St. Louis – With his mouth agape and arms waving in the air for emphasis, Rockies manager Clint Hurdle reached his flash point Monday night.
He stood in the infield screaming at second-base umpire Bob Davidson in the ninth inning. Between colorful adjectives that will never appear in a Hallmark card, he demanded Davidson look at the iron railing above the fence in left-center field. That’s where shortstop Troy Tulowitzki’s ball hit and bounced 15 feet into the air.
Instead of a home run, it was ruled a double, driving Hurdle mad. On Saturday night, Garrett Atkins was deprived of a home run in Cincinnati on a similar call.
But something strange happened after Hurdle left. He lost his cool, but the Rockies didn’t lose the game, white-knuckling a 3-2 victory over the Cardinals at sold-out Busch Stadium.
“His (tantrum) was well-deserved. It was obviously a home run,” Todd Helton said. “That’s the kind of game we have to get. The last couple of years we would have lost this game. Two of these a month and that’s 12 games we could make up.”
An even playing field was on Hurdle’s mind when he failed to keep his wits. He has shown more public restraint – no bouncing of the baseball in the dugout during innings – even as his team has stumbled to a disappointing start. He has blamed himself, the coaches and players, not the umpires, for the Rockies’ current last-place residence. This call only emboldened his argument for baseball to consider instant replay.
“You’d like to think somehow in the 21st century that we could do something to get it right,” Hurdle said. “It’s a tough call. But to have it implode on us (again) seems inappropriate.”
There was irony in the outburst.
Hurdle has been emphasizing that his players have an edge, a fire. After Hurdle went volcanic, the Rockies responded with a lava drip. After Tulowitzki’s double, Atkins was intentionally walked to load the bases. Brad Hawpe worked a full-count walk, providing accompanying drama from a close one-strike check swing before plating the run.
“The last pitch was a slider,” Hawpe said. “I took it because Todd didn’t hit that pitch (earlier in the inning). And if he can’t, then no one can.”
Added Cardinals manager Tony La Russa on the controversy, “The run scored, right?”
This game was notable beyond Hurdle’s wrath, beyond Jeff Francis’ continued improvement and reliever Zach McClellan’s first- ever victory. It marked the first time the Rockies have won a game this season while scoring fewer than four runs. They were previously 0-13 in those situations.
Brian Fuentes raised Cardinals fans out of their seats with his ninth-inning IMAX experience. But after two hit batters and a stolen base, Fuentes induced a flyball to center field from Jim Edmonds, giving the Rockies three road wins in their past four games.
“I got bloodied,” Fuentes said. “But we got through it.”
Staff writer Troy E. Renckcan be reached at 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com.
