Saturday was a fantastic day for the Colorado Rockies organization. Thanks to the St. Louis Cardinals defeating the Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado punched their ticket to the postseason for the first time since 2009 season.
Fans gushed with joy at Coors Field ahead of Saturday’s game, rejoicing as the infamous ‘Rocktober’ feeling began to creep back into the confines of 20th and Blake.
However, while Saturday was a win even before Rockies first pitch, the Los Angeles Dodgers managed to put a damper on what was the most exciting day for the organization in nearly a decade.
Riding the momentum from earlier in the day, the Rockies plated three runs in the second inning against Dodgers’ ace Clayton Kershaw. A solo shot from Carlos Gonzalez, RBI double from trade-deadline addition Jonathan Lucroy, and a RBI single from MVP candidate Charlie Blackmon gave Colorado an early lead.
From there, the Dodgers managed to claw back, manufacturing a run in the third and knotting things up in the fifth when Yasiel Puig hit a two-run home run.
Los Angeles pulled ahead in the seventh when Chris Taylor hit a fielder’s choice back to the pitcher, scoring Puig.
The Dodgers added another run in the ninth on a Chase Utley RBI double.
German Marquez was decent in his start, logging six innings while surrendering three runs on six hits while striking out two.
Having already clinched, Manager Bud Black opted to utilize youngsters Ryan McMahon, Raimel Tapia, and Mike Tauchman throughout the ball game, something that wouldn’t have happened if the Rockies were still fighting for a postseason spot.
All in all, although the Rockies lost Saturday night, the results of the day were wholly positive for Colorado, who will face the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Wild Card game at Chase Field on Wednesday.
The Rockies will conclude the regular season tomorrow Sunday. Tyler Anderson will start for the Rockies, with first pitch scheduled for 1:10 pm MDT. The Dodgers have yet to announce a starting pitcher.