all with two outs -- on just five hits.
Relaford had an RBI triple and scored on Chacon's wild pitch. Raul Ibanez had an RBI single, Carlos Beltran a run-scoring triple and Berroa an RBI double, chasing Chacon. Another run scored on Cruz's wild pitch, and George added an RBI single -- the first hit and RBI of his career.
Colorado cut the deficit to 12-7 with a six-run fifth. Walker homered off the right-field foul pole, his first since April 29. Juan Uribe added a two-run single and Helton a three-run homer, his 12th.
Mike DiFelice had an RBI single in the sixth off Justin Speier, ending a string of 16 1/3 scoreless innings by Rockies relievers, a franchise record.
Johnson's second career slam, a 448-foot shot, came after a single and two walks.
Notes
- Friday night's rainout was the first at Coors Field since June 13, 2001, against Seattle.
- Despite the win, the Royals have lost 16 of their past 22 games.
- Sweeney's other grand slam came May 14, 1999, at Seattle.
- Relaford made a diving stop near the third-base bag, starting a 5-4-3 double play in the third.
- The previous Colorado record for runs and earned runs allowed by a pitcher was 11, most recently by Chacon in both categories on July 8, 2001, against Anaheim.
The Associated Press News Service
Copyright 2003, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
