A sellout crowd of 48,084 came to Coors Field on Thursday night for the fireworks. They ended up getting a two-for-one special on oohs and ahs.
In one of their most resilient performances of the season, the Rockies beat the Florida Marlins 6-5 on Ryan Spilborghs’ bases-loaded, one-out, two-run single in the 11th inning.
“If there is ever such a thing as a spark, this should be it,” Spilborghs said. “I think we’re playing pretty good baseball right now.”
Three straight wins, coming on the heels of an eight-game losing skid, offers some proof of that. But the most important thing to emerge from Thursday’s victory was the Rockies’ ability to persevere.
“The game kept flipping on us,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “I’m glad that our ‘want-to’ didn’t go away. Our ‘how-to’ has bounced around every now and then, but our ‘want-to’ never left us. That was important tonight.”
The Marlins took a 5-4 lead in the top of the 11th when Cody Ross rocketed a double off reliever Matt Herges, scoring Josh Willingham from first.
The Rockies, having already wasted a chance to win the game in the 10th, came right back against Florida closer Kevin Gregg in the 11th.
Actually, Gregg, who was charged with his fifth blown save, was his own worst enemy. He opened the inning by walking Yorvit Torrealba. Next, he scooped up Scott Podsednik’s sacrifice bunt but threw the ball away, allowing the runners to advance. He then walked Troy Tulowitzki, loading the bases. After a 10-pitch battle, Gregg got Omar Quintanilla to ground out to second for a force play at home. But Spilborghs drilled Gregg’s 1-2 slider into left-center for the game-winner.
The Rockies reached extra innings thanks to Jeff Baker. With first baseman Todd Helton out of the lineup because of a sore lower back, Baker stepped in and delivered. He drove in a season-high four runs, including a two-run homer in the second inning, plus a sacrifice fly in the eighth that tied the game 4-all. The Marlins had gone in front 4-3 on a two-run homer by Jorge Cantu off the Rockies’ usually untouchable setup man, Taylor Buchholz.
Before the extra-inning fireworks, the Rockies got all they hoped for from starter Mark Redman. Though his fastball topped out at 83 mph, his pinpoint control and heavy sinker kept the Marlins off-balance.
The 34-year-old left-hander, called up from Triple-A Colorado Springs when the Rockies put Jeff Francis on the disabled list Wednesday, allowed two runs on six hits in six innings.
The Marlins scored two runs on three singles in the second inning, but Redman settled in after that. He induced three critical double plays, including one in the fourth that led to a fist pump Tiger Woods would envy.
“It’s been tough, getting sent down and all of that,” Redman said. “There were times I wanted to give up in a way, but my wife (Brandi) was the best teammate I have. She kept me accountable, and she pushed me.”
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
Looking Ahead
TODAY: Marlins at Rockies, 6:05 p.m., FSN
Oh, to be young and Greg Reynolds (2-6, 5.75 ERA). The Rockies’ promising rookie turned 23 on Thursday and makes his 11th big-league start today. The Marlins start Scott Olsen (4-4, 3.47), who has gone 0-3 with a 4.53 ERA in his past 10 starts. He’ll face a Rockies lineup that’s hitting .277 vs. lefties, third-best in the NL. Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
Upcoming Pitching Matchups
Saturday:
Marlins’ Ryan Tucker (2-2, 6.84 ERA) vs. Rockies’ Jorge De La Rosa (2-4, 6.70), 6:05 p.m., FSN
Sunday:
Marlins’ Mark Hendrickson (7-7, 6.12) vs. Rockies’ Aaron Cook (11-5, 3.38), 1:05 p.m., KTVD-20
Monday:
Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez (3-8, 4.50) vs. Brewers’ Seth McClung (5-3, 4.18), 6:05 p.m., FSN
