Los Angeles – Confrontation lies at the essence of baseball.
Grass vs. AstroTurf. Peanuts vs. Cracker Jack. Hitter vs. pitcher. It’s in this matchup the sport gets stripped bare: Can your guy get their guy out?
In the sixth inning, Rockies manager Clint Hurdle chose hunches over numbers, using four pitchers to retire three batters. In the seventh, Dodgers boss Grady Little let Scott Proctor face Todd Helton. With one flick of the wrist and a pump of the fist, Helton deposited the 94-mph fastball into the right-field seats.
The crack of his bat in the 10-4 series-clinching sweep of the Dodgers brought a reminder that something bigger is at work. This isn’t just about history, but destiny.
“To come out on the road and not lose a game – pretty amazing. You’d think that we’d be ahead of some people by now,” shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said. “I definitely think that we have something special going on here.”
When the Rockies awaken today, they will sit one game behind the wild card-leading Padres, tied with the Phillies and the “paging Dr. Heimlich” Mets. When the Rockies arrive at sold-out Coors Field, baseball, for one day and possibly an entire weekend, will rule the city for the first time in 12 years. The Rockies face the Arizona Diamondbacks with the postseason still in reach.
A team that two years ago lost 95 games has a state, if not the entire baseball world, believing something special is unfurling. That’s what happens when you never lose. The Rockies have won 11 straight, their latest handiwork a blend of ferocious and precocious.
Colorado blasted three home runs, including back-to-back fourth-inning smashes from Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe. The Rockies have gone deep 20 times in this streak. Helton, Atkins and Hawpe hammered an underwhelming group of Dodger pitchers, going 8-for-14 with eight RBIs on Thursday. Helton abused a Proctor fastball as Little went too late to left-hander Joe Beimel, shoving the Rockies ahead 6-3.
The middle of the lineup’s havoc overshadowed a critical sixth inning of chess matchups. Rookie Franklin Morales, who tied Denny Neagle’s club-record streak of 20 scoreless innings by a starter, became unnerved when Juan Pierre reached and stole second base. Hurdle leaned on a gut that hasn’t required Tums in at least two weeks.
With Colorado leading 4-2, Ryan Speier struck out Matt Kemp, Jeremy Affeldt induced a run-scoring groundout by lefty-swinging James Loney and Jorge Julio watched Tulowitzki douse another rally by getting catcher Russell Martin at first base on a difficult play in the hole.
The moves ran against the grain, given Affeldt’s history of success against right-handers (.218 average) and Julio’s problems with Martin (4-for-6 career). But that is yet another part of this streak – it goes beyond imagination, to a feel for what to do and when.
“It was the right thing to do. It comes down to having more confidence in our pitcher against their hitter,” pitching coach Bob Apodaca said. “That’s what this bullpen is going to have to continue to do this weekend: Get big outs whenever we call on them.”
Staff writer Troy E. Renckcan be reached at 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com.
THREE-TEAM TIE
In case of a three-way tie for the wild card among Colorado, San Diego and Philadelphia, head-to-head records would be used to designate each Club as A, B or C. The club with the best such record would have the first choice and the club with the second-best record would have the second choice. The records are as follows:
The Phillies went 4-3 vs. the Padres and 3-4 vs. the Rockies (7-7 overall).
The Rockies went 10-8 vs. the Padres and 4-3 vs. the Phillies (14-11 overall).
The Padres went 8-10 vs. the Rockies and 3-4 vs. the Phillies (11-14 overall).
Thus, the Rockies would have the first choice to be designated as Club A, B or C. The Phillies would have the second choice. The Padres would get the remaining option.
The games would then be played as follows:
Club A hosts Club B on Monday.
The winner of the A vs. B game would then host Club C on Tuesday.
TWO-TEAM TIE
Sites for potential one-game playoff games Monday:
NL East
N.Y. Mets at Philadelphia
NL Central
Milwaukee at Chicago
NL West
San Diego at Arizona
Colorado at Arizona
Colorado at San Diego
NL wild card
Philadelphia at San Diego
San Diego at Colorado
Philadelphia at Colorado
Arizona at New York
Arizona at San Diego
Arizona at Colorado
Arizona at Philadelphia
San Diego at New York
New York at Colorado
