The swing was vintage Todd Helton.
He picked up his front foot slightly, coiled his bat and unleashed a powerful stroke, driving Mauro Zarate’s 0-1 pitch into the seats beyond right field.
The home run was the 300th of Helton’s career, inspiring the small crowd of 19,161 at Coors Field to roar until Helton finally emerged from the dugout to deliver an aw-shucks curtain call. His 300 homers are easily the most in franchise history. Larry Walker’s 258 rank second.
Helton’s three-run, sixth-inning homer was the piece de resistance to the Rockies’ 13-0 route of the Marlins this afternoon.
Too bad the Sunday afternoon frolic came on the heels of a three-game losing streak that likely doomed Colorado’s playoff aspirations. The Rockies remain 4-1/2 games behind San Diego in the wild-card race.
Colorado also received a memorable performance from 21-year-old rookie left-hander Franklin Morales. The Venezuelan native was superb in picking up his second straight win, allowing no runs and just three hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked none. He likely would have had a chance for a complete game, except that his day was interrupted by a 30-minute rain delay between the fifth and sixth innings. Morales earned the first victory of his big-league career on Tuesday in Philadelphia with a five-inning, no-run, three-hit performance.
All told, the Rockies banged out 20 hits, including four homers, against five Florida pitchers.
Garrett Atkins led off the second with a solo shot, followed by a three-run blast from rookie catcher Chris Iannetta, giving the Rockies an early 4-0 lead.
Matt Holliday’s two-run homer in the fourth barley crawled over the left-field fence, then bounced back on the field, prompting the umpires to huddle until they granted Holliday his 32nd homer of the season. Holliday was 4-for-5, coming up a triple short of the cycle. The ninth four-hit game of Holliday’s career nudged his average up to .334.
Staff writer Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
