If this is starting to remind you of a certain September to remember, it’s not just the romantic in you.
The Rockies’ 10-game winning streak is the second-longest in their history. Today they’ll try to match the 11 straight that began their journey to the 2007 World Series.
The most important ingredient is the same. Talk about the clutch hitting if you like. Talk about the new manager. Talk about the Josh Fogg factor if you’re superstitious, although, as catcher Paul Phillips points out, “It’s bad luck to be superstitious.”
The reality is it’s all about pitching. The Rocks took off in the second half of ’07 when they proved it’s possible to pitch effectively in Colorado after all, leading the National League in earned-run average after the all-star break.
The same sort of mound turnaround is at the heart of their current winning streak. Check the numbers:
Rockies starters had an ERA of 4.63 before the streak. During the streak, it’s 2.56.
The bullpen was at 5.09 before the streak. During it, even with Manny Corpas blowing Jason Marquis’ chance for a victory Saturday night, the bullpen is at 3.20.
Overall, the Rocks’ staff was at 4.79 before the streak, which helps to explain why they were 20-32 just 11 days ago. During the streak, they are a marvelous 2.70.
If the Rocks can keep pitching, they will keep competing. If they can’t, they won’t. It’s just that simple.
“It’s not like we got The Natural to come in and be in our batting order, and it’s not like we inherited some Cy Young winner that just rejuvenated our rotation,” pitching coach Bob Apodaca said.
“It’s really repeating things during their side sessions where they know what they want to do but they struggled with it early in the season as far as being consistent with it. You would see flashes of it. It wouldn’t show up when a big out was needed, a big pitch was needed.
“Now we’re limiting people to one-run innings instead of crooked-number innings. If you think back, we gave up two nine-run innings on the previous road trip and a seven and an eight here against the Dodgers. So far, in the last 10 days, we’ve eliminated those huge mistakes.”
In fact, the Rocks had a chance to do something Saturday no National League team had done in six years — win 10 straight with starting pitchers getting every decision.
Manager Jim Tracy had this in mind when Mariners third baseman Adrian Beltre came up in a 1-1 game with two on and two out in the seventh. Beltre had ripped Marquis for two doubles and single in three plate appearances. Marquis was over 100 pitches. A pitching change seemed logical.
But Tracy thought Marquis was still throwing well and he wanted to give him a chance to win the game. Marquis rewarded his faith by retiring Beltre on a groundball to short. Todd Helton and Brad Hawpe, the Rocks’ most consistent hitters, provided a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the inning, giving Marquis a shot at a league-leading ninth win.
Corpas promptly gave the runs back, feeding Jose Lopez a two-run home run ball in the eighth, making Saturday’s the first win of the streak in which the starter didn’t get the win. The last time an NL team won 10 straight with starters getting all 10 decisions? The 2003 Dodgers with a staff featuring Kevin Brown and closer Eric Gagne.
Their manager? Jim Tracy.
For now, the Rocks staff is brimming with confidence. The question, of course, is whether they can keep it.
“I think they feed off each other,” Apodaca said. “Winning is contagious just like losing is contagious. I can remember going back 10, 12 days ago, thinking, ‘Man, it’s hard to win. It seems like we’ve got to do things perfect to win.’ And I think that was the mind-set of players, too. Now they come to the park and say, ‘How much are we going to win by?’
“It’s funny about sports — it doesn’t even have to be professional sports — it’s funny what happens when you feel confident. And it starts with that guy who toes the slab and then through osmosis it just kind of filters through the whole clubhouse.”
Frankly, baseball is not as complicated as it looks. Pitch well and you have a chance to win every day. For 10 games in a row now, the Rocks have proved it.
Dave Krieger: 303-954-5297 or dkrieger@denverpost.com
