:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/31616831/484424409.0.jpg)
For a franchise that plays its home games at altitude at Coors Field and has built its team accordingly, a 1-0 win is an accident, an anomaly, something that just shouldn't happen. Yet, despite losing starting pitcher Brett Anderson with an injury after three innings, it happened Saturday and has happened 17 other times in Rockies history, with 10 of those games coming since the start of the 2008 season. Completely unsurprisingly, none of those 18 1-0 wins came at pre-humidor Coors Field. Here's how each of the 18 games played out.
May 8, 1994
Colorado Rockies 1, San Diego Padres 0
Venue: Jack Murphy Stadium
Pitching Matchup: David Neid vs. Andy Ashby
How the Rockies scored: Mike Kingery bases loaded walk
The first Rockies pitcher to win a 1-0 game was the first Rockies pitcher ever, David Neid threw eight shutout innings, allowing six hits and a walk while striking out five. Padres starter Andy Ashby was equally impressive, allowing seven hits and two walks with nine strikeouts in eight scoreless innings of his own.
However, the San Diego bullpen let him down. Greg Harris struck out Dante Bichette to lead off the inning before walking Danny Sheaffer and Roberto Mejia before being pulled in favor of Mark Davis. After a double steal, Davis walked Joe Girardi intentionally to load the bases and got Walt Weiss to pop out before walking Mike Kingery to force home the winning run.
August 10, 1994
Colorado Rockies 1, Atlanta Braves 0 (6 innings)
Venue: Mile High Stadium
Pitching Matchup: Tom Glavine vs. Kevin Ritz
How the Rockies scored: Dante Bichette RBI double
In a rain-shortened affair, Kevin Ritz matched future Hall of Famer Tom Glavine pitch-for-pitch in a six-inning duel. Ritz allowed six hits and walked five in 5 2/3 shutout innings while striking out six. Glavine pitched all six innings, allowing the only run of the game in the fourth when he walked Weiss to lead off the inning and allowing Bichette to double him home to secure the Rockies win.
September 12, 1998
Colorado Rockies 1, San Francisco Giants 0
Venue: 3Com (Candlestick) Park
Pitching Matchup: Pedro Astacio vs. Mark Gardner
How the Rockies scored: Jeff Reed RBI single
Perhaps the best pitcher of the Rockies' first decade, Pedro Astacio tossed 8 1/3 innings, scattering just five singles in shutting down the Giants. San Francisco starter Mark Gardner pitched eight shutout innings of his own, but was let down by his closer, Robb Nen, in the ninth. Larry Walker led off the ninth against Nen with a double, stole third and scored the game's only run on a two-out single from Jeff Reed.
September 20, 1998
Colorado Rockies 1, San Diego Padres 0 (11 innings)
Venue: Qualcomm Stadium
Pitching Matchup: Darryl Kile vs. Kevin Brown
How the Rockies scored: Darryl Hamilton RBI single
Darryl Kile pitched one of the best games in Rockies history in this contest, throwing 10 shutout innings, allowing three hits, two walks and striking out seven in just 102 pitches. However, it took 11 innings for the Rockies to get he win against Padres reliever Randy Myers, who allowed a Walker double and a run-scoring single to Darryl Hamilton to give the Rockies the win.
May 30, 1999
Colorado Rockies 1, Philadelphia Phillies 0
Venue: Veterans Stadium
Pitching Matchup: Darryl Kile vs. Chad Ogea
How the Rockies scored: Larry Walker RBI triple
Kile became the first Rockies pitcher to start a pair of 1-0 wins, pitching 7 2/3 innings, allowing three hits, walking eight and striking out five. Mike DeJean and Dave Veres completed the shutout. The Rockies got their run in the eighth against Phillies reliever Jim Poole thanks to Walker's RBI triple that scored Hamilton, who had singled to lead off the inning.
August 12, 2002
Colorado Rockies 1, Florida Marlins 0
Venue: Pro Player Stadium
Pitching Matchup: Jason Jennings vs. A.J. Burnett
How the Rockies scored: Todd Helton RBI double
During his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2002, Jason Jennings and three relievers (Justin Speier, Todd Jones and Jose Jimenez) combined to shut out the Marlins for a 1-0 win. A.J. Burnett pitched a complete game for the Marlins, allowing the only run of the contest in the fourth inning when he walked Walker and allowed one of Todd Helton's 592 career doubles to plate the winning run.
September 24, 2002
Colorado Rockies 1, Los Angeles Dodgers 0
Venue: Dodger Stadium
Pitching Matchup: Denny Stark vs. Odalis Perez
How the Rockies scored: Todd Zeile RBI single
The Rockies scored the only run of the game at Dodger Stadium in the top of the first against Los Angeles starter Odalis Perez. Gabe Kapler led off the game with a single, stole second with two outs and scored on Todd Zeile's single to right. The early run was all Denny Stark needed, as he pitched seven one-hit innings to get the win and Jones and Jimenez closed the game out.
July 9, 2005
Colorado Rockies 1, San Diego Padres 0
Venue: Coors Field
Pitching Matchup: Brian Lawrence vs. Jason Jennings
How the Rockies scored: Luis Gonzalez RBI double
It took until the 11th season at Coors Field for the Rockies to win a 1-0 game at their home park, and it came via Jennings, one of the best pitchers in franchise history. Jennings allowed seven hits and four walks in seven shutout innings before turning the ball over to Jay Witasick and Brian Fuentes. The Rockies scored the only run of the game against Padres starter Brian Lawrence in the sixth when Luis Gonzalez's double to left scored Aaron Miles.
June 11, 2008
Colorado Rockies 1, San Francisco Giants 0
Venue: Coors Field
Pitching Matchup: Tim Lincecum vs. Ubaldo Jimenez
How the Rockies scored: Yorvit Torrealba sacrifice fly
Tim Lincecum and Ubaldo Jimenez had an epic duel at Coors Field in the summer of 2008, each pitching seven shutout innings. Lincecum, who would go on to win the Cy Young Award in 2008, allowed six hits and three walks with nine strikeouts while Jimenez allowed four hits and a walk, striking out three. Giants reliever Keiichi Yabu loaded the bases in the bottom of ninth by walking a pair and allowing a single and Jack Taschner allowed a walk-off sacrifice fly for the Rockies win.
September 14, 2008
Colorado Rockies 1, Los Angeles Dodgers 0 (10 innings)
Venue: Coors Field
Pitching Matchup: Greg Maddux vs. Aaron Cook
How the Rockies scored: Troy Tulowitzki walk-off single
This game represented Aaron Cook at his finest, as he recorded 17 outs via ground balls while pitching eight innings and allowing eight hits. He would not get the win, however, as Greg Maddux shut down the Rockies, allowing just two hits in seven innings. Hung-Chih Kuo entered the game in the 10th and gave up singles to Matt Holliday, Garrett Atkins, Ryan Spilborghs and Troy Tulowitzki, handing the Rockies an extra-inning win.
September 17, 2008
Colorado Rockies 1, San Diego Padres 0
Venue: Coors Field
Pitching Matchup: Josh Geer vs. Livan Hernandez
How the Rockies scored: Joe Koshansky solo home run
When you have a game at Coors Field in which neither starter throws a pitch in the sixth inning, the expectation is that the teams would combine for closer to 21 runs than just one, but that was the case between the Rockies and Padres in September 2008. Josh Geer and Livan Hernandez each pitched just five innings before turning it over to their bullpens, who combined to pitched seven scoreless innings. Joe Koshansky's fourth-inning home run against Geer provided the Rockies with the only run of the game.
July 6, 2009
Colorado Rockies 1, Washington Nationals 0
Venue: Coors Field
Pitching Matchup: Craig Stammen vs. Jason Marquis
How the Rockies scored: Todd Helton RBI double
Of the 18 1-0 wins in Rockies history, this is the only one to come in a season in which the Rockies made the playoffs. Jason Marquis solidified his All-Star credentials by pitching eight shutout innings, and was nearly matched by Nationals starter Craig Stammen. However, Stammen stumbled early, allowing a one-out single in the first to Clint Barmes, who then scored on Helton's double.
June 12, 2010
Colorado Rockies 1, Toronto Blue Jays 0
Venue: Coors Field
Pitching Matchup: Brandon Morrow vs. Jason Hammel
How the Rockies scored: Carlos Gonzalez sacrifice fly
With Ubaldo Jimenez grabbing all the headlines on the mound in 2010, it was Jason Hammel who twirled this gem, allowing just three hits and three walks in eight shutout innings. He also scored the game's only run in the sixth, drawing a walk to lead off the inning, advancing to third on Helton's single and scoring on Carlos Gonzalez's sacrifice fly to right.
July 18, 2010
Colorado Rockies 1, Cincinnati Reds 0
Venue: Great American Ball Park
Pitching Matchup: Aaron Cook vs. Travis Wood
How the Rockies scored: Chris Iannetta solo home run
Chris Iannetta decided this game with one swing of the bat, launching a Travis Wood pitch into the left field stands with two outs in the top of the sixth inning. Cook took just 82 pitches to pitch 7 shutout innings before turning it over to the bullpen to finish the shutout of Cincinnati.
August 22, 2010
Colorado Rockies 1, Arizona Diamondbacks 0
Venue: Chase Field
Pitching Matchup: Jhoulys Chacin vs. Daniel Hudson
How the Rockies scored: Dexter Fowler RBI single
A week shy of his 22nd birthday, Jhoulys Chacin showed his potential by tossing 7 2/3 innings of shutout baseball in Arizona, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out nine. Diamondbacks starter Daniel Hudson pitched seven shutout innings, but the Rockies used their team speed to get a run off reliever Aaron Heilman in the eighth. Eric Young Jr. reached on a one-out single, stole second and scored on a Dexter Fowler single up the middle to win the game for Colorado.
August 23, 2012
Colorado Rockies 1, New York Mets 0
Venue: Citi Field
Pitching Matchup: Tyler Chatwood vs. Collin McHugh
How the Rockies scored: Chris Nelson RBI single
Yes, the 2012 Rockies, with that pitching staff, won a 1-0 game, and of course it was against the Mets. Like Anderson in Saturday's game, Tyler Chatwood pitched just three innings in his one, but that was because of a Project 5183-induced pitch count rather than injury. Tyler Colvin scored the game's only run, leading off the top of the eighth with a triple and scoring on Chris Nelson's single.
September 28, 2013
Colorado Rockies 1, Los Angeles Dodgers 0
Venue: Dodger Stadium
Pitching Matchup: Juan Nicasio vs. Zack Grienke
How the Rockies scored: Nolan Arenado RBI double
The real star of this game was the Rockies bullpen, as five relievers combined to pitch 3 2/3 hitless innings to preserve a 1-0 win over the Dodgers. In Todd Helton's next-to-last game, the Rockies got their only run in a Helton-esque fashion, with a pair of doubles from Tulowitzki and Nolan Arenado in the fourth inning.
April 12, 2014
Colorado Rockies 1, San Francisco Giants 0
Venue: AT&T Park
Pitching Matchup: Brett Anderson vs, Matt Cain
How the Rockies scored: Troy Tulowitzki sacrifice fly
With Anderson leaving the game with a broken finger after three innings, it fell to the bullpen to preserve this one. In fact, in the Rockies' last three 1-0 wins, the bullpen has combined to pitch 15 2/3 shutout innings, allowing six hits and nine walks while striking out 15. The only run for the Rockies in this one came via small ball; Charlie Blackmon led off the third with a walk, advanced to second on an infield single, stole third and scored on Tulowitzki's sacrifice fly.