Street certain vintage form is close

On Sunday morning, Colorado Rockies manager Jim Tracy said he didn’t think closer Huston Street would be available that afternoon, because he threw 29 pitches in two innings while ending up with a loss Saturday night against the Brewers.

Hours later, Tracy called on Street to pitch the ninth and save Ubaldo Jimenez‘s 18th win. The result was a 24-pitch ride to a blown save when second baseman Clint Barmes made an unlikely error before the Rockies rallied to win in the bottom of the inning. After the game, when the results weren’t what Street or his teammates wanted for the second straight day, Street said he felt he was “building momentum.”

A loss followed by a blown save? Building momentum? Huh?

And just how did Street end up on the mound Sunday? Indeed, after the Rockies 6-5 victory, Tracy said Street was “adamant” about being able to pitch in a meeting with Tracy and pitching coach Bob Apodaca. That meeting occurred after Street played catch as he always does with fellow reliever Randy Flores. Street felt good, felt the ball was coming out of his hand very well, asked Flores and he concurred.

With the Rockies off Monday, Street knew if called upon to pitch Sunday, he would have a guaranteed day of rest.

“That’s a huge part of it,” Street said. “But we’ve only got 45 games left. One of my favorite baseball quotes from a baseball person of all time is (from) Lou Gehrig. And Lou Gehrig said, ‘What you have, give. Because what you save, you lose forever.’ So really my message was: You got me, use me.”

Street, who missed nearly three months at the start of this season, is convinced he is close to being the near automatic save specialist he was last year despite his past two outings. He pitched in three consecutive games against the Brewers over the weekend at Coors Field. After earning his eighth save of the season Friday, Street found trouble the next two days.

Saturday, Street threw six pitches in the ninth and went back out for the 10th. He gave up an opposite-field leadoff double to Ryan Braun, intentionally walked Prince Fielder and then gave up a run-scoring single to Casey McGehee that gave Milwaukee a 5-4 win.

Sunday, Street relieved Jimenez after the Rockies ace pitched eight innings and left with the Rockies leading 5-3. Street began the ninth by giving up a long drive off the bat of Chris Dickerson, which would have been a home run had center fielder Dexter Fowler not jumped above the fence and snatched the ball before it dropped over the wall.

Street got a ground out and then gave up a single to George Kottaras on a 1-2 pitch, went to a full count and walked Craig Counsell, hit Rickie Weeks with a 1-2 pitch and got Cory Hart to pop up a 1-2 pitch, only to have Barmes unsuccessfully battle the sun and wind and drop the ball, allowing two runs to score to tie the game. Street left after throwing 24 pitches, and Rafael Betancourt got the final out in the ninth. He ended up the winning pitcher when the Rockies scored a run in the bottom of the ninth to win 6-5.

“You have to be honest with yourself,” Street said. “These last two days, the results look terrible on paper _ the number of baserunners, the number of runs scored, the loss, the blown save, blah, blah, blah. The truth to me is the ball is coming out of my hand the last three days better than it has all season long. I’ve made my pitches, and that’s all I can really worry about.”

Street went 35-for-37 in save situations last year and 4-1 with a 3.06 ERA in 64 games. This season, he is 2-4 with a 4.26 ERA in 24 games and 8-for-11 in save situations. And that’s after converting his first six save situations through July 18. Street was sidelined with shoulder and groin injuries and didn’t make his 2010 debut until June 23.

Tracy said he thought the ball came out of Street’s hand Sunday better than it has all season but did say, “The changeup’s the pitch he’s having difficulty throwing where he wants to throw it.”

Street agreed, saying of his changeup, which is his third-best pitch, “That’s the one pitch that needs work.”

If there is to be a late-season charge by the Rockies, they need Street to lock down victories and do it over and over. And he knows it. The Rockies, who open a three-game series at Los Angeles on Tuesday night, are third in the NL West, nine games behind and fourth in the wild-card race, five games back.

“We’re late in the year, so you need me to be sharp, bottom line,” Street added. “I think if you were to compare this year to last year, where I am at (in an) equal number of outings in the season, I’m ahead of where I was last year. But it’s not last year. It’s this year and even though I’m in late May, we’re in late August.

“It’s looking difficult out there, but I’m really close. As hard as it is to say you can take confidence out of these last two outings, I feel like I’m building momentum.”