NEW YORK - Jose Contreras had just given up his third home run of the game, and the Yankee Stadium crowd was booing. It seemed as if nearly everyone in the ballpark had the same thought: The erratic Cuban pitcher was going to unravel again.
Then, surprisingly, Contreras rebounded to retire his final 11 batters, and the Yankees rallied.
After Contreras wasted a three-run lead, backup catcher John Flaherty singled in the go-ahead run and followed up with a grand slam. The Yankees romped over the Colorado Rockies 10-4 Thursday for their 13th straight interleague win.
"It didn't snowball on him like it did in the past," said Flaherty, a former Ray.
Colorado manager Clint Hurdle couldn't understand the way his team pitched to Flaherty, who matched his career best with five RBIs.
"For us to throw him an 0-and-2 fastball in that situation, I don't get it," Hurdle said. With injured Kevin Brown's status uncertain, New York was looking for a strong start by Contreras, demoted to the minor leagues last month and pushed back in the rotation after lasting just two-thirds of an inning at Baltimore on June 2.
Contreras allowed Todd Helton's two-run homer in the third and homers to Luis Gonzalez and Choo Freeman, the No. 8 and 9 batters, in the fourth. Still, manager Joe Torre had no one warming up in the bullpen.
"The one thing he hasn't been able to do on a regular basis is pitch out of trouble," Torre said. "The fact that he didn't come apart, that is a big positive for me."
Said Contreras, who didn't allow another runner: "I went out there with more peace of mind."
