Holliday to remember for Rockies
Colorado rallies from largest deficit in franchise history for 18-17 win
By Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News
Published July 4, 2008 at 10:04 p.m.
Brian Lehmann © The Rocky
Colorado's Matt Holliday, left, it greeted at home by Jeff Baker after Holliday's grand slam in the seventh inning of the Rockies 18-17 win Friday night against the Marlins at Coors Field. The grand slam was Holliday's second of the game and cut Florida's lead to 17-16.
A look at the offensive efforts in the Rockies 18-17 victory against the Marlins at Coors Field on Friday night:
9-run deficit (13-4) overcome by Rockies is a franchise record. Previous record was eight against Detroit (10-8) on July 4, 20004, San Diego (13-9) on Sept. 27, 2001, and San Diego (10-9) in first game of doubleheader June 28, 1994. It also was the biggest lead the Marlins have lost in a game.
12 extra-base hits by the Rockies (6 home runs, 6 doubles) is club record for extra-base hits in a game. The Rockies had 11 against Arizona on June 18, 2000 and at Pittsburgh on Aug. 3, 2003.
43 total hits (22 Marlins, 21 Rockies) equaled a Rockies single-game record set in May 19, 1999 game against Cincinnati when Reds had 28 hits and Rockies 15.
35 total runs was second most combined in Coors Field game, one shy of Rockies 24-12 loss to Cincinnati on May 19, 1999.
6 home runs by the Rockies is one shy of club record set April 5, 1997 at Montreal.
8 innings in which Rockies scored was one inning shy of the major league record that is held jointly by Rockies at Cubs May 5, 1999, St. Louis at Cubs Sept. 13, 1964 and New York Giants at Phillies June 1, 1923.
18 runs scored by the Rockies two shy of club record 20.
21 hits by the Rockies three shy of club record 24.
Photo by David Zalubowski © AP
Ryan Spilborghs hits a double leading off the first inning for the Rockies in Friday night's game against Florida at Coors Field. Spilborghs also homered twice in the game.
Moment: Matt Holliday, whose grand slam in the seventh pulled the Rockies to within 17-16, followed Clint Barmes' leadoff single in the ninth by admittedly over-swinging on a 2-0 pitch in the ninth, blooping a single into right field to set up a two-run, game-winning rally against Kevin Gregg, who also suffered the loss when he gave up two runs in the 11th inning on Tuesday.
Player: Rockies third baseman Garrett Atkins doubled, singled three times and hit a home run, driving in three runs and scoring three times. His two-run home run in the sixth pulled the Rockies within 13-12, and his single in the ninth tied the score at 17.
Stat: 9-run deficit was the biggest the Rockies have overcome in a win. The previous record was eight runs against Detroit in a 10-8 victory on July 4, 2004, and against San Diego in a 13-9 victory Sept. 27, 2001, and 10-9 in the first game of a June 28, 1994, doubleheader.
Rockies manager Clint Hurdle had a Mile High Fourth of July he won't forget - this time.
Run-scoring singles by Garrett Atkins and Chris Iannetta in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the Rockies to an 18-17 victory against the Marlins, treating a sellout crowd of 48,691 at Coors Field lured in part by postgame fireworks to the biggest comeback in franchise history.
It was another chapter in Denver's Fourth of July baseball lore, a second exposure for Hurdle, who admittedly has only a fuzzy memory of that night 29 years earlier when he was a member of an Omaha Royals team that saw the Denver Bears score nine runs in the ninth inning - eight with two outs - to rally for a 16-14 win.
"I think I was there for that," Hurdle said. "I think we were packing the bats, getting ready to leave, and then . . . "
Twenty-nine years from now, though, Hurdle said he doesn't imagine he will have any difficulty remembering Friday night.
The Rockies, who rallied for two runs in the bottom of the 11th off Marlins closer Kevin Gregg to pull out a 6-5 victory Thursday night, provided an encore in which they rallied from a 13-4 deficit to again score twice off Gregg, this time in the ninth inning.
The last time a team came back to win from nine runs down was Aug. 23, 2006, when Cleveland rallied for a 15-13 victory at Kansas City, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
With their fourth consecutive victory, the Rockies pulled within seven games of the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West.
"This is the most fun I have had in a long time, watching them swing the bats, maybe ever," Hurdle said. "It was special. Let's leave it at that."
It was Matt Holliday, who homered to lead off the fifth and delivered a grand slam that brought the Rockies within 17-16 in the seventh, following Clint Barmes' leadoff single - and fourth hit of the night - with a broken-bat bloop single to right in the ninth.
"I was looking for another (home run)," Holliday admitted. "I was 2-0 (in the count) and got a fastball in. It still felt good."
Holliday's single set up the game-tying single from Atkins, who also doubled in the third and singled in the fifth, scoring both times, and hit a two-run home run that pulled the Rockies within 13-12 in the sixth.
Then, with the bases loaded, Iannetta, whose three-run home run capped a four-run fifth, grounded the game-winning single into left field.
The Rockies had one-upped themselves by rallying from a nine-run deficit, one more than the previous franchise record that they had accomplished three times, most recently on the Fourth of July in 2004 in a 10-8 win against Detroit.
"These guys don't know better," Hurdle said. "They just kept grabbing the bat, feeling fresh, looking for a pitch. . . . We talked about having 'Want to' (Thursday night). When I made a couple pitching changes, I said, 'We're going to dig up something in the dirt and figure this out.' "
It wasn't easy. The Marlins answered the Rockies' initial comeback efforts. When Colorado pulled within 7-4 after three innings, Florida put six runs on the scoreboard. When the Rockies cut that to 13-12 in the sixth, the Marlins came up with four runs in the top of the seventh.
The Rockies got that Holliday grand slam in the seventh, though, then got to Gregg in the ninth.
Taylor Buchholz, the only Rockies pitcher who did not allow a run of his own or an inherited run to score, worked the ninth for the win.
"What you want to do is go out there and pound the strike zone," Buchholz said. "This was one of those games where you'd walk a couple guys, fall behind to a guy and had to throw a fast pitch. It's the craziest game I've ever seen. It was unbelievable."
Believe it.
Ryan Spilborghs, who had the game-winning hit off Gregg on Thursday, had a pair of home runs to go with a double, single and walk, scoring four runs.
The Rockies combined for a club-record 12 extra-base hits along with nine singles.
"We showed up good offensively and we got three more outs than they did off the mound," Hurdle said.
It wasn't a good night on the mound.
Marlins starter Scott Olsen actually was in line to pick up the win until the ninth inning despite allowing nine runs, eight earned, on 11 hits and a walk in five innings. But his offense exploited Rockies rookie starter Greg Reynolds for seven runs while he retired only four of the 14 batters he faced.
The Rockies chipped away at the Marlins lead, then finally erased it.
"We were able to get them in the 11th (on Thursday), so we felt we had a good chance in the ninth," Holliday said.
By evening's end, the feeling got better.
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July 4, 2008
10:31 p.m.
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avsfan8 writes:
This looks more like the Rockies from last year and less like the Rockies from, well, not last year. Try every year before that. I'm so happy that they finally decided to hit. It's not like this has been a bad year for pitching (starters that is) but they simply haven't been hitting anything when it counted. Tonight and last night, they hit everything when it counted.
I'm sure glad baseball has such a long season...
July 4, 2008
10:54 p.m.
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sbird12852 writes:
amazing rockies
keep it up.
July 5, 2008
12:32 a.m.
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RBDenver writes:
Better find a way to sign Holliday. I figure $120 million for 8 years should do it. Then again...ain't my money!
July 5, 2008
12:33 a.m.
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RBDenver writes:
Gotta find a way to sign Holliday. I figure $120 million for 8 years should do it!
July 5, 2008
1:25 a.m.
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Chadley25 writes:
I've seen far too many shenanigans from the Monfort boys to think they'll come up with a way to keep Matt Holliday in a Rockies uniform. They're probably on the phone with a dozen owners as we speak, trying to get the highest bid.
Hands-down -- the most entertaining game of the year for Rockies fans. It's virtually impossible for anything else to top it this season. Reminds me of a couple of Rox-Reds and Dodgers slugfest back in the 1993-95 days!
July 5, 2008
2:52 a.m.
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Hola writes:
Great hustle. Go Rockies.
July 5, 2008
4:16 a.m.
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warrengfunk7 writes:
Marlin's Pitcher Scott Olsen said, "typical game at Coors Field."
I wouldn't call this typical, I would call it HISTORICAL!! What a way to deflect some blame Olsen!! Way to go boy!!
July 5, 2008
8:29 a.m.
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alanbl writes:
I was there last night. What's missing from all the praise is hard talk about the miserable Rockies pitching. At least Hurdle finally had the sense to yank Reynolds during the 2nd inning. That was a major step in the right direction. What should be discussed is getting rid of Apodaca and finding a decent pitching coach. I believe that Leo Mazzone is still unattached.
July 5, 2008
10:25 a.m.
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jcn7vc writes:
avsfan8 writes:
It's not like this has been a bad year for pitching (starters that is) but they simply haven't been hitting anything when it counted.
I was of your same mind set until I heard yesterday that the Rockies starters are ranked 28th in the league in ERA. I think they are also among the worst in starters' depth of service. That's horrible, no matter how good you're hitting.
July 5, 2008
2:03 p.m.
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FMig writes:
Since the Rox trailed after the first pitch, and never led until the final run ended the game - they were behind for at least 3hrs 58 min 59 sec of a game that lasted 3:59 and still won!
Must be an MLB record????