Rockies Report - July 6 St. Louis at Colorado

Rain couldn’t stop the Rockies.  Neither could a shaky performance by starting pitcher Jeff Francis.  What about a 3 run homer from former-Rockie Matt Holliday?  Nope.  Stranding 13 runners on base in 8 innings couldn’t stop ‘em either.  Not even a 6 run deficit in the 9^th inning could hold the Rox back.

On Tuesday night at Coors Field the Rockies made history.  Down 9 – 3 entering the 9^th inning Colorado scored an unprecedented 9 runs to come back and snatch a 12 – 9 victory from the jaws of defeat.  "Best comeback I've ever been associated with," said Rockies Manager Jim Tracy after the game.  It was the biggest comeback in the 18 year history of the club.

St. Louis got things started in the 3^rd inning when 3^rd baseman Felipe Lopez homered off of Francis to score former-Rockie Aaron Miles, who had singled in the prior at-bat.  The Red Birds followed the 2-out homerun by Lopez with a single from centerfielder Colby Rasmus, who later came around to score on a double from All Star first baseman Albert Pujols.  The Rox were able to answer back in the bottom of the 3^rd inning on a 2-run homerun to deep center field from Carlos Gonzalez.  Cargo’s big fly scored his fellow outfielder Dexter Fowler who had walked to lead off the inning. 

The top of the 4^th inning saw the Cardinals do more damage to Francis.  After walking St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina, Francis allowed a single from shortstop Tyler Greene.  Pitcher Blake Hawksworth, batting in the 8 hole, was able to lay down a sacrifice bunt and advance Greene and Molina.  A sacrifice fly by Miles and another hit from Lopez gave St. Louis a 5 – 2 lead.  This was enough to chase Francis from the game.  In only 4 innings of work the south-paw surrendered 5 runs on 6 hits while walking 2 and tallying only 1 strikeout.  It was Francis’ 10^th start of the season after spending part of 2008 and all of 2009 on the DL with shoulder problems. 

The Cardinals added another run in the 5^th inning when Pujols scored on a Molina single.  A 3-run homer from Matt Holliday in the 6^th inning off of starter-turned-reliever Jhoulys Chacin made it a 9 – 2 St. Louis lead.  This ended Chacin’s night as he was replaced by struggling reliever Manny Corpas.  Things looked bleak for Rockies but, as Tracy said after the game, “you play for 9 innings.”  The Rockies took the words of the 2009 NL Manager of Year to heart and were able to manufacture a run in the bottom of the 7^th. Back-to-back singles from outfielder Seth Smith and third baseman Ian Stewart, a wild pitch from St Louis reliever Trever Miller and a run-scoring ground out from catcher Chris Ianetta made the score 9 – 3.

Maligned reliever Manuel Corpas found his groove and pitched 2 perfect innings in relief of Chacin.  He was only Rockies pitcher not to allow a run for the night.  Corpas would pick up the win, improving his record to 3 – 5 and lowering his ERA to 4.70. 

The bottom of the 9^th was reminiscent of the magical 2007 season which saw the Rockies win in dramatic fashion again and again on the way to the club’s first World Series appearance.  Catcher Miguel Olivo got things started with a single off of St Louis reliever Dennys Reyes.  That knock was followed by a single from pinch-hitter Melvin Mora and a subsequent Barmes walk.  A passed ball allowed Olivo to score.  St Louis went back to their bullpen and brought in closer Ryan Franklin to replace Reyes.  The pitching change didn’t help however as Ianetta, now playing at 3^rd base, blasted a 3-2 pitch to the left field stands to score Barmes and Mora.  Ianetta said he was “expecting (a) fastball” from Franklin on the 3-2 count.  He sat dead red and it paid off, cutting the Cardinals lead to 9 – 7.  Ianetta’s homer was followed by a double from Fowler who came around to score 2 at bats later when Gonzalez singled to right.  First baseman Jason Giambi picked up his third hit of the game with a line drive single to right, then advanced to second on a fielding error by St. Louis right fielder Randy Winn.  This allowed Gonzalez to round 3^rd and tie the game at 9.  Olivo followed Giambi’s lead and picked up his third hit of the night with a ground ball single to right.  Pinch-runner Aaron Cook, in for Giambi, went first to third on the hit on a fine piece of base running.  With the score tied at 9, Rockies outfielder Seth Smith entered the batter’s box.  On a 2-2 count Smith connected with Franklin’s 84 mph slider, hitting it into the right field stands for a walk-off 3 run homer. 

As Smith rounded the bases with an ear-to-ear grin and Rockies coaches and fans hugged one another in jubilation, Smith’s teammates poured out of the dugout and met the night’s hero at home plate.  Smith tossed his batting helmet onto the infield and leaped onto home plate to make the win official.  The Rox clubhouse was called euphoric by those there but, to a man, the players kept perspective.  “I will enjoy it tonight and maybe a little tomorrow morning but then come back here and try to do it again,” said Smith, who went 3-4 on the night.  All Star finalist Carlos Gonzalez said, “we never stop believing we can win,” an excellent summation of the team’s mindset going into the 9^th down by 6 runs.

Was it the greatest win in Rockies history?  No, that honor still belongs to either the 163^rd game of the 2007 regular season or the NLCS clinching victory that same season.  But this win ranks right up there and, hopefully, will help propel the Rockies to their 3^rd post season in the last 4 years.