These are the games that try managers — and closer’s — souls. And then make them jump for joy.
C.J. Cron hit a one-out, walk-off homer off Daniel Hudson to lift the Rockies to a wild, 6-5 win over San Diego Monday night at Coors Field.
It was Cron’s 20th homer of the season and Colorado’s 11th walk-off win — the most in the majors. It also set a franchise record, topping the 2010 squad’s record of 10 walk-off wins. And, finally, it was the sixth walk-off home run by a Rockie this season, also the most in the major.
“We just have a lot of fun here,” said Cron, who’s slashed .439/.540/.951 through his last 12 games. “We just enjoy playing in this ballpark and we enjoy playing in front of these fans. We never feel like we are out of it. We always feel like we have just enough in there to get the win.
“That’s a lot of walk-offs and it’s definitely awesome that we are getting the job done late. It’s been a special place for us to play this year and hopefully, we can continue it.”
The Rockies improved to 39-21 at home, the second-best home winning percentage (.650) in the majors behind only San Francisco (.690). Since May 21, the Rockies own a remarkable 26-9 home record, the best in the majors during that stretch.
Cron’s heroics were necessary because in the top of the ninth, the Padres appeared to have wrecked Colorado’s evening. The Rockies led 5-2, but after two cheap infield singles by Jake Cronenworth and Austin Nola, Trent Grisham sliced an opposite-field, two-out, three-run homer off closer Daniel Bard’s slider, tying the game 5-5.
It was another dramatic moment in a game full of them.
In the sixth inning, San Diego’s Adam Frazier scorched a ball into no man’s land in left-center. It surely looked like an extra-base hit for Frazier. That is until Rockies left fielder Connor Joe ran the ball down and made a brilliant, leaping grab. On the mound, right-hander Antonio Senzatela applauded the circus catch.
“It wasn’t a bad pitch, but he hit it good,” Senzatela said. “When I saw it flying, I was like, ‘Go, go, please Connor, please!’ When he made the catch, it was just like, ‘Wow! It’s unbelievable.’ I think that was one of the keys right there.”
Senzatela pitched an excellent game. The right-hander coaxed the Padres into 14 groundball outs over his seven innings. He gave up two runs on six hits. He got the Padres to ground into three inning-ending double plays — in the second, fourth and fifth. Monday marked the fifth start this season that Senzatela gave up two runs or fewer while pitching seven or more innings.
“Very solid game,” manager Bud Black said. “Efficient with his pitches. I thought he had good fastball life and commanded a good, tight slider. Also, a couple curveballs that were effective.”
San Diego scored a run off Senzatela in the second when Jake Cronenworth led off with a double and eventually scored on Senzatela’s wild pitch. Their second run came in the sixth on a Fernando Tatis Jr. double combined with an RBI single by Manny Machado.
Joe celebrated his 29th birthday by leading off the first with a 416-foot home run to center, his seventh homer of the season, in only 47 games. He finished the game hitting 2-for-4, raising his average to .291. Joe is batting .329 (24-for-73) through 21 games since being recalled on July 20.
The Rockies’ four-run third inning was huge. It began with back-to-back singles by Joe and Brendan Rodgers, followed up by a two-run double by Trevor Story, who had two doubles Sunday at San Francisco.
On Deck
Padres TBA at Rockies RHP German Marquez (10-9, 3.77 ERA)
6:40 p.m. Tuesday, Coors Field
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM
Marquez has 15 quality starts, tied for eighth-most in the National League, but he’s coming off a sub-par performance at San Francisco. He was charged with seven runs on seven hits through four innings. Still, the right-hander is 6-1 with a 1.83 ERA over his last nine starts at Coors Field. Marquez is 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA in two starts vs. the Padres this year, both coming at San Diego.
Trending: C.J. Cron entered Monday’s game slashing .381/.480/.810 with five home runs, three doubles and 20 RBIs in August. He leads the majors in RBIs and slugging percentage (.810) this month.
At issue: Since coming off the COVID injured list on Aug. 1, outfielder Yonathan Daza had gone 5-for-25 with no walks and eight strikeouts in 11 games, entering Monday’s game.
Pitching probables
- Wednesday: Padres RHP P Jake Arrieta (5-11, 6.88) at Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (9-7, 4.09), 1:10 p.m., ATTRM
- Thursday: Off
- Friday: Diamondbacks LHP Tyler Gilbert (1-1, 0.0) at Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (4-6, 4.40), 6:40 p.m., ATTRM
