Rockies knock rust off Tomko

Maybe it was the seven days of rest. Or the thin air at Coors Field. Or something about early innings.

Brett Tomko didn’t know.

And before he could figure anything out, he gave up home runs to Matt Holliday and Troy Tulowitzki and was on his way to becoming the pitcher of record in a 6-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night.

Tomko (2-6) started the first two innings by walking the first batter and serving up a home run to the next, pushing the Dodgers into a five-run hole from which they could not climb out.

“I couldn’t get into a rhythm with any of my pitches,” said Tomko, who was given an extra day off because of Friday’s rainout.

Said pitching coach Rick Honeycutt: “He looked rusty.”

Tomko blanked the Rockies from the third to sixth innings, which was enough for Dodgers Manager Grady Little to decide he would make at least one more turn in the rotation.

Not that Little has many options.

Jason Schmidt is done for the season and Hong-Chih Kuo might be too. Randy Wolf is on the disabled list. And as of Saturday, the health of Brad Penny and Derek Lowe were question marks.

So with Tuesday’s non-waiver trade deadline fast approaching, General Manager Ned Colletti is doing what he can to address the need of an extra arm.

“We’re still aggressively pursuing pitching,” Colletti said. “We’re open-minded to starters or relievers.”

Comfortable with the state of the Dodgers’ offense, Colletti estimated that 90% of his phone conversations with other general managers these days are regarding pitchers.

But Colletti said that there aren’t many pitchers on the market and that the low supply has driven up cost.

“I’m still waiting for more names to become available that would be equal to the asking price,” Colletti said. “The number of teams that want pitching easily outnumbers the number of quality pitchers available.”

Colletti said he prefers not to touch the Dodgers’ 25-man roster.

“This team does not deserve to be uprooted,” he said, adding that the adversity the team has overcome should benefit it in the latter stages of the season.

But Saturday, the Dodgers were handcuffed by Jeff Francis, who limited them to two runs over 7 2/3 innings and struck out five.

“He just had all his stuff and he got us,” said Matt Kemp, who was 0 for 3.

Said Little: “That was the best game I’ve seen him pitch in the last couple years.”

The Dodgers got on the board in the fourth, when a single by Jeff Kent scored Rafael Furcal. Kent, who is batting .423 this month, has reached base safely in 37 consecutive games, the longest streak in baseball this season.

The Dodgers scored again in the seventh to get to within 5-2, but failed to inflict any more damage with runners on the corners and only one out. Mike Lieberthal popped out in foul territory and Russell Martin, who was pinch-hitting on this day, popped up to short.

Dodgers reliever Rudy Seanez couldn’t put an end to his recent struggles, as Garrett Atkins launched one of his pitches over the left-field wall. The home run was the sixth Seanez has given up in his last 5 2/3 innings.

Atkins finished the night three for four and a double shy of the cycle.

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dylan.hernandez@latimes.com