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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
DENVER (AP) -- Jeff Cirillo doesn't reveal his feelings on the field. That all changed when he jumped for joy when his third homer cleared the fence.
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Rockies welcome 20,000,000th fan
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Somewhere among the fans pushing through the
turnstiles at Coors Field on Wednesday was the 20 millionth visitor
to the stadium at Blake and 20th streets.
And with that, the Rockies drew 20 million fans to one
venue faster than any other team in Major League Baseball history.
The Los Angeles Dodgers were the second-fastest, doing it in nine
years at two venues, said Rockies public relations coordinator
Charity Stowell.
"The story of the Colorado Rockies is one of the most amazing
phenomenons in all of Major League Baseball. The fans have made
this into one of the crown jewels in Major League Baseball,"
baseball commissioner Bud Selig said outside the main gate, just
before uncovering a purple street sign to rename the 20th Street
behind him 20 Millionth Street.
The Rockies broke the attendance record less than six seasons
after Dante Bichette hit a game-winning home run against the New
York Mets to inaugurate Coors Field in 1995.
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Cirillo, who also doubled, drove in six runs and scored five
more Wednesday night to lead the Colorado Rockies over the San
Francisco Giants 17-13.
"I usually never show that kind of emotion out there," Cirillo
said. "No disrespect to the Giants, at all. I was excited and it
was a big hit for us and because what we came back from."
Cirillo got a chance to match the major league record of four
home runs in a game, but had an RBI groundout in the eighth inning.
"I never had three home runs," Cirillo said. "Never, not even
in Little League."
Neifi Perez drove in four runs and Jeffrey Hammonds had four
hits as the Rockies rallied from an early 8-1 deficit.
Cirillo went 4-for-5 with a walk. He became the seventh player
in club history to have a three-homer game and matched a team mark
of five runs scored, set by Walt Weiss on Sept. 20, 1995.
"I don't think Jeff is ever going to have deep power,"
Colorado manager Buddy Bell said. "I think Jeff will always have
line drive-type power and is going to get doubles. He is going to
have games like this every once in a while."
Cirillo hit a two-run shot in the third, a solo drive in the
fifth and another two-run homer in the seventh.
Giants pitcher Livan Hernandez hit his third career home run,
but lasted only five innings in giving up eight runs and 10 hits.
Jeff Kent, Russ Davis and Bill Mueller also homered for San
Francisco.
"Tonight was a combination of a lot of things," San Francisco
manager Dusty Baker said. "We didn't get much relief from our
bullpen and they got quite a bit, shutting us down in two of the
last three innings."
The Giants built a 5-0 lead in the first on RBI singles by Jeff
Kent and Ellis Burks and a bases-loaded triple by Bobby Estalella.
Hernandez hit his first homer since June 8 last year, a two-run
shot in the third that made it 8-1.
A solo home run by Mike Lansing and Cirillo's two-run shot keyed
a four-run third by the Rockies.
Colorado closed to 11-8 in the fifth on Cirillo's homer and
Perez's two-run double. The Rockies took a 12-11 lead in the
seventh, highlighted by Brent Mayne's two-run double.
Mike DeJean (2-1) pitched the seventh for the Rockies, giving up
Mueller's home run that made it 12-12.
Cirillo broke the tie with a two-run homer in the seventh off
John Johnstone (2-4) after Lansing opened the inning with a triple.
Rockies center fielder Tom Goodwin reached over the fence to rob
Kent of his second home run to start the eighth inning.
"I just didn't throw well at all," Hernandez said. "I threw
120 pitches in five innings. That's not normal for me."
Game notes Barry Bonds
snapped an 0-for-15 skid with a second-inning single.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
San Francisco Clubhouse
Colorado Clubhouse
RECAPS
Baltimore 8 Boston 7
Detroit 13 NY Yankees 6
Toronto 5 Tampa Bay 2
Chi. White Sox 7 Minnesota 3
Kansas City 8 Cleveland 1
Texas 5 Oakland 3
Anaheim 3 Seattle 2
Cincinnati 7 St. Louis 3
Atlanta 7 Montreal 4
Chicago Cubs 5 Pittsburgh 4
NY Mets 6 Florida 5
Philadelphia 9 Milwaukee 7
Colorado 17 San Francisco 13
Arizona 6 Houston 2
Los Angeles 5 San Diego 4
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