Philadelphia – The Phillies learned a valuable lesson this week that was once applicable only to the Incredible Hulk. Don’t make Matt Holliday angry. You won’t like him when he’s angry.
Underappreciated in the National League MVP race and peeved at getting hit by reliever Geoff Geary, Holliday has spent this series leaving the Phillies green with envy. He hit his fifth home run in four days, a three-run blast to center-field in the third inning.
Holliday was admittedly revved up Tuesday after Geary struck him in the right arm. He threw down his bat and shin guard, drawing boos from the crowd. He homered in his next at-bat, a power binge that continued Wednesday when his three-run shot ripped the game open by the seams.
“Whether it was on purpose or not (Tuesday), I like to use it to get my adrenaline going,” Holliday said. “It’s a long season. It gives you more drive to compete.”
Holliday is quietly dissecting the criticism of his splits. Although he is a better hitter at Coors Field – .365 to .306 – 11 of his 30 home runs and 54 of his career-high 119 RBIs have come on the road.
“Honestly, I don’t think that Coors Field is a home run ballpark. Look at the numbers since the humidor, and it proves it’s a different park now,” Holliday said. “It’s a great place to hit. This park here is a great place to hit home runs.”
Sin City? Try Win City
When the initial odds were posted in February, there was fear and losing in Las Vegas regarding the Rockies. The Hilton, owners of the world’s largest sports book, picked Colorado to finish with 74 1/2 wins. The Rockies claimed their 75th victory Tuesday, rewarding all those who picked the over.
“Those guys aren’t in the clubhouse,” Josh Fogg said. “They don’t know us. It wasn’t a goal. We were aiming higher.”
Footnotes
Troy Tulowitzki sat out the final few innings of Tuesday’s game with an undisclosed leg injury. Asked about it, Tulowitzki insisted he wasn’t hurt. Whatever the problem, he returned to the starting lineup Wednesday and drove in two runs in the fourth inning. … Turns out Tulowitzki didn’t receive his 20th home run baseball, the most ever by an NL shortstop. A fan fired the ball back onto the field, and the Phillies’ ball girl gave it to someone in the stands. “Hopefully, I will keep it going and get one of those,” Tulowitzki said. … The Reds claimed catcher Alvin Colina off waivers. … Kazuo Matsui is not expected to play in the series finale. He is making incremental progress with his strained right hamstring.
