MILWAUKEE — Huston Street brought his leg up Thursday, pushed off the rubber and fired. Mat Gamel flailed helplessly as the 91-mph fastball splattered into Paul Phillips’ glove.
Good to the last pop. Rockies 5, Brewers 4.
“They have their swagger back,” owner Dick Monfort said.
Things have happened so quickly with the Rockies — just last week they were in last place; now fans are talking wild card — that you want to take a picture. In a blink, their accomplishment was not only stunning, but historic.
They have won eight straight games, all on the road, tying a franchise record established April 3-26, 1997. Until Thursday, their starters had never won eight consecutive games. Not anymore. Eight wins on any road trip of any length? That, too, is a first.
It has been a remarkable transformation entering tonight’s home series against the Seattle Mariners. The Rockies have gone from the ’62 to ’69 Mets in three cities and eight days.
“What we have done is hard to do, period,” said first baseman Todd Helton of the consecutive sweeps of the Cardinals and Brewers. “Those are good teams that we beat. We are doing what we said we had to do to get back in this thing.”
But even those in the “Up with Purple” crowd didn’t expect this. After three consecutive losses in Houston, the Rockies turned into a steamroller, leaving red faces and angry fans in their path. During the streak, the Rockies have outscored their opponents 55-20, outhit them (.288 to .204), outslugged them (13 home runs to six) and outlasted them (2.55 bullpen ERA).
The knee-jerk reaction is to call it a fluke, to view it with a suspicious eye. But this dominance is so layered, it screams that the revival has roots.
“It’s a combination of everything good teams do,” explained Rockies right fielder Brad Hawpe. “We are pitching well, playing defense and getting timely hits.”
The statistics are telling, particularly from the rotation. Aaron Cook delivered the Rockies’ 36th quality start, tied for tops in the National League, surrendering only one run over six innings. The starters are 8-0 with a 2.48 ERA in this stretch, more than three runs better than the opposition (5.82).
“That’s been the key,” said Helton, trying to make sense of the U-turn. “They are keeping us in games.”
But this back-from-the-grave experience goes beyond raw data. The overriding difference lies in the team’s confidence. Every time the Emergency Broadcast Signal blares, particularly late in games, the players practically smirk.
Joel Peralta striking out Ryan Braun to end the seventh Thursday? Street netting a save in his fourth consecutive day of work? Makes perfect sense.
“The huge thing lately is that the mood on the field has changed so much. Now we expect something to go right, not wrong,” shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said. “You can feel it all the way into the stands. Their crowd expects something to go good for us and bad for them.”
Part of the credit goes to manager Jim Tracy. The team is 10-4 under his watch. The players are feeding off his work as a bullpen strategist — he used four pitchers to get three seventh-inning outs — and the stability he has brought the lineup.
“Guys know their roles,” reliever Matt Daley said. “That always helps.”
Now begins phase two of the reconstruction: a home makeover. The Rockies begin a nine-game stand tonight with a lousy 9-14 record at Coors Field. Correct that and everything suddenly seems possible.
“We have played more road games than anyone in baseball. Now we get a chance to go back to Coors Field, where it can be really loud when you play well,” Tracy said. “It’s time for us to get our house in order in front of our fans.”
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
Tuning up record shop
The Rockies weren’t just dominant on their 11-game road trip, they were historic. National baseball writer Troy E. Renck looks at some of the club records tied or established during their current eight-game win streak:
• Tied record for consecutive road wins, set April 3-26, 1997.
• Eight consecutive wins by starting pitchers is a franchise mark.
• First road trip of any length with eight wins.
• First road sweeps of Cards, Brewers.
Rockies Recap
Spilborghs keeps on swingin’
Outfielder Ryan Spilborghs has drawn interest from the Phillies, Tigers and Red Sox, but the Rockies aren’t in a hurry to move him. Making his first start in a week, Spilborghs reached safely three times Thursday.
Stew for lunch.
Ian Stewart finished with one of the best road trips in Rockies’ history: 15-for-46, five homers, 13 RBIs in 11 games.
Catcher con Chorizo.
Paul Phillips nearly took out Guido the Italian sausage during the sixth-inning sausage race. As he ran out to his position, the catcher deftly spun away before making contact with Cinco the Chorizo, costing him any chance at glory. Troy E. Renck, The Denver Post
Looking Ahead
His record is not indicative of how well Ubaldo Jimenez (4-6, 3.91 ERA) has pitched. He has worked at least six innings in eight consecutive starts, allowing more than three runs only once. Jimenez made a terrific adjustment in his last game, starting off hitters with curveballs before muzzling them with 95-mph heat. Jarrod Washburn (3-4, 3.07) is throwing his sinker, slider and splitter better than ever. He has allowed two earned runs in the last 19 innings.
Troy E. Renck, The Denver Post
Upcoming Pitching Matchups
Saturday:
Mariners’ Erik Bedard (5-2, 2.47) vs. Rockies’ Jason Marquis (8-4, 3.98), 6:10 p.m., FSN
Sunday:
Mariners’ J. Vargas (2-1, 2.35) vs. Rockies’ J. Hammel (3-3, 4.33), 1 p.m., FSN
Monday: Off day
Tuesday:
Rockies’ Jorge De La Rosa (2-6, 5.08) vs. Rays’ Jeff Niemann (5-4, 4.12), 6:40 p.m., FSN
Wednesday:
Rockies’ Aaron Cook (5-3, 4.26) vs. Rays’ David Price (1-0, 2.37), 6:40 p.m., FSN
