Los Angeles – Early Saturday afternoon, Franklin Morales provided a hint of how his major league debut would unfurl. He left the Rockies’ plush Century City hotel for lunch with Rolando Fernandez, the organization’s director of Latin operations. Fernandez flew in from the Dominican Republic to shrink the pterodactyls in the kid’s stomach.
“He didn’t need any help,” Fernandez said. “He was relaxed. You could see his confidence.”
Morales’ poise matched his considerable gifts. He worked 5 1/3 innings, allowing only a single run in the Rockies’ exhaustive 7-4 victory in 14 innings.
“This was a huge win, the kind where you look back and can say, ‘This is when good things really started,'” reliever Matt Herges said.
It speaks to the bizarre nature of this game that nearly 5 hours, six minutes after it started, Morales became a footnote. It started on Saturday and ended Sunday, with the those remaining getting the rare opportunity to sing “Take Me Out to The Ballgame” twice.
After Garrett Atkins’ fielding error undermined the bullpen in the eighth inning, after the Rockies failed to score with no outs and bases loaded in the 11th, Matt Holliday ended the madness in only the third 5-hour game in franchise history.
Following a Ryan Spilborghs’ double and a walk to Jamey Caroll, Holliday stepped into the box against Roberto Hernandez wearing an 0-for-6 collar.
He promptly lined a 90-mph fastball into left field for his 96th RBI of the season. Brad Hawpe plated two more with a single up the middle. Manny Corpas, the game’s 15th pitcher, remained perfect, recording his 11th save in as many opportunities.
“It’s got to be our biggest win of the season,” said shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. “It’s huge for us at this time of the season to get this win.”
The bizarre nature overshadowed the Morales’ unveiling. He attended to history – collecting his first hit and RBI in his first at-bat – and his obligations. He put the Rockies in position for the win, which situated them two games back of the wild-card lead.
Atkins’ inability to field a Jeff Kent groundball in the eighth put reliever Jorge Julio in slump he should have never been in. The right-hander surrendered two unearned runs on 25 pitches, Shea Hillenbrand tying the score at 4-all with a flair single up the middle. Corpas briefly warmed up, but never rescued Julio. Corpas has pitched more than one inning four times this season, though not since June 23.
Before Holliday’s clutch hit, Morales showed why he’s fussed over like no pitcher since Jeff Francis. Parachuting into a wild-card chase, with a starting rotation leaking oil, Morales didn’t blink.
And hopefully fans in Denver either or they might have missed his fastball. The Venezuelan hit 94 miles per hour on his first pitch, fouled off by Juan Pierre. He twice hit 96 mph in the fifth inning against Russell Martin. In all, he threw first-pitch strikes to 15 of 21 hitters.
Everyone knew the left-hander could throw hard, but no one expected him to be a control freak. Of his 79 pitches, 52 were strikes. He relied on a crossfire fastball that he buried on the hands of right-handers, a changeup, and, on rare occasions, a curveball. Sure, the Dodgers have the perfect stadium (see flyballs dying) and perfect team (see light-hitting) for a pitcher to make his debut, but it’s impossible to dismiss Morales’ effort.
He surrendered just four hits, struck out four, didn’t walk a batter, the lone run coming on Matt Kemp’s first-inning solo shot.
“The key was keeping him calm in those first few innings,” catcher Geronimo Gil said. “Once he started throwing strikes, then he could work on (attacking) the hitters.”
Cory Sullivan, starting because of his success in Dodger Stadium (.339), knocked in two runs with a single and his first home run in 11 months. And Tulowitzki posted his 65th RBI, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a marathon camouflaged as a baseball game.
Still, this was precisely the type of lift the rotation needed after losing 60 percent of its members (Aaron Cook, Rodrigo Lopez and Jason Hirsh) to injuries over the past three weeks. To see Morales tucking his jersey frequently and getting periodic counsel from Tulowitzki and Gil was to be reminded that this was his first game.
He has come a long way from the lanky 17-year-old who walked into the Rockies’ Dominican Academy four years ago – “He’s (two inches taller) and more mature,” Fernandez said – or the nervous kid who pitched for Caracas in the Venezuelan winter league two years ago.
“I was on a team with him,” Julio said. “What did I think? Ooooh, he throws hard. I knew he was going to be good.”
Staff writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com.
