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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
DENVER -- Knowing it's nearly impossible to replace Larry Walker, the Colorado Rockies did a good job of absorbing his absence.
|  | | Hammonds had three-run homers in both the first and second innings. |
Jeffrey Hammonds homered twice and drove in a career-high seven runs and Todd Helton had four hits to lead the Rockies to a 15-7 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Friday night.
"I don't think it had anything to do with Walk not being here," Rockies manager Buddy Bell said. "I hope not. I hope it doesn't take something like that to get a team going, but subconsciously at times it does."
The Rockies learned Friday that Walker -- the two-time defending NL batting champion -- likely will miss several weeks with an elbow injury. The team is awaiting more test results before placing him
on the disabled list.
"We know Walk's out," Hammonds said. "To say someone's going to go up and pick up a .360 average and 40 home runs, come on. That's not possible."
Even with Walker in the lineup, Helton has been Colorado's MVP this season. He is 26-for-56 (.565) the last 12 games, raising his average to a major league-leading .408.
"I just hit it. I don't worry about where it lands, as long as they don't catch it," said Helton, who tied a team record with three doubles. "I just swing; I hope to hit it."
After scoring 12 runs during a five-game road trip, the Rockies had 13 by the third inning against the Giants, who shut out Colorado in back-to-back games last week.
Hammonds hit a three-run homer to highlight a five-run first and added another three-run shot in the second for his eighth career multihomer game. He also had an RBI single in the seventh.
Coming off seven shutout innings last Friday, San Francisco starter Joe Nathan (2-1) gave up 12 runs -- 10 earned -- in 2 2-3 innings.
"I got a couple quick outs early every inning, then they just kept coming," Nathan said. "This was one of those days when I got my butt kicked out there."
Brian Bohanon (1-3), banished to the bullpen after five poor starts, gave up one run and three hits, struck out six and walked one in six relief innings. Starter Rolando Arrojo didn't make it out of the third.
"I needed that," Bohanon said. "I wasn't happy about going to the bullpen, but I go about my business, go 100 percent. I prefer to start. Hopefully we can get back to that soon."
As in years past, home has been heavenly for the Rockies.
They have scored 101 runs in their last eight games at Coors Field and are averaging nearly 10 runs at home this season.
"We are confident here, but we're not going to win every game here so we gotta start winning on the road," Helton said. "That's a big thing -- take what we're doing at home and do it on the road."
Hammonds' second home run gave the Rockies an 8-3 lead, but Armando Rios hit a two-run homer, his second of the season and the game, to cut the lead to 8-6 in the third.
Colorado took advantage of two Giants errors for five more runs in the third and San Francisco never recovered in losing for just the fourth time in 18 games.
"I feel good about the homers, but the outcome hurts," Rios said. "It really hurts."
Game notes
Helton's three doubles tied a club record. It has been done three times this season and 12 times in team history. ... Rios has two career two-homer games. His other came last Oct. 2 against the
Rockies at Coors Field. ... Helton is 26-for-46 (.565) in his last 12 games. ... Neifi Perez went 3-for-5 and got career hit No. 500. ... Giants OF Ellis Burks has been nursing a pulled left quadriceps
muscle, and manager Dusty Baker said he plans to rest Burks throughout the three-game series with the Rockies.
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