ST. LOUIS — Thirty minutes before the first pitch, fireworks burst into the sky above Busch Stadium. It created barely a murmur from the shivering crowd.
This was an opening day in name only. There were no Clydesdales on parade, no St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Famers riding in convertibles and no shortage of vacant red seats. In Tuesday’s reopener, the Rockies clawed out of last season’s shadow and back into the spotlight.
They are no longer a secret. In fact, nothing they do is a surprise anymore, so the Rockies rallying for a 2-1 victory seemed completely reasonable to anyone who watched this team last fall.
“We have won this way before,” said shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, whose nervy defense and baserunning proved critical in the win. “We had some of our best guys not get hits, yet we found a way to get it done with pitching and defense.”
The decisive moment, like the makeup game played before an actual crowd of 32,857, was odd. With the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth inning, rookie Jayson Nix stepped in against Cardinals left-hander Randy Flores.
Nix made his major-league debut Monday in a game that no longer exists. The dress rehearsal left him with a lineup card as a souvenir and calmer nerves.
He watched Yorvit Torrealba’s at-bat before him, cataloging the pitches. Flores, he correctly reasoned, would try to get him to chase his big bouncing curveball, then bust him on the hands with a cut-fastball.
“I was going to make him throw strikes,” Nix said.
Nix ran the count to 3-1, refusing to give in to temptation on an inside 88 mph fastball that left Flores glaring at umpire Randy Marsh. Unnerved, Flores fired the next heater high and wide, and Todd Helton trotted in from third base.
Off and, um, walking.
“It felt good to be part of this,” Nix said. “But I didn’t ask for the ball. I will wait for my first hit to do that.”
The magical season is gone. The interrupted opening night seemed like a twin brother. The familiarity in victory was striking. Tulowitzki, as is his habit, found himself in the middle of everything. He played defense like the 1985 Chicago Bears, aggressive and relentless.
His diving stab in the first inning started a double play that plugged in the dugout and soothed starter Kip Wells’ nerves.
In the eighth inning, he ran for the plate on Matt Holliday’s slow roller as if the police were chasing him. Cardinals third baseman Troy Glaus threw wildly to catcher Yadier Molina — “No excuses,” Glaus said — as Tulowitzki pumped his fist in the air.
“It was just a read and react,” third-base coach Mike Gallego said.
There was more to it, a quiet chess game playing out. The Cardinals were crashing their second baseman toward the plate on every other pitch. Tulowitzki was prepared to go only if the ball went to the shortstop playing back. When Holliday made contact, his instincts intervened.
“It was time to take a chance,” Tulowitzki said.
In between Tulowitzki’s glittering glove and crazy legs, the Rockies pitchers allowed one run on Molina’s home run. Starting Wells appeared to be an April Fools’ joke. Yet, he bore no resemblance to the man seen in the spring, pitching with pace and purpose.
“I don’t blame the Cardinals for not wanting me back, but of course this is satisfying,” said Wells, who worked 5 1/3 innings.
From Wells, manager Clint Hurdle followed a coldly efficient script. Micah Bowie, Taylor Buchholz (he’s moved ahead of Luis Vizcaino), Brian Fuentes and Manny Corpas surrendered two hits.
When Molina’s ninth-inning flyball disappeared into Willy Taveras’ glove, that was that. The 2007 season seamlessly became 2008, reopening old wins.
Starting over
The Rockies and Cardinals fumble-and-bumble — and shine — in their opening-day mulligan.
Bests
* Kip Wells, so disappointing in spring training he was banished to the bullpen, worked 5 1/3 strong innings.
* Cardinals infielder Rico Washington, a modern-day Crash Davis after 10 years in the minor leagues, made his major- league debut to loud applause in the fifth inning. The pinch hitter was retired on a groundball to first base.
Worsts
* St. Louis’ reputation as one of the greatest baseball cities absorbed a hit, thanks to the soggy weather. Tickets for Monday’s game were good for only Tuesday’s re-opener. The stadium was a third full at first pitch and actual attendance was a tick above 32,000.
* The Rockies’ Willy Taveras could have begun the season with a hit but slipped on the plate as he broke out of the box in the first inning. He sat on the ground as third baseman Troy Glaus bounced a throw to first baseman Albert Pujols.
TODAY: Rockies at Cardinals, 6:15 p.m., FSN
Aaron Cook (8-7, 4.12 ERA) has experienced a strange career, sidelined by injuries that never have been arm-related. His oblique strain last season, which left him on the outside watching during the Rockies’ playoff push, could be a blessing. He learned a cut-fastball while rehabbing. The right-hander has never beaten the Cardinals (0-3, 6.75 ERA). Troy Glaus has homered twice off him in nine at-bats. Todd Wellemeyer (3-3, 4.54) beat the Rockies in his only start against them on May 30 last season despite giving up home runs to Brad Hawpe and Matt Holliday.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
