Miracles ceased for the Rockies tonight.
What was billed as a big-game celebration of the team’s rebirth turned into giant bummer at Coors Field where the Diamondbacks beat the Rockies 4-2, ending the Rockies’ 11-game winning streak and putting their playoff hopes back on the ropes.
Diamondbacks starter Brandon Webb, looking every bit the ace who won the National League Cy Young Award last season, used his infamous sinker to subdue Rockies bats and take the breath out of Rockies fans. He finished his regular season with an 18-10 record.
A sellout crowd of 48,190 did its best to supercharge the home team, but it wasn’t enough. With just two games remaining, the Rockies need lots of help to make the postseason for the first time since 1995.
“It’s been a crazy year, maybe the craziness isn’t over,” manager Clint Hurdle said, trying to stick a smiley face on a tough loss.
The Diamondbacks, who had 20 cases of champagne waiting on ice during the game, clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2002 and moved closer to clinching the National League West title. They celebrated on the field with a group hug after the game, much to the chagrin of booing Rockies fans.
The Rockies got no comfort from the National League scoreboard. In Milwaukee, the Padres beat the Brewers 6-3 to stay one game behind the Diamondbacks in the National League West and move two games ahead of the Rockies in the wild-card chase.
With the season almost over, the National League landscape looks like this: The Phillies lead the NL East, the Cubs have won the NL Central, the Diamondbacks have the inside track in the NL West, and the Padres lead the Rockies and Mets by two games in the wild-card race. The Rockies must win out and the Padres must lose out to force a wild-card tie. The slumping Mets also need to win out and have the Padres lose out to force a tie.
The Rockies overcame a number of fine pitchers during their 11-game streak, including the Padres’ Jake Peavy and the Dodgers’ Brad Penny, but Webb was too good tonight. He mixed his sinker with a sneaky curve and a good fastball.
“He was awesome,” said Rockies right fielder Brad Hawpe, who managed to touch Webb for two hits, including a run-scoring double. “He was throwing harder, right up there at 92 mph, and that’s something we don’t normally see from him. He came right at us today.”
Colorado had a few opportunities to extend its improbable late-season streak, but it never delivered the game-breaking hit that characterized its winning streak.
In the ninth, the Rockies drew two walks off Arizona closer Jose Valverde, but he struck out three Rockies in the inning, including Kazuo Matsui to end the game. It was Valverde’s 47th save.
The Rockies took their best shot in the seventh, cutting Arizona’s lead to 4-2 on a single by Garrett Atkins and Hawpe’s double. But with two out and two on, Webb escaped, inducing Matsui to ground out to second.
The Rockies had expressed confidence that pennant-race pressure would not rattle starter Jeff Francis. It may not have, but the lefty lacked crispness from the outset, never gaining a good feel for his fastball or changeup.
“They got a couple of two-out hits off me that really hurt,” Francis said. “Yeah, this was a big game, but I don’t think that changed the way I went about my game tonight.”
Arizona loaded the bases in the second, scoring a run on Augie Ojeda’s sacrifice fly. The Diamondbacks increased their lead to 3-0 in the third on Conor Jackson’s, two-out, two-run homer to left. It was Jackson’s fourth homer against Francis in 23 career at-bats.
“I made a mistake, but I also think he cheated in a little bit to get it,” Francis said.
In the sixth, a double by Mark Reynolds followed by a two-out RBI-single by Stephen Drew, boosted Arizona’s lead to 4-1.
“We would have liked Jeff to pitch better, but he kept us close and gave us everything he had,” Hurdle said.
Francis fell to 17-9, failing to become the first Rockies pitcher to win 18 games in a season. He gave up four runs on seven hits in six innings.
Webb was a lackluster 0-3 with a 6.47 ERA in five previous starts against the Rockies this season. Though he gave up eight hits in his seven innings tonight, he got groundball outs when he need them. All told, the Rockies grounded into 14 outs.
The Rockies scored their first run against Webb in the third on a double by Matsui and a run-scoring single by Matt Holliday.
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
