The champagne is still on ice.
Although their offense put on a show worthy of fireworks night, and added another chapter to his storybook comeback season, the Rockies will have to wait to clinch their first postseason berth since 2009.
Behind an 11-hit barrage the included four home runs and a history-making night from MVP candidate , Colorado demolished the Dodgers 9-1 at sold-out . But resilient Milwaukee won 5-3 at St. Louis to keep its hopes alive.
“Everybody is aware what’s going on,” manager Bud Black said when asked about the playoff chase that’s going down to the wire. “We know what we have to do, and it’s good to be in this spot.”
The Rockies’ magic number is down to one, meaning that a Colorado victory Saturday or Sunday over the Dodgers, or one Brewers loss, will give the Rockies the National League’s second wild-card playoff berth.
Should the Rockies lose twice, and should the Brewers finish the season with two more wins at St. Louis, the Rockies would host a play-in game Monday. Game 163 would come 10 years and one day after Colorado’s famous victory over San Diego in Game 163 of the 2007 season.
Bettis was thrilled to pitch in a big game with so much at stake, but he said he was not alone in that sentiment: “It’s exhilarating, not just for me, but for everybody.”
The Dodgers, who have already clinched their fifth consecutive National League West title, will start ace Clayton Kershaw on Saturday. But the way the Rockies are swinging the bats, Kershaw (18-4, 2.21 ERA) is no lock to win, especially at Coors Field, where he is 9-5 with a 4.58 ERA.
The Rockies have beaten Los Angeles in five consecutive games, their longest winning streak against the Dodgers since taken seven straight during their 2007 World Series season.
Blackmon, serenaded by M-V-P chants from the crowd of 48,395, launched a mammoth two-run blast into the second deck in right field in the second inning. His 37th homer gave him 101 RBIs out of the leadoff spot, the most in major-league history. Darin Erstad knocked in 100 runs for the Angels in 2000.
After Blackmon’s jog around the bases, the fans demanded a curtain call. So did his teammates. Catcher Jonathan Lucroy pushed Blackmon up the dugout steps as the fans hollered.
“I’ve never done that before. I didn’t really know what to do,” Blackmon said. “Ian (Desmond) told me to go up there. I said, ‘Go where?’ And then I figured out what was going on. It was really cool for me to have that connection with the fans.”
Blackmon finished the night 2-for-5, including an RBI single in the fifth. For the record, the center fielder has 103 RBIs this season — 102 batting leadoff. His .329 average bests the Dodgers’ Justin Turner (.322) for the NL batting crown.
“I’ll go on the record as saying that (Erstad) is one of my favorite guys that I’ve been associated with,” said Black, who was the pitching coach for the Angels when Erstad drove in 100 runs. “He’s a good one, and for Charlie to surpass him is quite an achievement.”
Bettis, making his ninth start since coming back from treatment from testicular cancer, pitched a gem — and made his pitch for a spot in a possible postseason roster. The right-hander pitched seven innings, allowing one run on four hits, walking one and whiffing four.
“I think it was big for everybody tonight,” Black said of Bettis’ performance. “For everybody in this organization, and for everybody who has followed the Rockies and has followed Chad’s year. To see him respond like this in probably one of the biggest games he’s ever pitched is really special.”
After giving up an RBI single to Turner with one out in the third, Bettis set down the next 14 Dodgers in order. As Bettis walked slowly from the mound to the Rockies’ dugout at the end of the seventh, the baseball-savvy fans above the dugout stood and applauded.
“My (curveball) was really good, especially there in the fourth,” said Bettis, now 2-4 with a 5.05 ERA.
Said Black: “I thought his best baseball was the last three innings. He was really hitting the mitt, and that’s really important, especially for a guy like Chad.”
If the Rockies were feeling any big-game stage fright, they didn’t show it in a three-run first inning. Arenado slugged a two-out solo homer off starter Hyun-Jin Ryu. A resurgent singled and trotted home on ‘ two-run bomb to right-center.
“I think we saw it tonight. The guys are loose, yet intense and focused,” Black said. “That’s a great combination. I thought our at-bats tonight were outstanding.”
Story, who slammed a two-run homer in the fourth and has nine RBIs in his last three games, finished a double shy of the cycle. He’s hit 24 homers, six of them coming in September.
Is he locked in?
“Yeah, I feel good,” Story said. “It’s been a tough year, really the first four months. But I feel as good as ever right now.”
Referring to the playoff race, Story said: “It’s exciting and I think we are embracing it. For the past two weeks, it’s like every play, every pitch, every at-bat is big, and that’s a lot of fun.”
Some context is needed here. Arenado’s homer, his 37th, was his 183rd hit of the season, a career high. By the end of the night, he had 185 hits. Reynolds’ homer was his 30th, giving the Rockies three members of the 30-home run club — Blackmon, Arenado and Reynolds — for the first time since 2004. That year, the trio of Jeremy Burnitz (37), Vinny Castilla (35) and Todd Helton (32) pulled it off.
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