In the bottom of the ninth inning, the giant video board at Coors Field flashed “LoDo Magic.”
No kidding.
Pinch hitter Omar Quintanilla, the most unlikely Rockie to hit a walk-off, game-winning homer, did just that, lifting the Rockies to a 4-3, 12-inning victory over the error-prone Cincinnati Reds this afternoon.
A Rockies bullpen that lodged six scoreless innings and allowed just a single hit had a little something to do with the win, too.
How bizarre was today’s 4-hour, 24-minute marathon? The Rockies’ only RBI came on Quintanilla’s solo shot to right field. It was just his second homer of the season.
The Rockies drew nine walks, left 18 on base and went 0-for-16 with runners in scoring position. The Reds committed five errors and struck out 14 times.
The bottom of the ninth, which sent the game into extra innings, defined strange. Matt Holliday reached first on a groundball up the middle. The grounder first bounced off pitcher David Weathers and dribbled into the glove of second baseman Brandon Phillips. But he couldn’t handle it and Holliday was on via an error.
Holliday moved to second on a balk call by Weathers, who complained bitterly, but to no avail. Holliday scored to tie the game at 3-3 on Brad Hawpe’s fly to right fielder Jay Bruce. Holliday advanced to third on the fly, then scored when Bruce’s laser-beam throw skipped off the infield and into the stands.
Colorado starter Ubaldo Jimenez toiled through six innings. He wasn’t terrible, giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits, striking out six. But as evidenced by his four walks, he still lacks the precision that characterized his terrific July when he went 5-1 with a 1.74 ERA.
Chris Dickerson launched a solo homer off Jimenez to open the sixth, putting the Reds ahead 3-1. Then Jimenez packed the bases with three walks, but he escaped by striking out Bruce and inducing Corey Patterson to ground out to first.
Holliday, went 2-for-4, continuing his push toward a second consecutive National League batting crown. Holliday, hitting .343, was a one-man run machine in the seventh, cutting the Reds’ lead to 3-2. Holliday lined a single to left, stole second, stole third and scored on a wild pitch by Affeldt, the former Rockies reliever. With 30 games left in the season, Holliday has 22 stolen bases, eight more than his old career high of 14, set in 2005.
Cueto left the game after just three innings after feeling soreness in his right triceps tendon. The Rockies failed to get a hit off him, but used two walks and two errors to push across a run in the first.
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
