At 10:09 p.m., Monday’s game resumed. At 10:10 p.m., the Pirates tied the score at 4-all in the top of the ninth with Pedro Alvarez’s three-run homer to left field.
“I thought it was a good pitch. I really did. Maybe a little up, but on the corner,” reliever Rex Brothers said of his first-pitch fastball. “I didn’t expect that.”
It was that kind of soggy evening at Coors Field where both teams threw a wet blanket on logic.
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle couldn’t believe his eyes in the second inning. He left the dugout, trying to reconcile the call against Neil Walker. Walker was ruled out trying to steal second, on a night when little made sense if the standings were to be trusted.
Then came the rain, and there went the lead on Alvarez’s swing. But the Rockies won 5-4 on Dexter Fowler’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth.
“We knew we had to get it done and get done quickly because we weren’t sure how long before it started raining again,” Fowler said.
The Pirates arrived in Denver charging toward first place in the National League Central with the Rockies occupying the NL West basement. But they looked a lot more like Hurdle’s Rockies of 2007, displaying YouTube worthy pitching and defense as Colorado held a 4-1 advantage before a 53-minute rain delay in the top of the ninth.
Turning point. There was a sense of urgency to the Rockies’ rally. The skies weren’t friendly. So Fowler strode the plate with purpose with runners on the corners and one out in the bottom of the ninth. He lifted a flyball to center field, easily scoring Rosario.
Prior to the ill-timed rain delay that cleared the way for Alvarez’s mighty cut, the Rockies were the aggressors. Trailing 1-0, the Rockies answered against Pirates starter Jeff Karstens, providing run support for Jeff Francis. Following a walk to Tyler Colvin, Rosario executed a perfect hit-and-run play with a groundball single to right field, setting the stage for Josh Rutledge and pinch hitter Eric Young Jr. Rutledge tied the score with a bouncer up the middle. Young lined a shot off the right-field wall, scoring a pair, while nearly injuring himself as he slipped twice on the wet dirt as he rounded first base.
On the mound. Francis has been a model of consistency since his disastrous Rockies reunion June 9. He has allowed three runs or less in six consecutive starts. He’s shown how the four-man rotation with a 75-pitch count can work by being efficient and effective. He held the Pirates to one run and six hits over five innings without issuing a walk. Francis, with Blue Jays scouts in attendance, kept the Pirates off balance with his changeup.
“I really benefited from good defense behind me,” Francis said.
At the plate. Marco Scutaro continues to hit well from the second spot in the order, plating the Rockies’ fourth run in the fifth inning. There’s no plan to move him out of that spot even with the lineup adjustments. The Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen did record a single — he’s the two-time reigning NL player of the week — but was picked off first base.
What it means. When the Rockies were good during their playoff seasons, they didn’t beat themselves with errors. The defense has suffered this year, in part, because of poor pitching. But third baseman Jordan Pacheco made two terrific diving plays and center fielder Fowler caught a flyball at the wall that clearly energized his team before the skies began crying.
