Rockies 5, Cardinals 2: Miracle in Missouri comes to fruition - Rox finish off historic sweep

Marquis beats former team to top NL leaderboards

The Rockies just keep rolling.  Jason Marquis (8-4, 3.98) pitched another solid ballgame, going 6.2 strong innings, scattering six hits and allowing two runs.  One run scored on a wild pitch, and another scored on a two out bloop single. 

Marquis now sits alone at the top of the NL leaderboards with 8 wins.  He still has a chance to achieve the most wins by the All-Star break in franchise history.

After a Todd Helton RBI single in the third, Brendan Ryan tripled and scored on a wild pitch.  Through four innings, the game hardly seemed in hand.  In fact, Marquis and Brad Thompson (0-2, 4.50) had practically identical lines through four innings.  The fifth inning changed it.

Paul Phillips singled and Dexter Fowler walked.  Clint Barmes hit an RBI single and Brad Hawpe added a two-strike sac fly to give the Rockies a 3-1 lead.  That is all the runs that Marquis would need, but Troy Tulowitzki hit a HR in the sixth and Barmes added his second RBI single in the eighth.

Every batter who appeared in the game fo r the Rockies, including Jason Marquis and pinch-hitter Seth Smith, recorded a hit except newly crowned NL Player of the Week Ian Stewart, who went 0-for-5 with 2 K's.  

Randy Flores, Manny Corpas and Huston Street slammed the door on the Cards by combining for 2.1 perfect innings, sending down all 7 men they faced on just 26 pitches.  Box Score

Series and Game Notes

• We have now won our fifth straight game for the first time since Aug 15-20, 2008. 
  
• The Rockies had never swept a four game series at St. Louis, much less a three game series - in fact, their last sweep against the Cards anywhere was April 2-5, 2001 at Coors Field, the series that featured Mike Hampton's Rockies debut. 
  
• Colorado has clinched winning the season series vs. St. Louis for the first time since 2003, when Dan Haren was a Cardinal.
• This was the first four-game sweep against St. Louis anywhere since July 14-17, 1994 at Mile High Stadium.
• Colorado trailed only 5 innings in the entire series, all of them Sunday.
• Rockes pitchers held the Cards to 10 runs on 25 hits and six walks in the series, good for a 2.50 ERA and 0.861 WHIP.  Only one irrelevant error was made.
• Bob Apodaca's staff also held Albert Pujols, Rick Ankiel and Ryan Ludwick to 5-for-38 with 8 K's.
• St.  Louis had only two hits with RISP in the series.  Troy Tulowitzki matched that himself yesterday.




WPA Heroes:
 Clint Barmes (.215) - 2-for-4, 2 RBI, K, ran into two outs on the basepaths
 Jason Marquis (.104) - 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 4 K, 1 BB; 1-for-3, R
 Todd Helton (.029) - 2-for-4, RBI, BB

WPA Zeroes:
Ian Stewart (-.110) - 0-for-5, 2 K
Carlos Gonzalez (-.031) - 1-for-4, K

Quiet Star:
Dexter Fowler walked twice and scored both times and singled once.  That's what you want to see out of a leadoff man. 

Rowbot Roll Call

moomacher, Poseidon's Fist, jrockies, TuLoRocks2008, pedalpusher, rockies17_4, muzia02, pierzynskirules, WalkInRight, wolf213, holly96, Teekalong, djmbluemoon, Redhawk, AtkinsandTulofan, FooMan, Jabberwocky, PioneerSkies, ALrockies, ch3cooh1, free7694, Silverblood, frightenedinmate#2, befizzle, kosmo, RockiescastScott, JBauer6430, Rockie4Ever, OrangeTorpedo, RockiesMagicNumber, dogs

Comment of the night:

Miracle in Missouri indeed

I can safely say MOTHER OF CRAP there’s no way anyone thought that would happen.

YOOOOOHOOOO (YEEEEHOOOO)

by Silverblood on Jun 8, 2009 2:53 PM MDT