Pitcher Josh Fogg said he barely saw the screeching line
drive off Eric Byrnes’ bat in the first inning Sunday
night. But like nearly everything else the Rockies’ gloves
have touched this season, Fogg turned the play into
gold.
He wheeled and threw to second base, catching Chris
Young off the bag for a bang-bang double play.
It was one of three double plays the Rockies turned in
the first three innings, and it took some venom out of the
Diamondbacks’ offense. That the Rockies’ defense
should ride to the rescue should come as no surprise.
They set a major-league record for fielding percentage
and were second in the majors in double plays turned.
“You look at what our guys do up the middle, they
turn plays that you’d never expect (Garrett Atkins made
a diving catch), (Todd) Helton’s been great all year,”
Fogg said. “When you have a defense like that, you’re
asking guys to hit the ball. You’re actually hoping they
make contact.”
Manager Clint Hurdle, who gets credit for preaching
defense day in and day out, said the Rockies’ remarkable
20-1 streak is base on the glovework.
“The pitching feeds the defense, the defense feeds the
pitching. It works hand in hand,” he said. “When you can
take the sting out of them early like we did, then we never
turned back.”
Rookie shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, the key player in
the Rockies’ defensive alignment, said the Rockies have
come to expect big plays.
“Obviously when you are on the kind of streak we are
on right now, you just feel like somebody is going to
make the big hit or the big pitch or the big catch,” he
said. “It’s a waiting game in the dugout. We’re like,
‘Who’s going to do it next?'”
There will be rest for the weary. The Rockies are not bringing back Game 1 winner Jeff Francis on short rest for tonight’s Game 4. Francis outpitched Arizona’s Brandon Webb in the National League Championship Series opener, using creative pitch selection – “He can throw any pitch in any count,” marveled pitching coach Bob Apodaca.
He threw just 89 pitches in 6 2/3 innings, but there was no discussion of pushing him up in the rotation in place of rookie Franklin Morales.
“Not at all. We don’t do that,” general manager Dan O’Dowd said. “He’s never done that, and I am not a big believer in it. I feel like it puts pitchers in a position to fail, not succeed.”
Webb will also remain in his normal spot, scheduled to go opposite of Francis on Wednesday.
Morales will start opposite Micah Owings tonight. It represents an unusual matchup. No player on either team has a major-league at-bat against them. The Rockies moved Morales back to today in hopes of calming his nerves.
“We want to let him watch the first three games of the series. Hopefully, he’ll learn something out of it,” O’Dowd said. “But hey, anytime you’re running a 21-year-old kid out there, you don’t know what you are going to get.”
Black uniforms, silver screen. It’s no secret the Rockies’ 20-1 run has placed them in elite company. No team, other than the 1970 Baltimore Orioles, has finished on this kind of run. The Orioles’ mark ended with a World Series title. If the Rockies wear rings, it was suggested to outfielder Ryan Spilborghs that they could end up on the silver screen.
So who would play leading men Matt Holliday and Todd Helton?
“Vin Diesel for Matty, that would work. And (Robert) De Niro as Todd,” Spilborghs said.
Not burned by Byrnes. Before the NLCS, Arizona star Eric Byrnes believed the pieces were in place for a rivalry. Young, talented players. Same division. And, thanks to Byrnes, some friction. Byrnes created a stir Saturday when he said the Diamondbacks had outplayed the Rockies despite losing the first two games at home. He also believed Colorado manager Clint Hurdle overreacted on Thursday night when, along with the umpires, he motioned for his players to come off the field when debris flew in their direction.
Hurdle’s retort: “It’s goes back to perception. I can’t control what people say think or do. All I know is that when things start getting thrown out of the stands, you never know what’s going to come out of there. And I didn’t want my players getting into that.”
Added Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin: “Eric is by far the best quote on our team. He’s going to say what he’s going to say, and I’ll leave it at that.”
Footnotes. The Rockies received a preview of Sunday’s nasty conditions during batting practice Saturday. Colorado’s batting practice was halted at 5:30 p.m. when it started raining. But it was warmer than Sunday where game-time temperature was 43 degrees. … Holliday, the NL batting champion, had one hit in the NLCS entering Sunday. “I have been pretty awful. I want to contribute to make it easier on our pitchers,” Holliday said. He then homered in the first inning. Hurdle was confident that hitting instructor Alan Cockrell could ease Holliday, Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitzki out of their mini- slumps. “He’s had a calming presence and he has their trust. I am confident our guys will hit.” … Outfielder Brad Hawpe’s revival against left-handers left no doubt he would start in Friday’s Game 1 instead of Spilborghs. Hawpe singled off Doug Davis, extending an inning as the Rockies scored their first run. Hawpe is 6-for-17 in the playoffs.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
