BOSTON — Rockies backup catcher Dustin Garneau was standing in the cramped, musty visitors’ clubhouse at Fenway Park late Thursday night.
He’d smashed a two-run homer off the light tower above the Green Monster, the baseball bouncing back onto the outfield grass. It was Garneau’s first homer of the season and it helped the Rockies beat the mighty Red Sox 8-2.
I asked Garneau if he’d fulfilled a dream by hitting a homer at Fenway.
“Absolutely, every kid dreams about it,” he said, his smile wide and infectious. “You stack whatever you can in left field and pretend itap the Monster out there when you play Wiffle Ball or whatever. So to do it out here tonight was pretty cool. I will never forget that.”
Thursday’s game was just one of 162 this season. Toss in spring training, including 31 Cactus League games, early morning flights and my sketchy hotel in south Boston and it all starts to become a blur.
But then along comes one of those magical nights that reminds you why baseball is such a wonderful, timeless game.
Thursday was one of those. Fenway Park, packed as always, was alive with passionate Red Sox fans, paying attention to each pitch. A brilliant sunset bathed nearby downtown Boston in an orange glow and gave Fenway a timeless feel.
The Rockies, so overmatched by the Red Sox in the first two games of the series, got off the mat to win an important game. Jon Gray, who represents the club’s future, was brilliant, pitching a career-high 7⅓ innings, allowing five hits and two runs. He thrived in the raucous environment, where even the new-age video boards are outlined in vintage Fenway green.
“It’s definitely a tough environment, it really is,” Gray said. “But for me personally, I think it makes me pitch better. There’s more aggressiveness in the game. You don’t want to have a rough one here, that’s for sure. It definitely made me sharper.”
The 24-year-old right-hander had given up a home run to David Ortiz in the first inning, a blast that seemed to foretell doom for the Rockies. But Gray grew up before our eyes and gained a new level of confidence.
“I’m extremely proud,” Gray said. “What makes me feel the best about it is being able to make an adjustment on the fly early. That’s something I used to not be able to do.”
The excitement and joy in Gray’s voice, the smile on Garneau’s face, the atmosphere at Fenway Park, were all reminders of why I love baseball so much.
In my nearly 18 years at The Denver Post, I’ve covered two major beats — the Broncos and the Rockies. I’ve been to 10 Super Bowls and I’ve seen the Broncos win three times. Yet, when people ask me which team I’ve enjoyed covering more, I always say the Rockies. The questioner usually is shocked.
“Rockies over Broncos, are you kidding me?”
It’s hard to explain. Football is frenetic and powerful and action-packed. It’s excitement and violence and pageantry. It’s perfect for TV. I get that. There are times when I love it too.
But baseball is a summer-long love affair, with ups and down and ebbs and flows. Games can be long and even tedious, but for real fans, following a team is a wonderful investment of heart.
I’m sure there are plenty of folks who don’t get it. That’s fine.
Those who do get it will surely understand why I’m gushing about one Thursday night at Fenway Park.
I really do have a wonderful job, even if I need a reminder now and again.
MLB Spotlight on…
Johnny Cueto, starting pitcher, Giants
Whatap up: Eyebrows were raised when the Giants signed Cueto to a six-year, $130 million contract. But the 30-year-old right-hander with the eccentric delivery has been special through the first nine weeks of the season. He brings a 7-1 record and 2.38 ERA to Coors Field on Sunday when he faces the Rockies.
Background: Cueto works quickly, something his teammates love. He doesn’t give away free passes, either. His average of 1.43 walks per nine innings is third-lowest in the National League, behind only Clayton Kershaw and Noah Syndergaard. He has thrown first-pitch strikes to 71.6 percent of hitters, the highest rate in the majors.
Saunders’ take: I love watching Cueto pitch almost as much as hitters hate facing him. He’s no paint-by-numbers hurler, he’s more like Pablo Picasso, creating something unique every time he sets foot on the mound. He quick pitches, slide-steps or hesitates in his delivery, driving hitters crazy. “I hated the slide-step, because I could never get my timing down,” teammate “So now playing behind him, itap kind of fun watching hitters be off balance and not quite able to time him up, like how I felt playing against him in the past.” Cueto would never come to Colorado, of course. And the Rockies are never going to fork out $130 million for a free-agent pitcher. Still, an abstract hurler like Cueto could be a very good fit for Coors Field. Unfortunately, there just aren’t very many like him around.
MLB three up, three down
UP
1. Pirates: Resilient, talented Bucs hanging tough in NL Central as Cubs finally cool down a bit.
2. Mariners: 18-7 road record has Seattle on pace to finish 58-23 (.716 winning percentage) away from home this season..
3. Giants: Cooled off by Rockies’ Tyler Chatwood on Friday night, but talented San Francisco looks like class of the NL West.
DOWN
1. Reds: Lost their 11th straight Friday night, and they come to Coors Field on Monday for a four-game set.
2. Twins: Season of woe got worse when pitching coach Neil Allen was suspended by the team following his arrest on suspicion of drunken driving.
3. Diamondbacks: Starters Shelby Miller and Rubby De La Rosa now on disabled list as disappointing D-backs continue to slide.
