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When Todd Helton came up in the bottom of the 8th inning, two men on and sitting on 2,499 hits, I could just tell that the atmosphere in Coors Field was at a level it hadn't been for quite some time. A palpable electricity seemed to course through Coors as every member of the normally distracted crowd stood, focused their attention on the baseball field, and hoped to watch history unfold.
After all, the 40 year-old Helton had already hit two majestic three run homers (10 and 11 on the season, 364 and 365 in his career) in the game for career hits 2498 and 2499. The six RBIs already had tied a career high and this seemed like the most magical possible moment for that nice round number. Alas it wasn't to be tonight, as Helton swung through a 3-2 pitch, but Todd will enter tomorrow's game just a knock away from 2500 hits.
Helton's 2013 swan song has been mostly a long trek into irrelevance, but he's shown a few times this year that the old magic in his bat still lingers. Will it linger enough for him to return next year? I don't think so, but I'm glad that when I look back at this year, I'll be able to have this game to remember.
Of course, it wasn't all Helton. Wilin Rosario raised his batting average to .294 on the year with a four hit effort, while Troy Tulowitzki and Charlie Blackmon added three apiece as part of Colorado's 19 hit onslaught. Every Rockies position player starter and even Adam Ottavino got at least one knock in the game.
Jorge De La Rosa got his 15th win, going six innings and allowing three runs on eight hits, striking out three. This marks the second time in De La Rosa's career that he's reached that plateau...and who knows, with a few starts left in 2013, he might make a run at the franchise record and 20 wins. Even if he falls short there, De La Rosa will have an excellent chance to eclipse his career high of 16, set in 2009.
Graph
Source: FanGraphs
We Salute: Helton (.186 WPA), De La Rosa (.115)
We Are Disappointed In: Jeff Francis a little bit (1 IP, 3 ER), but really nobody
Roll Call
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