Aaron Cook becomes franchise wins leader as Rockies rout Angels 11-1 for 17th win in 18 games

Red hot Rockies top Angels to win 17th in 18 games

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Aaron Cook overcame serious obstacles to become the winningest pitcher in Colorado Rockies history. Having all of his home games in Coors Field was the least of his problems.

Cook allowed a run and three hits over seven innings Monday night in an 11-1 rout of the Los Angeles Angels, leading the Rockies to their 17th victory in 18 games. He is 4-0 with a 1.93 ERA during this stretch.

The 30-year-old right-hander recorded his 59th victory with the club, surpassing Jason Jennings, and also broke Pedro Astacio’s franchise record for road wins with his 30th.

“He’s a warrior,” manager Jim Tracy said. “When you talk about some of the better starting pitching in either league, you have to bring his name up. Not only has he persevered, but this guy is a big-game performer. And once you get to know this guy, there isn’t anybody in the world who wouldn’t root for him.”

Cook (7-3) had only 12 big league wins to his credit when his career — and his life — were placed in jeopardy because of blood clots that forced him out of a game he started at Coors Field on Aug. 7, 2004, and traveled from his pitching shoulder to both lungs.

He made it all the way back from surgery four months into the 2005 campaign, and emerged as the Rockies’ opening day starter in 2007 after Jennings was traded to Houston in the offseason.

“The Rockies have shown a lot of confidence in me over the years, supported me through ups and downs, and signed me to two contracts,” said Cook, who is in the second season of a four-year, $34 million deal. “To be here and be able to accomplish this is something I am going to look back on and enjoy. But I don’t want it to end here.”

The Rockies feel the same way about their amazing surge under Tracy, who is 19-5 since being elevated from bench coach to manager after the firing of Clint Hurdle on May 29.

“I don’t know if it’s a case of what he’s told us, or what he hasn’t told us that’s been the biggest thing,” first baseman Todd Helton said. “But we know that when we show up, in his mind and our minds, today is the most important day and we’re going to do everything we can to win that game that day, and worry about the next game tomorrow.”

The Rockies are a season-best four games over .500 following their sixth consecutive victory and franchise record-breaking ninth straight on the road. They were last in the NL West and 14 games off the pace when they changed managers, but now trail second-place San Francisco by one game and the division-leading Dodgers by nine.

“I think we just started playing up to our potential and doing a lot of the little things it takes to win games,” Helton said. “Obviously, it starts with starting pitching. Even when a guy hasn’t pitched his best game — which guys have been doing a lot lately — they’ve stayed away from big innings and we’ve been able to bounce back.”

The two-time defending AL West champion Angels lost for the third straight time following a season-best seven-game winning streak, and missed a chance to tie idle Texas for first place.

They did tie a franchise record with six wild pitches.

At Oakland, Calif., Bobby Crosby drove in three runs, rookie Trevor Cahill won his third straight decision and the Athletics ended a five-game losing streak in the Bay Bridge Series.

Travis Ishikawa hit a solo home run in the second to put San Francisco ahead but that’s all the offense the Giants could muster. Orlando Cabrera doubled in a run in the fourth for Oakland to tie the game at 1, then Ryan Sweeney’s RBI groundout two batters later gave the A’s the lead.

Crosby hit a two-run double in the sixth and had an eighth-inning RBI groundout in Oakland’s third win in four games.

Reliever Brad Ziegler pitched two perfect innings for his sixth save in seven chances.

At New York, Tim Redding pitched into the eighth inning for his first win with the Mets and substitute setup man Brian Stokes got Albert Pujols to ground into a crucial double play.

Daniel Murphy homered and Omir Santos went 4 for 4 for the Mets, who placed All-Star center fielder Carlos Beltran on the 15-day disabled list with a bone bruise on his right knee.

New York is already without star shortstop Jose Reyes, slugging first baseman Carlos Delgado and three key pitchers.

At Atlanta, Javier Vazquez and three relievers combined to shut out the Cubs.

In a makeup game caused by a June 4 rainout, the Braves won a series for the first time since completing a three-game sweep of Toronto on May 24. Atlanta and Chicago split the first two games of the series June 2-3.

Atlanta, which snapped a two-game slide, ended the Cubs’ four-game winning streak.

Vazquez (5-6) gave up nine hits and two walks with five strikeouts. The right-hander’s victory snapped a five-start streak in which he went 0-3 despite a 3.44 ERA.

Rafael Soriano, who gave up a single and a walk, struck out the side for his sixth save in seven chances.

Chipper Jones’ sacrifice fly in the seventh inning chased Ryan Dempster (4-5).