Scenario A: Having won 11 straight games, the Rockies start the week out with a loss to the (Devil) Rays, win the next game, and drop the final game on Thursday. The Pirates then come to town, take two of three, and have a repeat of this.
Scenario B: On the heels of winning 11 consecutive games, the Rockies start the week with a 4-12 loss to the (Devil) Rays. However, the loss doesn't discourage the team and the guys take the next two games to win the series. The Pirates make their trip out to Denver and don't have a repeat of this. Instead, the Pirates are on the receiving end of this and lose three games.
Obviously, if you follow the Rockies, you know that scenario B is fact and scenario A is fiction. A few weeks ago scenario A would have been true (well, except for the having won 11 straight games). But these guys aren't your father's Rockies. Hmmm, that doesn't work quite so well, even on Father's Day. These guys aren't your Rockies from 2008 and the first two months of the season? Yeah, that's better. They aren't your Rockies from 2008 and the first two months of this season.
Last night's game is one of those events you look back on at the end of the season and recall it as if it just happened. The excitement, the joy--they're almost palbable. It's also a great example of what these Rockies need to have for the rest of the season: resiliency. After Andrew McCutchen's three-run triple and Nyjer Morgan's RBI single in the seventh and Brandon Moss's RBI double in the eighth to put the Pirates up 7-4, the old Rockies would have gone out with a whimper and done nothing. But the new Rockies battled back. With two outs in the eighth, Chris Iannetta tied the game with a three-run homer, and then there was Todd Helton. The Grizzly Man hit the game-wining, two-run homer to cap an incredible comeback.
That's right. No "Oh, damn, Garrett Outkins is up." We had the guy who hit a walkoff home run two years ago that sparked an epic run. Helton is now tied for 99th on the career home run list. Here's a list of those he may surpass this year:
| Rank | Player | Career HR |
| 92 | Shawn Green | 328 |
| Mo Vaughn | 328 | |
| 94 | Willie Horton | 325 |
| 95 | Gary Carter | 324 |
| Lance Parrish | 324 | |
| 97 | Ron Gant | 321 |
| 98 | Vinny Castilla | 320 |
| 99 | Cecil Fielder | 319 |
| Todd Helton | 319 |
I figure Helton will hit around 20 home runs total this year, putting him alone at 92 and one behind Hank Greenberg.
Todd Helton is great.
As for the week ahead, the Rockies continue their interleague journey by visiting the Angels for three games and then Oakland starting Friday. We'll get a look at some guy called Matt Holliday. We remember that guy, but have we moved beyond him?