Well this game had a little bit of everything. Dingers, defense, offense, even a pitcher's duel as the afternoon dragged on into evening. Every extra frame grew more torturous than the last, until finally it seemed like something had to give as Rob Scahill found himself in a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the 15th. He induced a quick double play ball to Houdini out of trouble, preserving the tie.
Next half inning, DJ LeMahieu singled. Corey Dickerson doubled off the right field scoreboard right after him, and Stu Cole made the bold decision to send DJ with Tulo on deck. The throw beat LeMahieu, but Yadier Molina mishandled it, and DJ slapped the plate just ahead of the pitcher backing up.
The game only reached extras because of some vintage Todd Helton heroics. Todd was awesome all day, notching a double and walk along with a few nifty defensive plays. He played the old hidden ball switcheroo on Matt Carpenter in the first for the most embarrassing inning-ending pickoff I've seen in a while. But it was the ninth inning game tying dinger that drew the standing ovation from the crowd.
With none out, Todd bashed a towering shot to the Rockies' bullpen, knotting the score at 6. Yet another special moment in a career that is only a couple weeks from ending.
Colorado jumped out to a four to nothing lead early, after an early 2nd inning rally and a Troy Tulowitzki 2 run bomb in the 3rd. It was Troy's first dinger since August 20th.
The Roy Oswalt got the start as he auditions for next year, but it's honestly, it's nearly time for the giant vaudeville hook. He went only 4.2 innings, striking out two and walking four while giving up four earned runs. His fastball sat 89 and the curve didn't show much deception. It's hard to see him having a role next year.
Reliever's Chad Bettis and Rex Brothers each gave up a run in the eighth and ninth respectively. Other than them, though, the bullpen was pretty lights out. Major props go to Drew Pomeranz and Wilton Lopez for pitching two clean innings each in extras. Pom looked especially good; might he profile better as a reliever next year?
The Rockies racked up 21 hits in this affair, which would have made it especially embarrassing if they had pulled out the loss. As it is, they split this series against a very good Cardinals team. Tomorrow the Diamondbacks come into town.
Charlie Blackmon had a four hit day and Corey Dickerson had two triples and a single. These guys are playing pretty well with Cargo out, and will likely be getting plenty of PT next year as well. I'm really impressed with Dickerson's approach.
All in all, it was a good game as the Rockies look to finish 2013 strong.
Graph
<iframe src="http://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2013-09-19&team=Rockies&dh=0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" height="450" width = "450" style="border:1px solid black;"></iframe><br /><span style="font-size:9pt;">Source: <a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2013-09-19&team=Rockies&dh=0&season=2013">FanGraphs</a></span>
Table of all you fine commenters
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<tr><td width=150>Total comments</td><td>1,132</tr>
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<tr><td>Commenter list</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/CentralCaliRox">CentralCaliRox</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Charlie%20Drysdale">Charlie Drysdale</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Drew%20Creasman">Drew Creasman</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/ES46NE10">ES46NE10</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Goeldfinger">Goeldfinger</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Jordan%20Freemyer">Jordan Freemyer</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Junction%20Rox">Junction Rox</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Northsider1964">Northsider1964</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/PurpleToPurple">PurpleToPurple</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/RdRnnr">RdRnnr</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/RhodeIslandRoxfan">RhodeIslandRoxfan</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Rockies7935">Rockies7935</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/RockyMountainWay91">RockyMountainWay91</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Rosenort">Rosenort</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/SDcat09">SDcat09</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Since1993">Since1993</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Sjamb">Sjamb</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/The%20Ghost%20of%20Marv%20Throneberry">The Ghost of Marv Throneberry</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/WhiskeyDrinkingMan">WhiskeyDrinkingMan</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/chickenfoof">chickenfoof</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/evers44">evers44</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/firedinger">firedinger</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/holly96">holly96</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/jrockies">jrockies</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/rockiesfan4ever">rockiesfan4ever</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/zmiko">zmiko</a></tr>
<tr class="alt"><td>Story URLs</td><td><div><a href="http://www.purplerow.com/2013/9/19/4748928/game-154-rockies-vs-cardinals">http://www.purplerow.com/2013/9/19/4748928/game-154-rockies-vs-cardinals</a></div></td></tr>
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