San Francisco – Dan Miceli turned, squinted into the blue sky and waited. The ball never came.
His incredulous look – arms in the air, head shaking – formed the enduring image in the Rockies’ 6-4 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Thursday.
These were the Rockies the 40,721 fans who piled into SBC Park remembered. A team that has never swept a series in San Francisco, a team a decade removed from its last playoff berth.
But there was a different feel to the Rockies’ 68th loss of the season. On a warm day when they could have gotten a tan, they didn’t leave red-faced. Colorado won only its second road series and remains the National League West’s best team since June 1, leaving the spectacular collapse easily dismissed.
“The ball literally didn’t bounce our way today,” Rockies outfielder Dustan Mohr said. “But there’s no shame in winning two of three here.”
The eighth inning cast Miceli as Lemony Snicket, the subject of a series of unfortunate events. With one out, Omar Vizquel singled to right field, hardly cause for alarm with the Rockies gripping a 4-1 lead. Randy Winn then hit a comebacker at Miceli, the groundball that he would admit later doomed him.
Miceli stabbed at the ball, then pulled back, but not before it ricocheted off his glove, dousing a double-play opportunity. Michael Tucker then ripped a shot off Miceli’s left foot, triggering a scene from a Three Stooges movie.
Miceli looked left. He looked right. He looked up. All the time, the ball was on the ground near his foot.
“A ball hits that hard off you, it usually pops into the air,” Miceli explained.
Consecutive singles by Pedro Feliz and Ray Durham tied the score and ushered Miceli to the dugout in favor of left-hander Randy Williams. He stared down rookie Lance Niekro, confident in the matchup. Right-handers were just 3-for-22 against him this season.
Niekro promptly smoked the ball over Mohr’s head in center field, shoving San Francisco ahead 6-4.
“There’s no way to put a positive spin on it,” Williams said. “He got the better of me. I really believe it was a good pitch.”
The Giants had scored six runs in their previous 25 innings. They erupted for five runs in the eighth inning, keeping their faint playoff pulse from expiring.
“The win and the rally might help the morale and the feeling of defeat around here,” Giants manager Felipe Alou admitted.
A sweep graduated from improbable to possible for the Rockies because of Jose Acevedo. He doesn’t seem in any hurry to cede his rotation spot to Zach Day, who is building arm strength in two more Triple-A starts. Despite a bruised forearm, Acevedo, who has grown on the Rockies because of his ability to start or relieve, surrendered one run on three hits in six innings.
“I am comfortable wherever they put me,” Acevedo said. “Sometimes you don’t get (rewarded with the win). But I have full confidence in Dan. He’s been very good for us. He will bounce back.”
Rockies recap
JD Closser knows he’s living on the ledge. The team was prepared to ship him out to Triple-A on multiple occasions, a decision delayed by lacking options and Todd Greene’s injury. Closser, who clubbed his seventh homer Thursday, has emerged from his season-long offensive coma, going 7-for-13 with four RBIs in his past five games. “I am just trying to take advantage of opportunities when I get them,” said Closser, whose resurgence coincides with Danny Ardoin’s 12 at-bat hitless skid.
ATKINS’ STARVATION DIET: Garrett Atkins leads the Rockies in quality outs, a barometer established by manager Clint Hurdle that involves everything from moving a runner to lining out. Still, Atkins hit just .218 in July and enters today’s game in a 3-for-22 slump. He pounded a two-run double in the first inning Thursday.
SULLY SLUMPS, RESTS: Given he missed last season with an elbow injury and that he’s built like a No. 2 pencil, the Rockies are concerned about Cory Sullivan showing signs of fatigue. After going hitless in his first 10 at-bats on the road trip, the center fielder was benched in favor of Dustan Mohr. “You have peaks and valleys in this game; you just try to maximize the peaks and minimize the valleys,” Sullivan said.
Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-820-5447 or trenck@denverpost.com.
