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Denver Post sports columnist Troy Renck photographed at studio of Denver Post in Denver on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
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Getting your player ready...

MILWAUKEE — These aren’t the 2007 Rockies. They are younger. They have more versatility.

They sent a strong message this week with bats and arms that their season is alive again. As the color returned to the Rockies’ faces, they left red cheeks in their wake. They embarrassed another contender Thursday, sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers 5-4 in a win that was not only gutsy but historic.

The eighth consecutive road victory ties the franchise mark set April 3-26, 1997. The eighth straight win by a starting pitching is a club record, and one achieved with accompanying brilliance. During this magical stretch that has seen the Rockies transform from the ’62 to the ’69 Mets, the rotation owns a 2.49 ERA. Aaron Cook worked six innings Wednesday, permitting just one run.

And the bullpen again provided more security than Lifelock. Huston Street’s ninth-inning hiccup didn’t negate his 12th save. Joel Peralta provided the biggest moment in the seventh. With bases loaded and two outs, Ryan Braun sauntered to the plate to Soulja Boy’s “Turn My Swag On.” Peralta turned the lights out, fanning Braun with the bases loaded on a fastball to end the inning.

This is the first time the Rockies have ever swept the Cardinals or Brewers on the road, let alone in consecutive series. It’s easy to point to new manager Jim Tracy, if not appropriate. He deserves praise for his strategic bullpen work — he used four pitchers to get three outs in the seventh inning — and creating stability in the lineup. The team is 10-4 under his watch.

But the excellence has so many layers, assigning credit takes several fingers. The offense awoke from a coma with a frightening growl. No longer passive and taking too many strikes, the Rockies have become selectively aggressive, forcing fastball counts. They tired Brewers’ ace Yavoni Gallardo — he threw 86 pitches through four innings and was gone after the fifth — before tagging him for two runs.

Ian Stewart, in one of the best trips ever by a Rockies’ player, smacked a solo shot off the right-hander. He finished the roadie 14-for-43 with five home runs and 13 RBIs, providing electricity to a lineup that for too long was acoustic.

Regardless of what happens this season, this streak is no fluke. Think or chew on a few of the streak’s numbers for a minute:

  •  The Rockies have outscored the opposition 55-20.
  •  They entered the trip with a .233 average and have hit .288 with 13 home runs during the streak.
  •  The bullpen has a 2.54 ERA — the 13 1/3 scoreless streak was snapped when Braun hit a three-run home run off Street in the ninth — compared to a 7.54 ERA for opponents.
  •  It is the first time Colorado has ever won eight games on a single trip.

    The Rockies don’t return home Friday against Seattle with momentum. They are running on nitromethane, eager to make a market correction on their 9-14 record at Coors Field.

    “We have played more road games than anyone in baseball. Now we get a chance to go back to Coors Field for (nine games) where it can be really loud when you play well,” Tracy said. “It’s time for us to get our house in order.”

    Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com.

    Rockies’ longest winning streaks:

    11 … Sept. 16-27, 2007

    9 … Aug. 26—Sept. 5, 1997

    8 … June 4-11, 2009

    8 … July 7-17, 1996

    8 … Sept. 8-15, 1996

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