W.O.T » fight and was never hit

DENVER -- Todd Helton has spent much of his career sending balls down the left-field line at spacious Coors Field. It was only fitting, then, that he reached a major milestone the same way. Helton doubled for his 2,500th career hit, Michael Cuddyer homered among his four hits and the Colorado Rockies overcame the loss of starting pitcher Tyler Chatwood to beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-4 on Sunday. Helton became the 96th player in major league history to reach 2,500 hits, and it came after a tough couple of days. Helton homered twice Friday to move within one hit of the milestone but went 0 for 4 on Saturday. He flied out, struck out and walked Sunday before facing reliever Curtis Partch in the seventh inning. "Every at-bat felt like it was getting longer and longer," Helton said. "I was getting a little concerned because I definitely wanted to get 2,500 here at home in front of the home crowd." Helton worked the count full against Partch before lacing a 96 mph fastball down the left-field line. He just beat the throw to second for his 584th career double. "A line-hugger that barely stayed fair, on a 3-2 count. Thats whats kept me in the league this long," Helton said. "Thats my bread and butter, to go the other way, especially with two strikes. To do it on the 2,500th is very fitting." It also was fitting he was called safe on a close play at second. "Ill probably remember the umpire yelling safe because he could have very easily yelled out," Helton said. He received a standing ovation from the crowd of 30,594 and tipped his helmet to the cheering fans. After the inning ended, the scoreboard showed a short highlight video of Heltons career. "As hes been closing in on it theres been a lot of excitement in the clubhouse," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "Its great to be a part of it. I got to see Todd in his very first game and to be here for his 2,500th hit, its a great experience for me. He showed up with a lot of hype and hes lived up to that hype. Every bit of it, and then some. Its been an amazing career." The Rockies had the game in hand before Heltons big moment after breaking it open in the fifth against Reds starter Mike Leake. DJ LeMahieus two-run double snapped a 2-all tie, Troy Tulowitzki walked and Cuddyer doubled to make it 5-2. Cuddyer finished 4 for 4 with three RBIs. Nolan Arenado, who homered earlier, added a sacrifice fly off reliever Alfredo Simon. Leake (11-6) allowed six runs on eight hits and struck out four in 4 1-3 innings. "It was a little frustrating just because I wasnt throwing the ball exactly where I wanted today," Leake said. Cuddyers 18th home run leading off the seventh gave the Rockies a 7-2 cushion. "We couldnt get Cuddyer out," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. Cincinnati scored single runs in the eighth and ninth to get within three before Rex Brothers got the final out. Shin-Soo Choo homered and had three hits for the Reds. Chris Heisey was 4 for 4. Chatwood, activated from the 15-day disabled list before the game, left in the third with a bruised right thumb after he tried to catch Leakes line drive up the middle with his bare hand. He was checked by a team trainer and initially stayed in the game. The right-hander allowed a two-run homer to Choo, his 18th, and walked the next two batters before leaving. "It started swelling up a little bit and I kind of lost a little bit of feeling in it," Chatwood said. "Its frustrating. You wait a month to start and that happens. I had no feeling in my thumb." He was replaced by righty Adam Ottavino, who got out of the inning with some nifty defence. With runners on first and second and two outs, Heisey reached on an infield single up the middle. Joey Votto tried to score from second but Helton, who took a relay from Tulowitzki, wheeled and threw out Votto standing up. Ottavino (1-2) tossed three scoreless innings to get the win. The Rockies staked Chatwood to an early 2-0 lead on an RBI double by Cuddyer in the first and a leadoff homer by Arenado in the second. That helped Helton celebrate his milestone with a victory. The lifetime Rockie, who is strongly contemplating retirement at the end of this season, his 17th, wanted to reach 2,500 hits quickly so he could enjoy the final month of the year. "It took me three days to get it, so I had a lot of time to think about it," he said. "I was pretty grouchy last night and this morning. I started feeling a little bit of the pressure, so its a relief. I can go out and play and relax and finish this year with a bang." NOTES: Helton moved past Robin Yount into 17th place on the career doubles list. ... Plate umpire Brian ONora left abruptly in the top of the eighth due to illness. The game continued with three umps. ... The Rockies recalled INF Josh Rutledge from Triple-A before the game. ... The Reds recalled Partch, INF Henry Rodriguez and OF Derrick Robinson. ... Rockies RHP Chad Bettis (0-3) will open a three-game series against the Dodgers on Monday. ... Reds RHP Mat Latos (13-5) starts Monday against St. Louis. Air Max 95 Outlet Australia . 1 overall pick in the draft by the Houston Texans, is recovering from sports hernia surgery. Air Max 95 Australia Sale . Peko, a fourth-round pick in 2006, started all 16 games and a playoff loss to San Diego last season. He was second on the line with 72 tackles and had a career-high three sacks. http://www.cheapairmax95australia.com/ . Zimmermann became the National Leagues first 16-game winner, pitching seven solid innings to lead the Washington Nationals past the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 Wednesday night. Cheap Air Max 95 Australia . Wheeler scored two goals, including the winner, as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Minnesota Wild 6-4 on Friday in a game that featured a seven-goal first period. Cheap Wholesale Air Max 95 . Bozak and Clarkson suffered the injuries in pre-training camp workouts, according to Carlyle, who said they made "small amounts of improvement" from Friday to Saturday. After the players were deemed less than 100 per cent by doctors after Thursdays medical testing, the Leafs held them out of on-ice testing and are being cautious.SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Robbie Lawler withstood a flurry of stinging punches by Matt Brown in the fifth round and held on for a unanimous decision Saturday night, setting up a rematch with UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks. Lawler (24-10) led comfortably throughout the fight and was never hit very hard until Brown landed four straight punches with just over two minutes remaining. Lawler, the top-ranked contender, smiled then landed a kick to Browns stomach. Lawler later absorbed a hard right from the bloodied Brown (21-12) before holding on for his fifth win in the last six fights. Two judges scored it 49-46 and the third had it 48-47. That puts Lawler in line for another shot at the welterweight championship. The 32-year-old lost a unanimous decision to Hendricks on May 15 when the two fought for the vacant title. Hendricks injured an arm and only recently returned, which means the fight will likely happen next year. UFC President Dana White said he already has an idea when the fight will be but declined to disclose the date. That will give Lawler sufficient time to rest after a grueling past 12 months. His win over Brown came on the heels of wins over Jake Ellenberger, Rory MacDonald and Bobby Voelker, along with the close loss to Hendricks. "Im very excited," Lawler said. "(Hendricks) is nursing some injuries, but Im going to be the one thats waiting for him." Lawler definitely earned the right after holding off the relentless Brown, who suffered a possible hand injury and had to be taken to a hospital for examination. That the fight went the distance shocked White. "I said yesterday that if this fight went five rounds, Id walk bacck to Las Vegas," White said.dddddddddddd "Ill see everyone in Vegas on Thursday." Lawler set the tone early, landing a quick combination to Browns head in the opening seconds. The two fighters later exchanged hard right hooks, Brown suffering a small cut near his left eye. Brown, who had won seven consecutive bouts going into the night, recovered in the second to land a stinging combination of his own but continued to fight mostly from the outside while trying to stay away from Lawlers inside attack. Lawler stayed patient and methodical, stalking Brown and repeatedly scoring with his left hand. Blood poured down Browns nose in the fifth, and he was also bleeding from his left ear over the final two rounds but didnt go down. White said afterward that the fifth-ranked Brown will move up in the rankings despite the loss. "He came toe-to-toe with me," Lawler said. "Not many people will do that. He just kept coming." In the nights quickest bout, Anthony Johnson won by TKO over Rogerio Nogueira 44 seconds into the first round. Johnson (18-4) got Nogueira (21-6) backed up against the cage then floored the 38-year-old with a series of hard uppercuts that opened a deep cut and led to the stoppage. Also on the undercard, featherweight Dennis Bermudez (15-3) got veteran Clay Guida to tap out midway through the second round. Bermudez pressed the action and repeatedly scored with punches to Guidas right eye before catching Guida (31-12) in a rear neck choke for his seventh straight win. 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