They handed out rally towels to Rockies fans tonight at Coors Field. The towels served, off and on, as white flags of surrender and banners of celebration.
Ultimately, Rockies fans tossed them aside in pure frustration as they watched Ryan Theriot drive home Mark Fontenot with a game-winning single in the 10th, giving the Cubs a 7-6 victory.
The loss was the Rockies’ fourth in a row. It was the Cubs’ ninth win in their last 10 games and the 10,000th victory in franchise history.
It was an especially cruel defeat because the Rockies staged two dramatic rallies only to came up empty. Colorado tied the game in the ninth on Ryan Spilborghs’ run-scoring triple that drove in Scott Podsednik.
The game also could put Manuel Corpas’ role as the Rockies’ closer in jeopardy. Aramis Ramirez clubbed a two-run homer off him in the ninth inning, putting the Cubs ahead 6-5. It was Corpas’ fourth blown save in eight chances this season, and it came about 24 hours after Corpas blew a save by giving up three runs in the ninth inning to the Phillies.
That shocking development wiped out a magic moment for Troy Tulowitzki, who was hitting .159 when he stepped into the batter’s box in the sixth inning and blasted reliever Jon Lieber’s 2-1 pitch deep into the left-field bleachers for a three-run homer. Tulowitzki’s first homer of the season gave the Rockies a short-lived 5-3 lead.
