Hits keep coming for Helton

DENVER -- Wilson Alvarez had Colorado's Todd Helton where he wanted him. Or so he thought.

The Los Angeles pitcher got two quick strikes, but Helton fouled the next two pitches over the backstop and threw his bat at another for a foul down the first base line.

A check swing led to a foul over the Dodgers' dugout on the next pitch, then two more were taken for balls. Helton followed with a long foul to right, another dribbler toward first and a foul down the line in left.

On the 12th pitch of the at-bat, Helton grounded out to first. Alvarez, who had to cover the bag, slumped his shoulders and slowly walked back to the dugout.

And that was just the first inning.

"He's such a great hitter," Alvarez said. "You can't let up for a second. He never gives in."

Alvarez certainly hasn't been the only one frustrated by Helton.

A four-time All-Star, Helton is on pace to join Joe DiMaggio as the only player to hit at least .315 with 25 homers and 95 RBIs in his first six seasons.

Helton's career batting average of .335 and his .616 slugging percentage are best among active players, and he is one of five players with at least 100 runs, 100 RBIs, 100 extra-base hits, 100 walks and 30 homers the past four seasons.

In 2000-01, Helton became the first player in league history with 100 extra-base hits in consecutive seasons and just the seventh with 50 doubles in back-to-back years.

"He's really, really good," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "He's the kind of guy who keeps putting up good years and there's going to be a day where somebody might call him great. His been in the big leagues six seasons and there's not a bad one in there."

In fact, there haven't been many bad stretches.

Every hitter goes through slumps, but Helton's don't last long.

In his 38 months in the big leagues, Helton has hit below .300 in just nine. He had a 22-game streak without a homer earlier this season, but followed that by going deep 16 times over the past 49 games.

"You have to know how to react when you go into a slump," said Helton, who has won three straight Louisville Slugger Awards. "You have to realize that something's wrong and you have to address it. The two biggest things you've got to do is you've got to get in the cage and work, and you've got to slow down and get back to the basics, which is easier said than done."

Part of what makes Helton so consistent is his ability to fight off tough pitches.

The book on getting good hitters out is to get ahead in the count, but it doesn't seem to make any difference against Helton.

Helton shortens up his swing with two strikes and starts flicking, chopping and even throwing his bat -- anything to foul off pitches until he gets something he can handle. And it doesn't matter if the pitches are strikes. If it is between the batter's boxes, Helton is likely to find a way to get his bat on it.

"When he chooses to swing, there's a pretty good chance he's going to put the bat on the ball," Hurdle said. "Mediocre hitters, average hitters, low average hitters put those balls in play weakly. He's able to foul them off."

San Diego's Jesse Orosco found that out in a game at Coors Field last month.

With two on and the Padres leading 4-1 in the eighth inning, Orosco got two quick strikes against Helton. Three straight times Orosco went to breaking pitches outside, but Helton fouled each one back. He followed with a run-scoring single up the middle to cut the lead to 4-2.

"There doesn't seem to be many ways to get him out," Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. "He covers all four quadrants of the plate and can beat you with a base hit or the long ball. He is such a clutch hitter."

The book on pitching to Helton is that there isn't one.

While most hitters have weak points that pitchers can attack, Helton has the ability to adjust from one at-bat to another.

Get him out with a breaking ball outside one at-bat and he'll likely hit the same pitch down the line in left the next time up. Beat him with an inside pitch early and he might pull it for a homer later in the game.

And he'll hit it to all fields. Of Helton's 21 homers this season, nine were to left or center.

"You can't sit on the same approach to him," Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said. "You have to be very mindful of all that when you are dealing with him. If you don't, at some point in the game he is going to burn you."

A back injury made it difficult for Helton to cut loose on his swing last season, but he's held nothing back this year.

Helton is second in the NL to St. Louis' Albert Pujols with a .349 average and he's third with 78 RBIs. He's also first with 87 runs, tied for the lead with 32 doubles and fourth with a .637 slugging percentage.

He seems to be getting better as the season progresses.

Helton had a career-best 17-game hitting streak in June and started a 10-game streak a day after that one ended, hitting .409 in that stretch. So far in July, he's hitting .529 and he ended the first half of the season with four homers in the three games. He also had a two-run homer in Tuesday's All-Star game.

"Some years you just have to do a little bit of maintenance and some years you're eating dinner in the cage," said Helton, who's also won two straight Gold Gloves at first base. "Basically, I just talk to myself. Sometimes I listen, sometimes I don't."

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