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Francis Outpitches Webb To Lift Rockies To Victory

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The Associated Press

Published: October 12, 2007

Updated: 10/12/2007 12:22 am

PHOENIX - Jeff Francis and the Colorado Rockies rolled right past the Arizona Diamondbacks - and their rowdy fans.

Francis outpitched Brandon Webb, and the Rockies won the NL Championship Series opener 5-1 Thursday night in a game interrupted when fans angered by an umpire's disputed interference call threw objects onto the field.

Umpires pulled the teams off the field during the eight-minute delay in the bottom of the seventh inning. Crew chief Tim McClelland told Rockies manager Clint Hurdle to have Francis throw a pitch and 'fight through it.'

Once play resumed, the wild-card Rockies escaped a jam in their NLCS debut and won for the 18th time in 19 games.

Game 2 is tonight in Phoenix, with Arizona lefty Doug Davis facing hard-throwing Colorado rookie Ubaldo Jimenez.

On a hot night in the desert - it was 93 degrees at game time - tempers flared after a relatively calm six innings.

Francis dominated while Rockies hitters, coming off a first-round sweep against Philadelphia, patiently waited out Webb. Then again, they were familiar with the 2006 NL Cy Young winner - this was the seventh time he started against Colorado this year.

Brad Hawpe's two-run single capped a three-run third inning against Webb, who went 1-3 with a 5.73 ERA against the Rockies this season.

The first NLCS between NL West rivals pitted the Rockies against a Diamondbacks team coming off its first postseason sweep, a three-game wipeout of the Chicago Cubs.

The Rockies had a patient approach that forced Webb to throw his sinker for strikes, and he struggled with his command. Webb was lifted after throwing 98 pitches - 61 for strikes - in six innings. He allowed four runs and seven hits, walked two and struck out four.

Webb had not given up as many as four runs in the first three innings since Sept. 2 - when the Rockies beat him 4-3.

The game was delayed for about eight minutes in the bottom of the seventh inning when angry fans threw water bottles and other debris onto the field following a disputed call. That prompted Hurdle to pull his team back to the dugout.

Colorado was ahead 5-1 when Arizona put two runners on base with no outs. Augie Ojeda hit a grounder to third baseman Garrett Atkins, who threw to second baseman Kaz Matsui.

Justin Upton, running from first, slid over second base and then rolled his right shoulder into Matsui's left leg, knocking the infielder to the ground. Second base umpire Larry Vanover immediately called Upton out for interference, resulting in a double play.

A few fans threw bottles onto the field from the upper deck, and then more followed far down the foul lines. Some of them landed near Rockies players, and Hurdle gestured in pulling his team off the field.

While Webb struggled, Francis cruised after a shaky first inning.

With about 1,000 empty seats at Chase Field, the roof was open.

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