ESPN.com San Francisco/Colorado recap

MLB

  Scores
  Schedule
  Standings
  Statistics
  Transactions
  Injuries
  Players
  Message Board
  Minor Leagues
  MLB en español

The Roster

  Peter Gammons
  Joe Morgan
  Rob Neyer
  Jayson Stark

Fantasy

Player News
Correspondents

Broadcast

  ESPN Radio
  Video Highlights
  Audio Highlights

SportsMall

  Shop@ESPN.com
  NikeTown
  TeamStore

Sunday, Jun. 3 3:05pm ET
Astacio takes no-hitter into seventh

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

Pedro Astacio
Astacio

DENVER (AP) _ Pedro Astacio needed five attempts to record his 100th career victory. It was worth the wait.

Astacio didn't allow a hit until the seventh inning Sunday, and Todd Helton went 4-for-4 with a homer and three RBI to lead the Colorado Rockies to an 11-2 win over the San Francisco Giants.

Astacio (5-5) lost both his no-hitter and shutout in the seventh, when Jeff Kent led off with a sharp single past shortstop Neifi Perez. Felipe Crespo also singled, and Armando Rios hit a two-run double off the wall in right-center field.

Astacio, 0-3 with a 7.54 ERA in his previous four starts, finished with a three-hitter that opposing manager Dusty Baker called "masterful." He walked two and struck out seven in his 25th career complete game. He had six 1-2-3 innings.

"I didn't think about the no-hitter," Astacio insisted. "My only thought on the mound was to get the next guy out. When you think about a no-hitter, then you start thinking you have to get everybody out. I didn't want to pressure myself. I just tried to make each pitch and hold down the score."

After watching hours of videotape from his past few struggling starts, Astacio discovered he needed to slow down.

"He slowed his tempo down, which gave him a chance to command the ball," Rockies pitching coach Marcel Lachemann said. "He pitched well on both sides of the plate."

Manager Buddy Bell said Astacio "had great stuff and threw just about everything for strikes with good location."

Larry Walker also homered and drove in three runs for Colorado. Every Rockies starter had at least one hit as the club matched a season high with 19 hits.

Barry Bonds, who leads the majors with 29 homers, went 0-for-3 before being lifted for a pinch-runner in the seventh.

The Giants lost for the 13th time in their last 18 games and fell two games below .500 (27-29) for the first time since June 12 last season.

"One day it's pitching, one day it's hitting and one day it's defense," Baker said. "We can't get everything together for an extended period of time. You have to be able to fight through these stretches.

"The Rockies hit the ball great today, and Astacio pitched as good as I've ever seen him. He really knows how to pitch here. He was masterful. He kept us off-balance with his slow curveball, cut fastball and sinker."

The Rockies scored nine runs off Giants starter Mark Gardner (1-4) in building an 11-0 lead through five innings. Gardner was 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA in five starts in May.

Jacob Cruz had a sacrifice fly and Brent Mayne an RBI double in the second.

The Rockies scored four runs with none out in the third. Juan Pierre singled, Perez tripled and Walker hit a two-run homer, his 19th. Helton, who leads the majors with 62 RBI, followed with his 18th homer.

Colorado then scored four runs with two outs in the fourth. After singles by Astacio and Perez, Walker had a run-scoring double, chasing Gardner. Helton hit a two-run single off Chad Zerbe, and Jeff Cirillo added an RBI triple.

Astacio drove in a run in the fifth with another single.

He yielded a one-out walk to Ramon Martinez in the third and a two-out walk to Marvin Benard in the sixth, but neither runner advanced past first.

Cirillo helped preserve the no-hit bid in the sixth, making a nice stop in the hole and getting a forceout at second.

Giants shortstop Rich Aurilia, the NL's leading hitter (.362), did not start for the second straight game because of a strained right hip flexor. He pinch-hit in the sixth, lining out to second.

Game notes
Astacio tied his Rockies' record for most hitless innings to start a game. It was the third time a Rockies' pitcher has thrown six hitless innings, and Astacio has done it each time. ... Rockies RHP John Thomson (shoulder) and LHP Horacio Estrada (shoulder) both threw simulated games Sunday. ... Pierre was caught stealing in the first, ending his stolen-base streak at 12, four shy of Terry Shumpert's club record. ... Gardner's scoreless streak ended at 11 1/3 innings when the Rockies scored twice in the second. ... With his homer in the third, Walker scored the 1,000th run of his career. ... Colorado wrapped up a 13-game stretch against the Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers with a 7-6 record.