Some athletes shrink from big moments. Some grab tight and hang on for the joy ride. Matt Holliday fits the latter category.
When the Rockies’ big left fielder strode to the plate with the bases loaded in the seventh inning Saturday night, the boisterous Coors Field crowd sensed that a game-changing moment was at hand. So did Holliday.
“Sometimes you just want to kind of feed off the crowd a little bit, especially in late August,” Holliday said. “Sometimes it gets your adrenaline going a little bit in that situation, and you get the crowd going and you try to get a win.”
Holliday didn’t disappoint. Facing Reds reliever Nick Masset, Holliday slammed the first pitch Masset threw for a three-run double off the right-field wall, propelling the Rockies to a 7-6 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
Holliday is 4-for-9 with 10 RBIs with the bases loaded this season, but Friday night he popped out with the bases loaded in an 8-5 loss to the Reds. Earlier in Saturday’s game, he was stymied by Reds starter Edinson Vol-quez three times, including grounding out with the bases loaded in the second. So when Holliday came up in the seventh, redemption definitely was on his mind.
“You don’t get that many chances, so to have another chance with the bases loaded, I was excited to have another opportunity,” he said.
While the Reds’ Jay Bruce fielded Holliday’s double and relayed it in from right field, Yorvit Torrealba, Clint Barmes and Willy Taveras scampered home, with the speedy Taveras sliding in a split second behind Barmes. When the dust cleared, the Rockies had a 6-5 lead.
“I’ve never had that play before. . . . Willy was right on my back, but I’m sure glad we were both safe,” said Barmes, who nearly pulled off a circus catch on a foul ball in the ninth, but lost the ball when he tumbled into the crowd.
After Holliday’s heroics, Brad Hawpe drove in Holliday with a single, pushing Colorado’s lead to 7-5. Good thing, too, because Bruce cut the lead to one run, blasting a solo homer to right off Taylor Buchholz in the eighth.
In a battle of all-stars, Volquez outpitched Rockies starter Aaron Cook, giving up three runs on six hits in six innings. Cook lasted just five-plus innings, driven off the mound by eight Reds hits, including three straight singles in the sixth.
Luis Vizcaino relieved Cook, and rescued the Rockies, in the sixth. With no outs, one run already in and Reds on first and second, he struck out the side, quashing the Reds’ rally. Chris Dickerson hit a solo homer off Vizcaino in the seventh.
Although Cook struggled and failed to get his 16th win, he found a way to help, using sleight of hand to push across two runs in the second. With two outs, Ian Stewart on second and Jeff Baker on first, Cook surprised the Reds with a bunt in front of the plate. Reds catcher Paul Bako pounced on the ball, but he rushed his throw, the ball ended up in left field and Stewart and Baker made it home.
“I swung at the first slider by about 6 feet and figured I wasn’t going to have much chance of hitting him,” said Cook, who decided to lay down the bunt on his own. “I looked at the third baseman and saw that he was playing back and figured my best shot was to lay down a bunt. I made something happen right there.”
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
TODAY: Reds at Rockies, 1:05 p.m., KTVD-20
The growing pains continue for Ubaldo Jimenez (9-11, 3.99 ERA). Jimenez has struggled to repeat his delivery and harness the power in his right arm. He did, however, snap a two-game losing streak Tuesday in Los Angeles, allowing three runs over five innings against the Dodgers. It was an uneven performancehe needed 102 pitches — but good enough for the victory. Reds right-hander Johnny Cueto (8-12, 4.74) pitched seven innings against the Cubs on Tuesday, giving up one earned run on four hits, but the Reds lost 5-0. Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
Monday:
Rockies’ Jeff Francis (3-8, 5.52) vs. Giants’ Matt Cain (8-9, 3.52), 8:15 p.m., FSN
Tuesday:
Rockies’ Jorge De La Rosa (6-7, 5.86) vs. Giants’ Matt Palmer (0-1, 8.64), 8:15 p.m., FSN
Wednesday:
Rockies’ Livan Hernandez (11-10, 6.28) vs. Giants’ Tim Lincecum (14-3, 2.48), 8:15 p.m., FSN
Thursday:
Off day
