Phoenix – The Rockies have lost too many games and too many fans over the past seven weeks. But they haven’t lost their nerve.
Jeff Francis exhibited cold- blooded brilliance Wednesday night, firing a sixth-inning full- count changeup that cemented a 2-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks and solidified his gutsy reputation. Francis trusts that he can throw any pitch in any count.
That’s easy to say during paint-drying days in spring training.
But with the emergency broadcast signal blaring, Francis stared down at Yorvit Torre- alba’s fingers and nodded in agreement. Arizona’s Carlos Quentin dug in with runners on first and second, eager to rip the game open at the seams. Instead, he nearly broke into tears, watching helplessly as Francis’ 81-mph changeup floated into Torre- alba’s glove.
Plate umpire Derryl Cousins raised his fist, and just like that, the Rockies’ victory was hermetically sealed.
“I look back at it now and it’s like, ‘What the (heck) was I thinking?”‘ Francis said of the pitch, after the Rockies’ first shutout since July 24.
“(Former Triple-A pitching coach) Bob McClure used to tell me there will come a time in a game where you have to say you are in the big leagues and you have to execute this. I don’t know if that was one of those situations, but it made sense.”
It was most important win of the season, given the criticism directed at the team this week and the Rockies’ previous inability to close out the deciding game of a series (now 2-for-10 in those situations). There have been so many moments this season when the Rockies succumbed to pressure, failing to produce the big hit or the nasty pitch. But Francis delivered.
“That was filthy,” said manager Clint Hurdle. “A lot of self-confidence.”
Francis worked seven scoreless innings and was removed after 119 pitches, 32 of which were changeups. There would be no repeat of last Friday’s Blake Street Blunder – the regrettable decision by Hurdle to pull Francis after 74 pitches against the Royals.
This time, setup man Manny Corpas came into a clean eighth inning – his one flaw is that five of nine inherited runners have scored – and collared the Diamondbacks. Closer Brian Fuentes whitened a few knuckles, but a perfectly executed pickoff at second base on rookie Mark Reynolds doused Arizona’s rally.
“I didn’t know about the move,” Reynolds said of the play smartly signaled for by Jamey Carroll. “They completely caught me sleeping.”
Ryan Spilborghs, a human Red Bull, and Carroll caffeinated the offense. Spilborghs drove in Carroll twice, once in the third inning and again in the fifth with a single.
“Feels good to contribute. The whole week, we feel like if we get an extra hit here or there, we sweep these guys,” Spilborghs said. “That’s the feeling we are starting to get. It’s nice.”
Ultimately, the conversation steered back to Francis. In a season and a week in which people are beginning to worry about consequences, he was fearless.
“I knew that Quentin was aggressive and that Jeff could get him with that pitch,” Torrealba said. “Maybe this is finally the start of something good.”
