CINCINNATI — Even for the Rockies, who strain the imagination as most teams do hamstrings, Sunday’s game was not just another victory.
Not when it involved losing a pair of leads, awakening a large crowd looking for any reason to believe in the Reds on a day when many were there for the Faith Day concert by Steven Curtis Chapman.
Jason Marquis flinched once and was punished with a three-run home run by Laynce Nix. Joe Beimel hung a cutter, and Joey Votto’s souvenir tied the game again.
So what do you make of a team that can make mistakes and still win 6-4 in 11 innings, securing a sweep, when just four days ago the road trip looked more like potholes than smooth pavement?
“In years past, we start off 0-3 like we did in New York, and everybody’s head would go down,” first baseman Todd Helton said. “But we keep showing up.”
What Sunday said specifically, and what the past four victories articulate generally, is that the Rockies aren’t going to beat themselves. They are a team of fine print. No detail is too small, no role insignificant for a club that is tied for the lead in the NL wild-card standings.
For starters, they pitch and they play defense. This can’t be overstated. They are never out of a game. Since June 4, the origin of the revival, they are 38-15, losing only six times by more than three runs. So the slight transgressions by Marquis and Beimel didn’t doom them.
“It takes so much pressure off the offense when you are hardly ever trailing,” right fielder Brad Hawpe said. “You know you are just one swing away.”
Such was the case in the 11th inning when Dexter Fowler strode to the plate. He tripled into the left-center gap off reliever Nick Masset, scoring Chris Iannetta with the go-ahead run.
“I know he throws hard, and I got a pitch out over the plate that I could handle,” Fowler said.
Fowler is going through growing pains. Literally. He is now an inch taller, standing 6-feet-5 1/2. But that spurt has created issues with his hips, causing back pain. He hasn’t started the past four games partly as a concession to his health and partly because manager Jim Tracy has adopted a center- field platoon (Fowler against righties, Carlos Gonzalez against lefties).
“Absolutely, that’s where we are right now,” Tracy said. “I want to maximize them both.”
The game’s finish illustrated the difference between a contender and a Reds club that has lost 12 of 13 games. While Cincinnati couldn’t execute a bunt, Iannetta moved up to second on a dirtball and advanced to third on Gonzalez’s sacrifice.
In baseball parlance, this is called grinding, the rolled-up-sleeves work that doesn’t show up on ESPN.
“They are really good,” said Reds outfielder Willy Taveras, a former Rockie. “You can tell they have confidence.”
It swells when Huston Street wanders into the game. When an opponent sees him, the next scene involves Rockies handshakes. He has converted 20 consecutive saves.
“What a great feeling to win this way,” Tracy said. “They are all important at this point, but this was big going into Philadelphia.”
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
Looking ahead
Today: Off
Tuesday: Rockies’ Jason Hammel (5-6, 4.66) vs. Phillies’ Jamie Moyer (10-7, 5.32), 5:10 p.m., FSN
Wednesday: Rockies’ Jorge De La Rosa (9-7, 4.68) vs. Phillies’ J.A. Happ (7-2, 2.97), 5:10 p.m., FSN
Thursday: Rockies’ Aaron Cook (10-3, 3.88) vs. Phillies’ Cliff Lee (8-9, 3.02), 11:05 a.m., No TV
Friday: Cubs’ Carlos Zambrano (7-4, 3.35) vs. Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez (8-9, 3.76), 7:10 p.m., FSN
