Los Angeles – On contact Sunday, Matt Holliday’s hit produced a collective gasp. When the ball landed over the bullpen fence, 481 feet away, it left Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully breathless.
“They could have served a meal on that flight,” Scully said. “He was born in Oklahoma and it almost landed there.”
Holliday’s blast ranks as the third-longest in the big leagues this season and served as the symbolic hammer in the Rockies’ 12-5 bludgeoning of the Dodgers.
“That’s as far as I have ever hit one,” Holliday said. “It felt good.”
The crowbar to the bully’s shins came with notable distinctions: It snapped Los Angeles’ seven-game winning streak and gave the Rockies their first road win in 24 days, a skid spanning nine games. Colorado matched a season-high with 18 hits, Vinny Castilla’s ninth-inning home run among them.
“It never gets old,” Castilla said.
Watching this team’s sting operation, it was impossible not to ponder “what if.” What if the Rockies’ offense had produced consistently? What if the players had responded to the playoff chase more effectively? So while answers were provided Sunday, it raised questions to ponder as the Rockies open a three-game series tonight at San Diego.
Is Kaz Matsui the catalytic force the Rockies desperately need in the leadoff spot? All he has done is hit .425 in 10 games, while spraying balls from “line to line,” as manager Clint Hurdle put it. More important, he can run and even steal bases for a team stricken with clay feet. “I have tried to be aggressive,” Matsui said.
Can Todd Helton rebound from his worst season in the big leagues? Helton recorded his fourth game with multiple extra-base hits in the past month, significant given he had one such game from April 5 to Aug. 1. “I am not thinking about that,” Helton said.
Will 21-year-old shortstop Troy Tulowitzki be ready to take over on opening day? After beginning his career 1-for-13 with seven strikeouts, he went 4-for-4 on Sunday. “I was actually more relaxed the last few games. But anytime you can get four hits, it helps,” Tulowitzki said.
Is Byung-Hyun Kim, at a $2.5 million club option, a viable fourth or fifth starter next season? His recent slump created doubt, but after simplifying his approach – he relied heavily on his fastball and slider – the right-hander recorded his first win since Aug. 2.
Has the Rockies’ second-half slump – 19-30 – prepared them to better handle expectations next season? “I don’t think we are as far off as most people think,” Garrett Atkins said. “A lot of guys just tried to do too much. That’s never a good idea.”
And the most salient question lingering in the air Sunday: Will Holliday, known to teammates as “Big Daddy,” ever launch a ball out of a stadium?
“When he hit it, everyone in the dugout was like, ‘Wow!”‘ Castilla said. “He’s so strong, you never know.”
Staff writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com.
