A Rocktober reprise seems like more than the baseball gods would ever allow, but there’s no denying that the Rockies have something special going on as their 2018 season winds down.
What’s more, playoff destiny is now in their own hands after their suddenly hot offense hammered the Phillies 10-3 at Coors Field on a Tuesday night with a touch of fall in the air. A corps of eight pitchers, led by quasi-starter Chad Bettis, got the job done.
Colorado won its fifth consecutive game and moved into sole possession of the National League’s second wild-card spot with five games left on its schedule. The Cardinals lost 12-4 at home to the Brewers and slipped a half-game behind the Rockies. The Dodgers lost 4-3 to Arizona when Eduardo Escobar hit a walk-off, solo home run. Suddenly, the Rockies are just a half-game out of the National League West.
Leave it to veteran outfielder Carlos Gonzalez to put it all into perspective as the Rockies head into their final five games of the regular season.
“We are in a very good spot right now, so we just have to keep doing the same thing,” he said. “If we keep winning games, I think we are going to be in a really good position.”
After pounding out 13 hits Monday night against Philadelphia, the Rockies got 14 more on Tuesday, led by right field David Dahl, who has become a fixture in the starting lineup with the season on the line.
“I feel good, but I’m just really trying to go out there and have quality at-bats and play good defense,” the 24-year-old said. “I want to do whatever I can do to help. This is a fun race and I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself.”
All of Dahl’s talent and potential is yielding success at just the right time. After hitting a two-run homer to left field in Colorado’s 10-2 romp on Monday, Dahl delivered a three-run home run to nearly the same spot in the third inning Tuesday, putting the Rockies ahead 3-1. Dahl’s 359-footer was an opposite-field, Coors Field special, but it did the job.
Asked if he thought the ball was going the leave the yard, Dahl laughed and said, “No, I didn’t. I’m just trying to put a barrel to the ball. Thankfully it went out.”
He finished the night batting 3-for-5 with four RBIs. Dahl has 12 home runs this season and he’s batting .311 (19-for-61) with five home runs and 18 RBIs in 15 September starts.
“David is a talented player with a skill set that projects him to be a guy that should eventually be an everyday player in the big leagues,” manager Bud Black said. “He’s showing his skill set. He’s showing the ability to hit, and hit with power.”
Colorado also got a two-run, pinch-hit double from Gonzalez in the fifth inning to increase its lead to 8-1. Gonzalez, scheduled to become a free agent at season’s end, has played sparingly of late. He produced his first RBIs since Sept. 4.
“You know me, I’m always going to approach the game the same way, whether I’m playing a lot or not playing,” Gonzalez said. “I can be 0-for-10 or 10-for-10 and I’m going up there with the same attitude.”
Second baseman DJ LeMahieu, possibly playing in his final homestand at Coors, batted 3-for-5 with two RBIs and lifted his average to .282. Colorado’s hit parade included a 2-for-3 night for Charlie Blackmon, who stroked an RBI double in the fourth and extended his hitting streak to a career-high 17 games. Blackmon departed the game before the sixth inning, but he said it was just to get a break.
Bettis, called upon to be an emergency starter, was scheduled to pitch about three innings. He gave the Rockies 2 ⅓, and although Colorado trailed 1-0 when he got the hook, he did the job that was asked. He gave up three hits, and he would have emerged unscathed had it not been for an error by shortstop Trevor Story and a bloop RBI single by Odubel Herrera in the third. It was Bettis’ first start since Aug. 12 and his first appearance since Sept. 13.
“He threw the ball well and he set a great tone,” Black said. “From there, we knew what we were in for (with a bullpen game). It was a unique game for us in a lot of ways, but it was a baseball game that we adjusted to well. And we had some good offensive at-bats and we made some big pitches along the way as well.”
Colorado also received an encouraging two scoreless innings from left-hander Chris Rusin, who’s showing signs of becoming the shutdown reliever he was last season. Rusin has allowed just three hits and two unearned runs over his last seven appearances.
Right-hander Scott Oberg, the Rockies’ most consistent reliever in the second half of the season, gave up one hit and struck out two in his 1 ⅔ innings, though his wild pitch did lead to a Philadelphia run in the sixth. DJ Johnson pitched one-third inning but picked up his first big-league victory.
National League West: The Rockies (87-70) beat the Phillies (78-79) on Tuesday night, moving within a half-game of the division-leading Dodgers (88-70). The Dodgers lost to Arizona Diamondbacks (80-78) on a walk-off homer.
NL wild card: The Rockies are now a half-game in front of the Cardinals (87-71) for the second wild-card spot after St. Louis lost to the Brewers (91-67) on Tuesday night. The Brewers hold a 3½-game lead over the Rockies for the top wild-card spot. Milwaukee trails the Cubs (91-66) by a half-game in the NL Central after Chicago lost to the Pirates (80-76).
Remaining schedules:
Rockies — (5 games) 2 vs. Phillies; 3 vs. Nationals.
Dodgers — (4) 1 at Diamondbacks; 3 at Giants.
Cardinals — (4) 1 vs. Brewers; 3 at Cubs.
Brewers — (4) 1 at Cardinals; 3 vs. Tigers.
Cubs — (5) 2 vs. Pirates; 3 vs. Cardinals.
