Eleven months after last season ended, the Rockies began their organizational meetings Monday facing the same question: When are they going to be good again?
They opened spring training talking playoffs, talking about playing meaningful games when kids returned to school. Yet, September arrived with disappointment its only dance partner.
The Rockies plunged after the all-star break, poorly handling expectations, desperately lacking timely offense. As such, consider Monday night’s 20-8 bludgeoning of the San Francisco Giants an intriguing tease.
The Rockies tied their franchise best for runs in a game, a figure easily within reach after Jeff Baker belted two three- run homers. Heck, they outscored the Broncos in their first two games.
This wasn’t the cat-and- mouse affair expected this time of year, all but assumed with the Giants’ playoff hopes hanging by dental floss. This was a cat-ate- the-canary game, nearly every Rockie devouring a battery of underwhelming San Francisco pitchers at Coors Field.
The 20 runs surrendered matched a San Francisco record, last reached on Aug. 15, 1959, in a forgettable 20-9 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Literally, forgettable.
“I don’t remember it, but I know I was there,” said Giants manager Felipe Alou, a player for the club at that time.
Things got so out of hand that center fielder Steve Finley was ready to take the mound if Billy Sadler’s pitch count inflated.
“I was going to throw something below the hitting speed,” Finley said.
Typical of a lopsided score, the Rockies’ win came with several notable distinctions. Starting in right field against left-handed Noah Lowry, Baker collected three hits and now has 13 RBIs in 26 at-bats. As manager Clint Hurdle put it, the 25-year-old is making his presence felt. Baker is trying to work himself into the mix as a platoon right fielder and backup corner infielder.
“I just let it rip. That’s how I always swing,” said Baker, whose second home run sailed three-quarters up the left-field bleachers, 435 feet away. “I am not thinking about making impressions. I am just playing the game.”
That Baker’s numbers didn’t stick out spoke to the absurdity of the box score on a night when Justin Hampson picked up his first-ever win after leaving with a 16-6 lead. Garrett Atkins, 17-for-his-last-25 with runners in scoring position, knocked in a career-high six runs. Jeff Salazar collected his first home run.
Backup catcher Alvin Colina got his first hit. Vinny Castilla, a late- inning replacement for the Rockies, batted twice to warm applause, a precursor to Sunday when the team is expected to officially honor him with his own day at the ballpark.
Baseball’s last month lends itself to absurdity, the rosters a strange blend of prospects and suspects. But this isn’t supposed to happen to the Giants. They had everything to play for beyond personal statistics. The Phillies lost earlier and somebody important had to fall in the Padres-Dodgers game, leaving the Giants a chance to inch back into the wild-card chase.
Instead, Monday ended with their center fielder ready to pitch.
“I hope the guys aren’t demoralized,” Alou said. “I know I am not.”
Staff writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com.
