His better was better than their batters.
Rockies outfielder Matt Holliday has inspired Nike slogans. On a raw Monday night, his version of SPARQ training had nothing to do with a weighted exercise ball. He lit up faces and a dormant Rockies’ offense with one eighth-inning swing, his two-run home run the difference in Colorado’s 2-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves in the shortest nine-inning game in Coors Field history.
With beautiful extension, Holliday crushed a fastball off reliever Blaine Boyer, snapping the Rockies’ five-game losing streak in the 2-hour and 5-minute gem.
Until that moment, the Rockies were staring at a heart-in-a-blender defeat, threatening to spoil the brilliance of starter Aaron Cook. He worked seven crisp innings. Of his 21 outs, 15 came by groundballs. Cook threw only 73 pitches.
But he left with a 1-0 deficit, the victim of Chipper Jones’ first-inning RBI double. It appeared Cook would be tagged with one of the worst losses of his career until the eighth. At that point, the Rockies were 5-for-53 with runners in scoring position. Tom Glavine toyed with them for 6 2/3 innings, his changeup masterful. The Braves’ bullpen, a gnawing sore all season, finally provided a panacea to an ill Rockies lineup.
Manuel Corpas posted his second save, redemption from Sunday’s failure against the Diamondbacks.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
