With playoffs clinched, Rockies head for L.A.
DENVER • Clint Hurdle had been canned as Colorado Rockies manager after an 18-28 start as Jim Tracy rested inside general manager Dan O’Dowd’s office, contemplating his future with a bumbling team that stood little chance of making the postseason.
“I just want to see them play better,” O’Dowd told Tracy on May 29.
The Rockies did just that. And now, against maybe the longest odds, despite the naysayers, they’re in the playoffs, resurrected for Rocktober.
Aaron Cook pitched eight masterful innings, and Garrett Atkins, Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitzki provided punch in the heart of the order, lifting Colorado to a 9-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers that clinched a playoff berth Thursday at Coors Field.
It’s the third playoff trip in the 17-year history of the Rockies, their first since 2007, when Rocktober was coined amid a delirious run to the World Series — Colorado won 21 of 22 games, including a play-in game — that ended in a sweep by Boston.
With a franchise-record 91 wins, Colorado knocked Atlanta out of the NL wild-card race and moved within two games of the Dodgers in the NL West. The Rockies can win the division if they sweep the Dodgers in a three-game series starting today in Los Angeles. The NL division series begins Wednesday against Philadelphia or St. Louis.
“I never wanted anything more for a group of players than this group,” said Tracy, whose team has gone 73-40 since he replaced Hurdle and sits 23 games above .500 for the first time in franchise history.
In his second start since he missed 31 games with a strained right shoulder, Cook (11-6) allowed four hits, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the second and retiring 12 straight. He also drew two bases-loaded walks.
The Rockies opened a 5-0 lead with a four-run third to chase Manny Parra, who gave up an RBI single to Tulowitzki and an RBI double to Atkins, then walked Cook and Dexter Fowler with the bases full. Tulowitzki and Atkins had a combined six hits and four RBIs, and Helton and Clint Barmes had two hits apiece. Brad Hawpe homered in the eighth.
“We’ve played good baseball,” said Helton, dripping with champagne and Coors Light during a wild clubhouse celebration. “We’ve done what we needed to do, but we’ve still got some games left. … We want to win it this year.”
Tulowitzki said, “It’s not like we’re going to go to L.A. and give up. The division is still there. But once you’re in, you’re in.”
Colorado Rockies outfielder Seth Smith, left, showers teammates after the Rockies’ 9-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers to clinch a spot in the National League baseball playoffs, in Denver on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009. Photo by David Zalubowski, The Associated Press
Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Aaron Cook works against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning of a baseball game in Denver on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009. Photo by David Zalubowski, The Associated Press
Colorado Rockies’ Todd Helton, front, scores on a single by Garrett Atkins as Milwaukee Brewers catcher Jason Kendall, center, fields the throw while starting pitcher Manny Parra looks on during the first inning of a baseball game in Denver. Photo by David Zalubowski, The Associated Press