The sound began at 7:21 p.m., piercing a sunlit evening straight from a postcard. Either somebody had wrecked their car into the backstop or the Rockies were hitting.
Brad Hawpe started the commotion with a first-inning home run into the right-field seats. The next four hours were a series of wows before the oohs and aahs at Coors Field. The Rockies upstaged their own fireworks show, humiliating the Mets 17-7 for their sixth consecutive home win.
All have come against New York teams – and shockingly none was named the Knicks.
The sweep of the Yankees was electric, the mom-and-pop shop spilling coffee on Starbucks’ lap. The brooming of the Mets was dominant, the Rockies’ turning a series of New York pitchers into piñatas.
By the sixth inning Wednesday, every Rockies’ starter had posted a hit and scored a run. It was a relentless display that left Colorado with a season-high in hits and runs.
The Rockies’ statistics created disbelief for a number of reasons. It was hard to fathom that this was the same team that spent last week grinding its heart through a blender. Or that the Rockies would regain their traction against the Mets, long the favorite to represent the National League in the World Series.
The Rockies didn’t just beat them, they humiliated them. They batted .409 (47-for-115) with seven home runs, including Wednesday blasts by Hawpe, Garrett Atkins and Troy Tulowitzki. Nothing spoke to the absurdity of the numbers than this: Todd Helton went 1-for-2 with five RBIs, ushering runs across twice on bases loaded walks, once on a full-count 50 mph lollipop from Mets starter Orlando Hernandez.
At one point, you figured Mets manager Willie Randolph would stop making calls to the bullpen and tell Commissioner Gordon to pick up the Batphone.
The Rockies outscored the Mets 34-12. Their starters, the source of lost fingernails and aggravated ulcers last week, went 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA.
What is imperative is that the sizzle continue. The Rockies have inched back to within one game of .500 because they have won 12 of their past 14 games at home. In something players believe is not a coincidence, they are 6-0 in front of Coors Field sellouts, five coming against the New York teams.
And the Rockies have beaten teams from New York in seven consecutive games.
