Pitcher Matt Belisle with the Reds before joining the Colorado Rockies
On a night when the Rockies could have easily rolled over, the little-known and under-heralded Matt Belisle threw up a brick wall and Colorado held on for a crucial win.
A half hour later the Giants, desperate for a road win to stay in the playoff hunt, scored three ninth inning runs but fell just short of filling out the comeback.
And there you have it; the perfect metaphor for this Wild Card Race between divisional opponents… now in its fourth month.
It began on June 17th with Colorado coming off a brutal streak-breaking loss to Tampa Bay at home, and San Francisco coming back to earth via a home-series sweep at the hands of the Angels. The Giants lost that night to drop to three games above .500, and the Rockies pulled out a win against those pesky Rays to climb within a single win of breaking even after an atrocious start to the season.
Colorado won its next six games, and continued their defiant march to the front of the Wild Card field. San Francisco stayed consistent, keeping Atlanta and Florida at bay… but not the Rockies.
And therein lies the most glaring difference between these two teams. The Giants; steady, flush with solid pitching, amazing in their home park (which resembles a miniature version of a real ballpark.) And the Rockies; hot and cold, always dangerous, ever the Comeback Kids.
But when it comes to September baseball the smart money is on the team with the hot bats, and last night’s win over a recently impressive San Diego squad was a great one for Colorado.
After a forgettable outing by usually Rocktastic starter Jorge de la Rosa (2 1/3 IP, 6 ER), the forgotten Matt Belisle came in and pitched four very solid innings.
That was all the Rockies batters needed, scoring in every inning except the 5th. San Diego would press on, nearly forcing a bottom of the ninth with a four-run outburst in the top of the inning. Even closer Franklin Morales had trouble putting down the suddenly hit-happy Padres, the final out coming on a sharply hit line drive to Seth Smith in left field. With the tying run stranded on third base, the three hour & forty five minute rain-soaked affair over, Rockies fans turned to watch the Giants who had narrowed a formidable gap to five runs in the top of the 8th at Arizona.
But the Giants are not Rocktastic, and they will have no Rocktober.
San Francisco petered out just shy of staying in the hunt, because their ace, Matt Cain, had a very rare bad game. And because their clutch hitters run three deep while Colorado’s lineup is flush with game-changers, game-winners… and the demon-force known as Jason Giambi.
And there you have it; end of story. The Rockies can survive an implosion by their best pitcher during the most critical part of the season, and the Giants cannot. Now Colorado can focus on staying hot, winning one game at a time, and getting damaged pitchers back into the lineup and the bullpen. It’s starting to smell a lot like October.
