As a scene for a Hollywood movie, it would have wound up on the cutting room floor. Too corny. Too Robert Redford in “The Natural.”
Then again, Albert Pujols does things that would make Roy Hobbs blush. In a pestering rain, into a blowing wind, the St. Louis Cardinals slugger crushed a Jason Jennings changeup into the right-field bleachers Tuesday night.
It was Jennings’ only mistake. And the only run as the Cardinals squeezed out a 1-0 victory over the Rockies at soggy Coors Field.
“That ball has no business going out. It was four inches off the ground and outside,” Jennings said in a quiet, nearly vacant clubhouse. “There’s no one else that can do that.”
For Jennings, the lack of run support has turned comical. He became the first Rockies pitcher ever to throw a complete game in Denver and lose. Colorado has scored three or fewer runs in eight of his 21 starts this year. That number could haunt the Rockies in September if their attempt to win a division title meets a premature death.
“It’s gut-wrenching,” said Rockies second baseman Jamey Carroll. “We try to let him know that we understand his frustration and feel his pain.”
Jennings (6-8) is the second Rockies pitcher to wear a 1-0 defeat at Coors Field this season – joining Aaron Cook, who was bested by Philadelphia’s Brett Myers on April 16.
Jennings pitched better than reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter. The difference on Tuesday? The Cardinals have Pujols and the Rockies don’t.
Though it’s too early to deem Pujols the greatest hitter of his era, he is undeniably the most feared. With one swing, Pujols turned 31,673 fans into a human goose bump.
“He’s amazing. I actually think he is the perfect player,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “I don’t know how you improve him.”
The sixth inning featured a signature Pujols at-bat. On a 1-1 count, Jennings elected to go off-speed. He had retired Pujols earlier on a changeup, so he felt confident in floating the pitch low and off the plate. Pujols, with his wide stance that fills up the batter’s box, kept his weight back and dropped the barrel on the ball, rocketing it skyward. It struck the top of the wall and bounced over – meaning Jennings didn’t lose by one run, but approximately 18 inches.
“As soon as I hit it,” said Pujols, putting together a Joe DiMaggio-like season, with an NL-best 33 home runs and just 27 strikeouts, “I thought it was out of the park or going for extra bases.”
He would know. His 10th career home run against the Rockies gave Pujols 19 game-winning RBIs, tops in the big leagues.
That game-changing hit too often has been lacking for the Rockies, a team that ranks in the bottom third in runs and homers in baseball. Against a vulnerable Carpenter, the Rockies couldn’t deliver a haymaker or even a rabbit punch. They left 11 men on base and went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
“If I worried about the runs at this point, I would be a wreck,” Jennings said. “I can’t get caught up in woulda, coulda, shouldas. I’d go crazy. They say these things go in cycles, and I gotta believe it’s time for mine to end.”
Staff writer Patrick Saunders contributed to this report.
Staff writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-820-5457 or trenck@denverpost.com.
