Saturday afternoon was picture day at Coors Field. Saturday night was picture perfect for Rockies rookie Brad Hawpe.
With two on in the fifth inning, the right fielder launched a towering 448-foot home run to right field to give the Rockies a three-run lead over the Dodgers.
As the ball sailed into the night, Hawpe posed for just a moment to admire his handiwork before trotting around the bases.
“I knew it was gone,” Hawpe said, noting that he waited on a changeup from Los Angeles starter D.J. Houlton before blasting the pitch into the second level.
“He absolutely lathered that ball,” gushed manager Clint Hurdle.
Hawpe’s blow, along with six strong innings from starter Byung-Hyun Kim, a few sparkling fielding gems by the Rockies and sloppy play by the Dodgers led the way to Colorado’s 11-1 victory.
It was the Rockies’ fourth straight victory over L.A., and it came on the heels of Colorado’s 11-3 win over the Dodgers on Friday night. So it marked the first time all season the Rockies have scored double-digit runs in back-to-back games.
The heart of Colorado’s order – the backbone of next season’s offense – killed Dodgers pitching Saturday night: Todd Helton was 1-for-2 with three walks, Matt Holliday was 2-for-4, Hawpe was 2-for-4 and Garrett Atkins was 3-for-5, including a solo homer that came one pitch after Hawpe’s game-buster.
Atkins predicted Colorado’s lineup is going to make opponents sweat through the month of September, and next season, too.
“There are not a lot of names in here that a lot of people have heard of,” Atkins said as he surveyed the Rockies clubhouse. “But Hawpe and Holliday have as much power as anybody I have seen. When they are hitting the ball like that, especially behind Todd (Helton), we’re dangerous.”
While the Rockies were factored out of the National League West race a long time ago, they are steadily improving, all the while perfecting their role as a late-season spoiler.
The Rockies won two of three games last week in Los Angeles, then promptly won two of three in San Diego against the Padres.
“I think we’re definitely building something for next year,” Atkins said. “We have confidence that we can go into those places and win. And I think we’ll keep hitting the ball like this. If we do, that’s just going to help us next year.”
Hawpe, who figures to be the club’s power hitter and strong-armed right fielder of the future, returned from the disabled list Friday night after missing 47 games with an injured hamstring. He promptly went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Saturday night, he drove in a career-high four RBIs.
“I came back wanting to make an impact and help the team make a big push toward the end of the year,” he said.
Kim allowed one run on five hits in six strong innings. It was his second straight impressive performance and lifted his record to 5-10. Last week, in Colorado’s 2-1 win in San Francisco, Kim allowed just five hits and one run in seven innings. Kim is now 2-0 with a 0.92 ERA in his past three starts. In that span, he’s struck out 15 and walked six.
Los Angeles’ loss, coupled with San Diego’s 6-1 win at Milwaukee on Saturday, left the reeling Dodgers seven games behind the Padres in the NL West. But outfielder Jayson Werth said the Dodgers still have a shot.
“I really don’t think it’s that outrageous to say that,” he said. “We still have a lot of games left within our division.”
Staff writer Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-820-5459 or at psaunders@denverpost.com.
