This is all the city has wanted for 11 years. A team it could embrace without guilt, anger or embarrassment. A team that could provide a distraction before Broncos’ training camp.
The Rockies, billed as the warmup band to the Beatles in their own venue, left thousands of Big Apple transplants gnawing sour grapes Tuesday, posting an impressive 3-1 victory over the New York Yankees.
With a win Wednesday night, the Rockies would claim a franchise-record sixth consecutive series. They own the National League’s best record over the past month at 18-7, crawling back into contention. Makes you wonder if the Rockies’ marketing executives were selling the wrong team the last three months.
The Yankees are the storied franchise – the endless camera flashes and throaty screams left little doubt – but weren’t the story. Josh Fogg, LaTroy Hawkins and Yorvit Torrealba were cast as the unlikely stars in front of the sellout crowd.
Fogg, who entered the game with a sinister 6.66 home ERA, hadn’t won at Coors Field since Sept. 22. So naturally, he was terrific, surrendering one run in seven innings. He threw 100 pitches and only four resulted in hits.
The bullpen showed elasticity, but didn’t snap. Hawkins, maligned earlier in the season, recorded the game’s biggest out. After Manny Corpas loaded the bases on a four-pitch walk to Alex Rodriguez in the eighth, Hawkins was summoned to face Jorge Posada. The same Posada who was 5-for-13 lifetime against him and ranked in baseball’s top 10 with a .345 average.
On a 2-2 count, Hawkins induced a one-hop groundball to shortstop. It justified manager Clint Hurdle’s decision not to go with a left-hander against the Yankees’ catcher.
Torrealba was masterful in his game calling and added a home run. The Rockies recorded three runs off Yankees starter Mike Mussina, with Matt Holliday and Garrett Atkins posting RBIs.
