They handed out rally towels to Rockies fans Wednesday night at Coors Field. The towels served, off and on, as white flags of surrender or 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 off Kip Wells in the 10th, giving the Cubs a 7-6 victory, the 10,000th win in the franchise’s history.
For the Rockies, losers of four straight, the biggest question surrounds the future of closer Manuel Corpas. Aramis Ramirez clubbed a two-run homer off him in the ninth inning, putting the Cubs ahead 6-5. When Corpas is on, his slider cuts batters to ribbons. But Wednesday night, Corpas’ slider spun above the plate, and Ramirez blasted his sixth homer of the season into the left-field bleachers.
It was Corpas’ fourth blown save in eight chances this season, and it came about 24 hours after Corpas gave up three runs in the ninth inning to the Phillies. Last season, Corpas blew just three saves all season.
“I’m just trying to do the best I can. . . . I’m just going through a bad spot like all baseball players go through,” said Corpas, whose ERA rose to 7.50. He finished last season with a 2.08 ERA in 78 appearances, the lowest relief ERA in team history.
Corpas said he has no control over decisions Rockies manager Clint Hurdle makes, but made it clear that he still wants the challenge of closing.
Hurdle was not about to announce any changes after the bitter loss, but he did say he will contemplate Corpas’ recent performances.
“We will think some things through and talk to the people I need to talk to,” Hurdle said.
Asked if he thinks Corpas, known for his fearlessness, is now flinching at crunch time, Hurdle said, “If I did, I wouldn’t tell you. But I do think anytime you don’t get the results you want, you might try to figure it out and have a look that’s less than piercing.”
While the Rockies have crumbled, Chicago has morphed into the Big Cub Machine. It was the Cubs’ sixth straight win and their ninth win in their last 10 games. It’s just the fourth time in the last 100 years the Cubs have begun a season with a 15-6 record.
It was an especially cruel defeat for the Rockies because they staged two dramatic rallies only to come up empty. Colorado tied the game in the ninth on Ryan Spilborgh’s run-scoring triple that drove in Scott Podsednik.
Corpas’ meltdown in the ninth — the fourth game in a row the Rockies blew a save opportunity after having led in the seventh inning or later — erased a magic moment for Troy Tulowitzki. Stuck in a deep slump — he was hitting .159 when he stepped in the batter’s box — Tulo blasted reliever Jon Lieber’s 2-1 slider deep into the left-field bleachers for a three-run homer to give the Rockies a 5-3 lead in the sixth. It was Tulowitzki’s first homer of the season.
“I took some better swings tonight, but we came out on the losing end and that’s the main thing,” Tulowitzki said, who was mobbed by his teammates at home plate and in the dugout.
“To have my teammates back me up like that was huge,” he said. “You can tell they really want me to do good when I’m up there.”
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
TODAY: Cubs at Rockies, 1:05 p.m., FSN
At this early stage of the season, right-hander Aaron Cook (2-1, 3.12) has stood tall. He’s been by far the Rockies’ most consistent pitcher and is coming off his best performance of the season, allowing just one run in seven innings at Houston. Chicago starts right-hander Jason Marquis (1-0, 3.86), fresh off his first win of the season. In the Cubs’ 13-1 victory over Pittsburgh, Marquis allowed one run on six hits and struck out seven in six innings. He is 5-3 against the Rockies, but Brad Hawpe is hitting .533 (8-for-15) with one homer and six RBIs against him. Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
Friday:
Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez (1-2, 4.64) vs. Dodgers’ Hiroki Kurado (1-2, 2.92), 8:40 p.m., FSN
Saturday:
Rockies’ Mark Redman (2-1, 5.23) vs. Dodgers’ Brad Penny (3-2, 2.67), 8:10 p.m., FSN
Sunday:
Rockies’ Jeff Francis (0-2, 5.68) vs. Dodgers’ Hong-Chih Kuo (0-1, 3.60), 2:10 p.m., KTVD-20
Monday:
Rockies’ Franklin Morales (1-1, 6.00) vs. Giants’ Matt Cain (0-2, 5.27), 8:15 p.m., FSN
