DENVER -- The Rockies not only took another step closer to the playoffs on Friday night, they also took an even bigger step toward having one of their best pitchers when they get there.Aaron Cook, who had missed the past month with a sore shoulder, returned to the mound in the 2-1 victory and pitched five scoreless innings.
"Stunned, as to how sharp he was," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. "Stunned. Really. You never know when there has been a layoff like that. I'm not suggesting I didn't think he'd pitch well, but I didn't know how much traffic he was going to have to work through to get out of innings."
Cook was not quite as surprised with himself. He said that he had cleared out some of the proverbial cobwebs during two simulated games. The best sign that he had his signature sinker working was that he got 12 ground balls in his 15 outs.
"I know when I'm myself and I'm on, I'm usually pretty efficient with my sinker," Cook said. "I stuck with that the whole time."Tracy was not ready to put Cook immediately in the playoff rotation -- especially because the Rockies still haven't clinched a playoff berth, although they remain 3 1/2 games up on the Braves with eight games to go. Tracy said he'd get Cook another outing before the end of the regular season and make a decision after that.
The Rockies seem to be set with Ubaldo Jimenez, Jason Marquis and Jorge De La Rosa as the top three starters, with Cook and Jason Hammel the candidates for the fourth starter spot.
