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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
DENVER (AP) – Maybe Mike Hampton and Coors Field really can
coexist.
|  | | Todd Walker and the Rockies started the season with a bang. Walker hit a two-run homer in the first off Darryl Kile and finished 3-for-4 with three RBI. |
Hampton, who surprised many by signing with Colorado four months
ago, gave up five hits in 8 1/3 scoreless innings as the Rockies
opened the season with an 8-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals
on Monday.
When he left the game following two straight walks in the ninth,
Hampton tipped his cap to acknowledge a standing ovation – his
third of the day.
"That was great," Hampton said. "It was a great gesture on
their part. Hopefully it happens about 20, 25 more times."
Todd Walker and Larry Walker each hit a two-run homer for the
Rockies, who again made life miserable for St. Louis starter Darryl
Kile.
Kile, who is 11-15 with a 6.76 ERA at Coors Field, gave up six
runs and 11 hits in five innings. The performance was an
improvement from a year ago, when he surrendered 11 runs, eight
earned, and eight hits in 1 2/3 innings in his lone appearance at
the ballpark.
"This is not a bad place to pitch if you make good pitches, and
unfortunately, today I was in the middle of the plate and they hit
the ball hard," Kile said.
"His stuff was really live," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "He had the velocity. Just in this
league, location is more important. He had good stuff. He just kept
leaving it over the plate."
Unlike Kile, Hampton does not rely heavily on a curveball and
proved for at least one game that he has the arsenal to pitch at
altitude. Of his 25 outs, 13 came on ground balls. He also had five
strikeouts and made a handful of athletic plays in the field.
"Great, great performance," Rockies manager Buddy Bell said.
"Obviously, we don't need that every time out. He had some help,
but the energy he provides is something extra."
The Rockies, whose $121 million, eight-year deal with Hampton is
the richest ever for a pitcher, are counting on more of the same
throughout the season as they compete in the pitching-rich NL West.
Their other top-line free-agent starter, Denny Neagle, is scheduled
to pitch Wednesday.
"You saw what Mike Hampton can do for a team," said Mark
McGwire, who went 0-for-3 for St. Louis. "He is a competitor and
he gives you everything on every pitch. If I am not mistaken, we
were in the running for him. We didn't get him."
After Hampton pitched out of trouble in the first, Todd Walker got Colorado off to a quick start when he hit a 3-1 pitch over the
center field wall to give the Rockies a 2-0 lead.
Jeff Cirillo, who went 3-for-5, had a run-scoring double in the
third and Todd Walker added a two-out RBI double in the fourth as
Hampton efficiently continued his spell over St. Louis.
During last year's National League Championship Series, Hampton
pitched 16 scoreless innings against the Cardinals to earn MVP
honors and help the New York Mets advance to the World Series.
St. Louis had only one runner reach third base against Hampton
and went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
"Regardless of who it is I face, I'm just basically trying to
do the same thing _ keep the ball on the ground and stay away from
the big innings," Hampton said.
Hampton's Colorado debut got off to an inauspicious start when
he hit Fernando Vina and allowed a single to Edgar Renteria to open
the game.
Hampton retired Jim Edmonds on a slow bouncer back to the mound
and then got a huge boost when Larry Walker threw out Vina trying
to score from third on McGwire's flyout to right.
"It kind of got me pumped a little bit," Hampton said. "I was
glad to see it. He's one of the best out there and his throw was
right there. To come in after that and score a couple key runs with
Todd hitting the home run, that was huge."
Said Larry Walker: "I'm not going to sit here and pat myself on
the back, but I know it helped. If anything it settled us all down.
It settled Mike down."
Game notes
Kile went 21-30 for Colorado during the 1998-99 seasons.
... Gold medal-winning Greco-Roman wrestler Rulon Gardner did a
cartwheel near the pitcher's mound before throwing out the
ceremonial first pitch. Gardner, a Wyoming native, produced the
biggest upset of the 2000 Olympics when he defeated Russia's
Alexander Karelin, who had not lost an international match since
his career began in 1985. ... Before the game, Colorado 1B Todd
Helton was honored for winning his first NL batting title. ... CF
Juan Pierre became Colorado's sixth opening-day leadoff hitter in
the team's nine-year history. ... Kile fell to 3-1 in season
openers and lost for the first time since Aug. 22, a span of eight
starts. ... Cardinals LF Albert Pujols singled in the seventh for
his first major league hit.
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RECAPS
Chi. White Sox 7
Cleveland 4
NY Yankees 7
Kansas City 3
Baltimore 2
Boston 1
Seattle 5
Oakland 4
Atlanta 10
Cincinnati 4
Montreal 5
Chicago Cubs 4
Colorado 8
St. Louis 0
Philadelphia 6
Florida 5
San Francisco 3
San Diego 2
Los Angeles 1
Milwaukee 0
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Mike Hampton says he felt relaxed once he got a big lead (Courtesy: KMGH).
wav: 129 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Larry Walker is impressed with Mike Hampton's first outing in Colorado.
wav: 93 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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