Phoenix – It wasn’t the win that put grins on Rockies’ faces and allowed them to finally exhale Sunday evening.
It was the nature of their 9-7 comeback victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks that chased the demons out of their clubhouse.
Heading into Sunday’s game, not only had the Rockies lost eight of nine games on their current road trip, they had lost an astonishing 84 straight road games when trailing after eight innings. That streak extended all the way back to Aug. 10, 2004, when they won 5-4 at Philadelphia.
“Really? That’s pretty wild,” said Garrett Atkins, who hit a two-run double in the ninth to score Choo Freeman and Clint Barmes and lift Colorado out of its funk. “A win like this is big, because hopefully you can build a little momentum. After having the lead early today, then losing it, then coming back, it shows the kind of fight we have. We aren’t going to go away and give up.”
Without pulling off their ninth-inning rally against Arizona closer Jorge Julio – who had notched four saves against the Rockies since July 7 – the road trip would have been, in the words of manager Clint Hurdle, “brutal.”
As it stands now, it was merely ugly. And, believe it or not, despite their recent misery, the Rockies sit just 4 1/2 games behind San Diego in the National League West.
Before Sunday’s game, Hurdle talked extensively about the Rockies’ shortcomings that had contributed to a recent slide in which they lost 11 of their past 12 games. To put it succinctly and bluntly, Rockies batters and relievers hadn’t been delivering in the clutch, particularly late in games and with two outs staring them in the face.
“The biggest issue, for me, in the last three weeks, is scoring runs with two outs and runners in scoring position, and putting innings away,” Hurdle said Sunday. “It’s no more complicated than that.”
Heading into Sunday’s game, the Rockies had lost seven consecutive games that were decided in the seventh inning or later. All seven of those late-game losses came in July.
But Sunday, it was the Rockies who finally found the answers.
Jamey Carroll began the ninth-inning rally by hustling out an infield grounder for a hit. He advanced to third on a walk by Jorge Piedra and a sacrifice bunt by Cory Sullivan. Carroll scored on Barmes’ infield single. That set the stage for Atkins’ game-winning hit. Atkins has hit safely in 14 of his past 16 games at a .375 pace (21-for-56). Todd Helton, who went hitless in the first two games of the series, knocked in Atkins with a single to right to give the Rockies a cushion.
Not that they needed it. Closer Brian Fuentes, knocked around on the road trip after his stellar appearance in the All-Star Game, allowed one hit in the ninth but never really had to sweat. He notched his 17th save.
And Colorado’s starting pitching, one of the team’s few strengths during its July fade, was the weak link Sunday. Byung- Hyun Kim, saying he was tired, perhaps because of his career-high 127-pitch outing in Pittsburgh last Monday, gave up seven runs on nine hits in just 3 2/3 innings.
“I felt tired after the third inning,” he said. “I just didn’t pitch good. I didn’t have good movement on my fastball.”
The Rockies begin a 10-day, 10-game homestand tonight when they host St. Louis. They’re hopeful the memories of Sunday’s victory wiped out the taste of the nasty road trip.
“A game like this could give us a spark,” Carroll said. “I hope it does. I know this team is better than what we showed on the road recently.”
Sliding back home
The Rockies completed a 10-game, 11-day road trip with a 9-7 comeback win at Arizona on Sunday. The particulars:
* Finished the trip with a 2-8 record
* Began the trip 3 1/2 games out of first place in the NL West
* Finished the trip 4 1/2 games out of first
* Opponents scored the winning run four times in their final at-bat
Staff writer Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-820-5459 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
