Sat Jul 5 23:50:57 2008

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Rockies punish Marlin pitching with four-homer, 12-run display

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Denver, CO (Sports Network) - Matt Holliday went 2-for-4, homered and knocked in four runs, as the Colorado Rockies followed up Friday's 18-run outburst with a 12-6 win over the Florida Marlins in the third of four games from Coors Field.

Brad Hawpe added a three-run homer for the Rockies, who are riding a season- high five-game win streak. Chris Iannetta belted a two-run homer, while Joe Koshansky smashed his first career homer, a solo shot in his first at-bat of the season. Ryan Spilborghs doubled twice and scored three runs.

The Rockies have clubbed 10 home runs over the last two games, with Iannetta and Holliday homering in both contests.

Jorge De La Rosa (3-4) allowed three runs on six hits in five-plus innings to pick up the win.

Cody Ross went 3-for-5 with a home run and four runs batted in for the Marlins, losers of three straight and four of their last five. Matt Treanor and Robert Andino knocked in a run apiece, while Mike Jacobs had two hits and scored twice.

Ryan Tucker (2-3) dropped the decision after being torched for eight runs on seven hits in four innings.

After rallying from nine runs down for an improbable, 18-17, win on Friday, the Rockies were never in trouble on Saturday. Leading 2-0, the Rockies pulled away with six more in the fourth.

Iannetta quickly doubled the margin, belting a two-run homer after Hawpe's leadoff walk. The Rockies then loaded the bases with two outs, and after a passed ball allowed another run to score, Holliday slammed a three-run blast to straightaway center that blew the game wide open.

De La Rosa blanked the Marlins until Ross' RBI double in the sixth, and with two men on and nobody out, De La Rosa was lifted for Glendon Rusch. The Marlins picked up two more runs on back-to-back RBI hits from Treanor and Andino, but Rusch avoided further damage.

Colorado then restored the eight-run advantage against Joe Nelson in the bottom half. Holliday reached on an error with two outs and Garrett Atkins was hit by a pitch before Hawpe golfed a Nelson slider just over the fence in right.

Ross' one-out, three-run blast off Rusch in the seventh pulled the Marlins within five again, but Jeff Baker's run-scoring single in the home half stretched the lead to 12-6.

Manny Corpas worked a scoreless eighth for the Rockies, while Brian Fuentes struck out the side in the ninth to finish off the win.

The Rockies picked up a lead in the first and never relinquished it, as Spilborghs led off with a double and eventually scored on a Holliday sacrifice fly.

Koshansky, called up from Triple-A Colorado Springs on Friday when Todd Helton was placed on the 15-day disabled list, made his first at-bat of the season count with a two-out solo blast to center in the second.

Game Notes

The Marlins stranded 10 runners on base...Rusch, who was called up from Colorado Springs before the game after Friday's starter Greg Reynolds was optioned to Triple-A, allowed three runs -- two earned -- in 1 1/3 innings of relief...Before the game, the Rockies also placed shortstop Troy Tulowitzki on the DL with a laceration on his right hand. Outfielder Seth Smith was called up from Colorado Springs to take his place on the 25-man roster.