PHILADELPHIA — The 46,452 fans who packed Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday afternoon will say Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee blew away the Rockies, winning 5-1. Really? Last year’s American League Cy Young Award winner was merely a stiff breeze compared with how the 26-mph wind blew around the Rockies’ outfielders.
By the time everyone arrived for batting practice in the morning, the outfield flags were blowing like sails in a North Atlantic storm.
Rockies left fielder Carlos Gonzalez got twisted into a pretzel on Ryan Howard’s double off his glove on the warning track. Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins ran the length and approximate curvature of a 200-meter dash in catching Troy Tulowitzki’s foul popup. Philadelphia’s Jayson Werth hit a ball headed toward the Liberty Bell and had it blown back just away from Dexter Fowler’s frantically searching glove in center field.
It was a day only a kite could love. But it was a lousy day for the Rockies, who picked a bad weather day to open their National League division series with two young outfielders battling the elements.
“Man, it was crazy playing out there,” Gonzalez said. “We did everything we possibly could to play well in the outfield to keep the confidence in the pitching.”
Keep in mind, the wind didn’t cost the Rockies the opener of the best-of-five series.
They were down 2-0 before the wind helped the Phillies blow the game open in the sixth inning on the long flyballs Gonzalez and Fowler were left lunging after. Besides, the wind didn’t mysteriously die when the Phillies were in the field. They have a growing legion of fans, but Ma Nature isn’t one of them.
“Between the wind and the sun in right field, it was probably the toughest day defensively in Philly that I’ve seen,” said Werth, in his third year here. “I actually talked to (Rockies right fielder) Brad Hawpe just in passing out there, and we were just shaking our heads about how tough right field was.”
The first sign the wind appeared to be a major factor came in the fifth inning. Ahead 1-0 with a runner on third, Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz ripped a low liner to Hawpe. He charged the ball, but by the time he saw the wind wouldn’t hold it up, it was too late. It scooted past him to the wall for a 2-0 lead.
Hawpe didn’t blame the error on the wind, but he knew this wasn’t a normal fall day in Philadelphia.
“The wind, I don’t know how fast it was going,” Hawpe said. “It was howling, I tell you. I saw some crazy plays.”
Take the next inning. With Chase Utley on second, Howard sliced a soft liner toward the wall in left. Gonzalez turned and suddenly saw he hadn’t turned enough. The ball hit off his glove as he twisted his body and hit the wall. Utley scored on the play.
“I saw the wall, and when I turned around, the ball was coming down,” Gonzalez said. “It was doing crazy things when it was in the air.”
That’s nothing. The next batter, Werth, hit a shot that left his bat so fast he admired it as much as the fans did. It wound up hitting the center-field wall just to the left of Fowler’s outstretched glove. Werth had a triple and the Phillies had a 4-0 lead.
“You never know what it’s going to do,” Fowler said. “You just have to play it as it goes up. Each ball is going to do a different thing. The higher the ball, the more it’s going to move.”
The postgame clubhouse buzz had players swapping horror stories about windy games from their pasts. Fowler said it was the worst wind he’s played in since rookie ball in Casper four years ago.
For Gonzalez, Wednesday’s game was the worst. Same with Werth. Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino, maybe reflecting his team’s flawless defense Wednesday, said he’s seen worse in Philadelphia.
“Other than the one Werth hit and the one Jimmy made the great play on,” he said, “balls didn’t run as much as I thought they would or hang up as much as I thought they would.”
For the record, the forecast for today’s Game 2 is 69 degrees with 12-mph wind. We’re assuming the outfielders already know that.
John Henderson: 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com
