The calendar says it’s August. For the Rockies and the teams in their rearview mirror, everything else screams October.
“We knew what we were getting into when we came to the park today,” Rockies outfielder Seth Smith said Sunday afternoon, barely an hour after his biggest home run of the season. “The place is sold out, two great pitchers on the mound. . . . Everything playoff baseball is without the playoffs.”
Take away the 90-degree heat and the hordes of kids clinging to their final days of summer vacation and the Rockies’ four-game series vs. San Francisco had the distinct feel of Reggie Jackson’s favorite month.
“No doubt it did, and it will continue to feel that way,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. “And it doesn’t necessarily have to be the Giants or the Dodgers. Now there may not be 50,000-plus people in here every day from now till the fourth of October, but the implications are the same.”
For all we know, the Rockies and Giants still will be slugging it out on that final day of the season. All we know today, in the immediate aftermath of the teams’ showdown in LoDown, is the Rockies remain just above the fray in the race for the National League wild card.
The Giants arrived in Denver two games behind and left four down after Ryan Spilborghs’ dramatic grand slam lifted the Rockies to a 6-4, 14-inning win Monday night.
No, this isn’t 2007, when the lightning landed in the bottle in late September, but it’s a special time, a historic time in Rockies history. This is the Rox we’re talking about, a team that has produced considerably more pain than gain in its 16 seasons. There have been five winning seasons during that time, none of which have produced a National League West championship.
And now this.
“I believed in this team in spring training, and I’m not just saying that,” said Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, whose 10th inning Monday night included the brilliant (a diving stop on Randy Winn’s would-be single) and the bizarre (being tagged out after rounding first base). “We can make a run comparable to ’07.”
The Rockies won the final three games of the series after losing Friday night, when they resembled the team that stood 20-32 on June 3, not the one that has won 53 out of 79 since Tracy replaced Clint Hurdle in late May. There were three errors that night, a week’s worth by recent Rockies standards.
But then, that’s what made the four-game series so special. For every magic moment, there were mental mishaps and leather lapses. In the end, the Rockies won three out of four, thanks more to true grit than true greatness. No? Then explain this stat: Colorado trailed in all four games, once by five runs, but won the final three.
“I’ve never played in the playoffs, but I would imagine that’s what it’s like,” Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta said. “It will be like that more and more, especially when it comes down to the wire.”
Both the Rockies and Giants play 22 of their final 37 games at home, with the Rockies facing the daunting challenge of six more games at AT&T Park. All we can be certain of is that they will be watching each other.
“Definitely,” said Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum, when asked if the Giants would be watching the Rockies’ every move.
Said Giants outfielder Winn: “You notice what’s going on, you watch what the Rockies are doing, but it’s a bit too early to be doing that all the time. You just keep grinding and grinding. It’s a long year. Sometime in September, you can look up.”
So, when that happens, will the Rockies have separated themselves from the wild-card pack? Or might they shock the Los Angeles Dodgers and win the West? Or will things be tighter than they were before Friday’s series opener?
“I hope not,” Smith said. “I hope we have everything wrapped up with a couple of weeks left. But this is baseball. It’s probably not going to happen.”
Jim Armstrong: 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com
