Rockies win NL Wild Card race, eye West division title
The Rockies wrap up the 2009 NL Wild Card
Out of the doghouse and into the dogpile, Chris Iannetta made a thunderous contribution on Tuesday night, starting the Rockies on what would be a three-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers.
The game should have been over in nine innings. Usually unflappable Colorado closer Huston Street gave up a three-run home run in the top of the 9th to give Milwaukee hope of a comeback win. Chris Iannetta, pinch hitting in the bottom of the 11th, took one back for the Rockies.
Iannetta has been in Jim Tracy’s doghouse since his bat went cold in late August, and Yorvit Torrealba has been a stud both at and behind the plate in his absence. But pinch-hitting with six undecided games left in the regular season, Chris would take a full-count fastball over the right field fence for the win.
Iannetta did not so much cross the plate as leap into the pile of Rockies surrounding it. His walk-off heroics may not return him to a predominant starting job as catcher, but these Rockies don’t play for ego. These Rockies, just as with the 2007 version, play for each other member of their clubhouse.
And so it came to be that Wednesday night brought a more familiar hero to the plate. Todd Helton came to the plate in what looked to be a back-and-forth slugfest. His two-run home run to right field turned a tie game into an eventual blowout for the streaking Rockies.
But this game was less about Helton’s home run and more about consistent production throughout the lineup. Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki also connected for two-run shots that took the wind out of each attempt by the Brewers to stay in the game.
Catcher Yorvit Torrealba responded to Iannetta’s game-winning heroics by logging three hits and an RBI, and scored a run himself on a wild pitch that tied the game at two apiece in the second. As a team, the Rockies would register six extra-base hits in the game.
Which brings us to Thursday night, and the 90-win Rockies looking for one more to sew up the National League Wild Card with a win or an Atlanta loss. , the Rockies would not disappoint.
Garrett Atkins knocked in a third of the Rockies nine runs, playing Hero on the two-year anniversary of The Tiebreaker that capped Colorado’s amazing 2007 run to the playoffs. This after a disappointing season where Garrett went from starting third baseman to bench jockey thanks to the strong offensive and defensive play of Ian Stewart. With Atkins’ timely reemergence, the Rockies look to be the deepest team heading into the playoffs.
Consider that the Rockies backup 1st baseman is the deadly Jason Giambi. Like Giambi, the speedy Eric Young Jr. is a pinch-hitting threat, and also backs up Clint Barmes at 2nd. Carlos Gonzalez and Dexter Fowler split time in Center Field, but Cargo can also play Left when Seth “Doombringer†Smith doesn’t get the start. (Smith is probably the most dangerous pinch-hitter in the league when he doesn’t start the game.) Throw in utility outfielder and occasional Rockies Hero Ryan Spillborghs, and there is no outfield more crowded with talent than Colorado’s. The aforementioned time-share at catcher offers two quality players that can match up with any pitcher on the team.
And the return of Aaron Cook to ace form (4-hitting the Brewers in eight solid innings yesterday) means that the Rockies have five reliable starters going into the playoffs. In fact, All-Star pitcher Jason Marquis may find himself at the bottom of that rotation fighting Jason Hammel for the honor of starting a playoff game.
Having locked up the Wild Card spot once coveted by a half-dozen realistic competitors, the Rocks will try to keep on rolling. With three games left, all in LA, and trailing the Dodgers by two games, Colorado has a chance to win their first ever NL West Pennant.
The Rockies once again control their own destiny. The rest of the league ought to be shaking in their cleats.
