PHILADELPHIA – Reality, as we know it, is over. It came to an end at precisely 10:17 p.m. Monday when Matt Holliday skidded his chin through the batter’s box and allegedly touched home plate at Coors Field. At that point, the Rockies no longer were a team, they were part of Colorado sports legend.
The Broncos have The Drive. The Rockies have The Slide.
Two consecutive weeks of scripts less believable than “Rocky” provided clues that this Rockies season was special. With Monday’s 13-inning victory over the Padres for the National League wild card, the Rockies’ 14th win in their final 15 games, it became official.
Playing before a national TV audience for the first time this season – hey, better last game than never – the Rockies have become baseball’s feel-good story, the antidote to the acid reflux-inflicted Mets.
So the Rockies, suddenly the state’s water-cooler conversation, are in Philadelphia. They take on the NL East champion Phillies on baseball’s postseason stage today at 1 p.m., when anything can happen.
For those just hopping aboard the postseason baseball bandwagon, all you need to know is the Rockies and Phillies are mirror images. They are comeback kids with the biggest cache of offensive fireworks in the league.
The Rockies were in fourth place in the wild-card standings on Sept. 15 and needed to win 14 of their last 15 games to get into the postseason. All the Phillies did was erase the Mets’ seven-game bulge over the season’s final 17 games.
“There is a lot of common fabric between the two teams,” Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said.
The most obvious and meaningful fabric is their devastating lineups. The Phillies led baseball in runs scored with 892. The Rockies, second with 860 runs, sat atop the NL with a .280 team average. The Phillies hit 213 home runs, second only to Milwaukee. You get the idea.
It’s not hard to crunch the numbers and realize this playoff series could come down to which team’s rotation can hang around just long enough to keep the bullpen effective.
“Well, in their lineup, there doesn’t seem like there’s a break,” said Rockies pitcher Jeff Francis, who starts Game 1 against Philadelphia ace Cole Hamels. “(Ryan) Howard, (Pat) Burrell, (Aaron) Rowand, it doesn’t stop.”
Francis should know. He has faced the Phillies twice this season and gotten hammered both times.
That the Phillies play half their games at Citizens Bank Park doesn’t hurt. It’s not hitter-friendly. It’s hitter-take-you-out-for-dinner-and-get married. Howard wears out the left-center gap, which measures just 374 feet. The right-field wall is inviting and a place where even line drives make it out.
The Phillies, ever since Burrell regained his hitting stroke in June, have created havoc. Shortstop Jimmy Rollins is a dynamic blend of speed (41 stolen bases) and power (88 extra-base hits). Hurdle believes Rockies left-handers Francis and Franklin Morales, the Game 2 starter, can help neutralize the running game.
Anyone who has watched the Rockies the past two weeks is left to marvel at the meat-grinder they call a lineup. They are suited for this ballpark, particularly with the power of Troy Tulowitzki, Holliday, Todd Helton, Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe. That Fab Five spent the past month elbowing each other out of the highlight reels.
Helton’s walkoff homer Sept. 18 was the defining moment – his teammates gave him a standing ovation in the clubhouse afterward – but it had competition from Hawpe’s 14-inning shot in San Diego and Holliday’s stretch of 11 home runs in 42 at-bats.
“They can hit the ball, man. They have offensive weapons for sure. We have to execute and limit them as best we can,” Rollins said of the Rockies. “I remember when they were here last, they were good. They gave us all we could handle and they’re like us in that they never quit. They’re never out of any game.”
There’s some concern that shadows could be an issue in today’s game because of the unusual start time. That could help the starting pitchers and could play to the Rockies’ benefit. Their bullpen is where they go to flex their muscle, and it becomes more of a strength in a pose off with the Phillies, who are not as deep out of the pen. With Matt Herges, Brian Fuentes and Manny Corpas late, the Rockies are equipped to protect a lead. Philadelphia’s bullpen was part spectacular, part MacGyver patched up and vulnerable because of the injuries and erratic performances of Tom Gordon and Brett Myers this season.
Hurdle made it clear the Rockies weren’t planning to two-putt. Their goal is to win the World Series, not enjoy this experience. As team owner Dick Monfort said, “I wouldn’t count us out with the momentum we have right now.”
It would require 11 victories to wear championships rings. That seems hard to get your hands around until you realize the Rockies have lost just once over the past 18 days.
“The Rockies didn’t just come out of nowhere. They got hot at the end of the season, but they’ve been tough all year. They’re never out of a game,” Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino said. “They’re always hanging around and hanging around. We have our hands full in this series. It should be a dogfight.”
Lassie vs. Air Bud. No villain required.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
