Troy Tulowitzki and Matt Holliday turned Coors Field into a three-ring circus Sunday afternoon.
Tulowitzki, the Rockies’ prized rookie shortstop, pulled off the rarest of the rare, turning an unassisted triple play in the seventh inning of the Rockies’ 9-7, 11-inning victory over the Atlanta Braves.
It was just the 13th unassisted triple play in major-league history, including one by Cleveland’s Bill Wambs- ganss in Game 5 of the 1920 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers. By contrast, there have been 17 perfect games thrown in the majors.
“It was amazing,” Tulowitzki said. “It kind of fell into my lap, but I’ll take it.”
Holliday authored the final scene to one of the wildest games in club history. He crushed a two-run homer in the bottom of the 11th inning off reliever Steve Colyer, scoring Todd Helton to lift the struggling Rockies to victory and deny the Braves a three-game sweep.
“We needed this worse than a hog needs slop, I’ll tell you that,” manager Clint Hurdle said.
Holliday, hitting .394 and in the midst of a career-best 12-game hitting streak, hopes the win gives the Rockies a boost as they begin a 10-day, nine-game road trip beginning tonight in San Francisco.
“This was important. It would have been hard to take a sweep at home,” he said. “But we are showing signs of coming on offensively.”
From his perch in left field, Holliday had a bird’s-eye view of Tulowitzki’s three-out solo act.
“Actually I was thinking, ‘I’m wondering if they are running here on a 3-2 (count). It would be nice if they are,”‘ Holliday said. “Not that I predicted it or anything, but it was kind of weird to watch it unfold right before my eyes, right after I just thought it.”
The game was tied 5-5 when Atlanta’s Kelly Johnson and Edgar Renteria opened the seventh with back-to-back singles. Then Chipper Jones smoked a line drive directly at Tulowitzki. He snared it, stepped on second to double up Johnson, then tagged Renteria for the third out. For good measure, Tulowitzki made an unnecessary throw to Helton at first base.
“Once he made the throw, I thought we had four outs,” Hurdle joked.
Said Tulowitzki: “It all happened so fast. I just wanted to make sure. I guess I was trying to be the first person to ever get four outs.”
The major’s previous unassisted triple play was pulled off by Braves shortstop Rafael Furcal on Aug. 10, 2003, in St. Louis.
Tulowitzki’s gem was the second triple play in Rockies history. The first came on April 10, 2003, against the Cardinals at Coors Field. In that game, Orlando Palmeiro lined out to Helton,who threw to shortstop Jose Hernandez, who doubled up Scott Rolen at second. Hernandez then tagged out Tino Martinez, the runner advancing from first to second, for the third out.
In the eighth inning, Tulowitzki added to his highlight reel. When Jeff Francoeur doubled to right-center, Andruw Jones attempted to score from first, but Willy Taveras gunned the ball in to Tulowitzki, who fired a perfect strike to catcher Chris Iannetta, nailing Jones at the plate.
“That play was actually harder than the triple play,” Tulowitzki said.
Sunday’s drama wasn’t limited to the heroics by Tulowitzki and Holliday. After squandering a 5-2 lead, the Rockies rallied to turn a 7-5 deficit into a 7-7 tie in the ninth. Braves reliever Bob Wickman played a huge supporting role by walking three, hitting a batter and blowing a save. Holliday’s infield hit off Renteria’s glove at short scored Taveras and cut Atlanta’s lead to 7-6. Brad Hawpe’s bases-loaded infield groundout scored Iannetta to tie the game.
Then pinch-hitter Clint Barmes, hitting just .105 before the at-bat, almost won the game. He drilled a two-out, bases-loaded line drive to right field, only to see Francoeur make a terrific, diving catch, sending the game into extra innings.
Staff writer Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
How did Tulo do it?
Troy Tulowitzki became the 13th player in major-league history to turn an unassisted triple play when he got all the outs in the seventh inning Sunday against the Atlanta Braves. What he did with Kelly Johnson and Edgar Renteria already on base after singles:
OUT ONE: Tulowitzki catches Chipper Jones’ line drive behind second base on a hit-and-run play.
OUT TWO: He steps on the bag to double up Johnson.
OUT THREE: Tulowitzki tags Renteria, above, who is near the second-base bag, for the third out.
Triple the fun
Unassisted triple plays in the modern era:
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Troy Tulowitzki, ss, Colorado, April 29, 2007, vs. Atlanta.
Rafael Furcal, ss, Atlanta, Aug. 10, 2003, at St. Louis.
Mickey Morandini, 2b, Philadelphia, Sept. 20, 1992, at Pittsburgh.
Jimmy Cooney, ss, Chicago Cubs, May 30, 1927, at Pittsburgh.
Glenn Wright, ss, Pittsburgh, May 7, 1925, vs. St. Louis.
Ernie Padgett, ss, Boston Braves, Oct. 6, 1923, vs. Philadelphia.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Randy Velarde, 2b, Oakland, May 29, 2000, at N.Y. Yankees
John Valentin, ss, Boston, July 8, 1994, Seattle.
Ron Hansen, ss, Washington, July 30, 1968, at Cleveland.
Johnny Neun, 1b, Detroit, May 31, 1927, vs. Cleveland.
George H. Burns, 1b, Boston, Sept. 14, 1923, vs. Cleveland.
Neal Ball, ss, Cleveland, July 19, 1909, vs. Boston.
WORLD SERIES
Bill Wambsganss, 2b, Cleveland, Oct. 10, 1920, vs. Brooklyn.
