The Rockies survived the Philadelphia Phillies’ thunder and lightning, not to mention Mother Nature’s, and rallied for a 6-3 win Saturday night.
A glance at the box score suggests Colorado’s offense, the most potent in the National League the past five weeks, led the club to its fifth straight win and its eighth straight victory at Coors Field. But Todd Helton, who went 3-for-4 and drove in two runs, begged to differ.
“The easy thing to do is look at the offense and say that we came back, but I don’t think that was the case,” Helton said. “Our pitchers have been able to hold down the damage when they are in trouble, then after that the bullpen shuts them down. We always feel that we are going to score runs and have a chance to come back.”
The game began with the Phillies battering starter Rodrigo Lopez like a high-plains hailstorm.
Jimmy Rollins drove Lopez’s third pitch of the game into the seats above the right-field scoreboard. It was the 100th home run of his career and 16th of the season. Then Ryan Howard, the reigning Home Run Derby king, lined Lopez’s 3-2 pitch beyond the left-field wall, driving home Chase Utley to give the Phillies a 3-0 lead. It was Howard’s 21st homer of the season.
With Lopez teetering, the rain began, interrupting play for 1 hour, 22 minutes. When the tarp was lifted and play resumed, Lopez was a different pitcher, allowing just one baserunner from the second inning through the fifth. He departed after the fifth, having thrown just 77 pitches on the diamond, but a lot more in the batting cage trying to stay loose during the thunderstorm. That’s when he talked to pitching coach Bob Apodaca and got his delivery straightened out.
“He was telling me to stay on top of the ball, and get a downhill plane on my pitches,” Lopez said. “I started to pitch more aggressively inside.”
The Rockies’ bullpen was nearly flawless for four innings, allowing just two hits after Lopez’s departure. In two games against the Phillies, Rockies relievers have pitched 10 shutout innings.
Saturday night, Jeremy Affeldt struck out Utley and Howard in a 1-2-3 eighth. Manny Corpas struck out the side in the ninth, whiffing Aaron Rowand, Greg Dobbs and Wes Helms in quick succession. Corpas recorded the first save of his career.
“The bullpen just continues to roll,” Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. “They are pitching with a lot of confidence right now.”
Colorado, the NL’s top-hitting team, pounded out 12 timely hits, including a 3-for-4 night by Ryan Spilborghs that included a two-run homer.
Colorado rallied to take a 4-3 lead in the fifth. Spil- borghs led off with a 412-foot, two-run homer to left-center, scoring Yorvit Torrealba, who opened the inning with a double. Helton’s run-scoring single drove in Jamey Carroll, putting the Rockies ahead for good at 4-3. Helton had given the Rockies a run in the first inning, driving in Carroll from first with a double.
Spilborghs added a run- scoring single in the sixth, giving the Rockies a 5-3 cushion. Brad Hawpe’s two-out single in the seventh drove in Helton to account for Colorado’s final run.
Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
