Has it really been nearly 10 years since the Colorado Rockies went on that magical run that culminated in the club’s first National League pennant?
In this anniversary series, Rocktober Revisited, we’re looking back on how the Rockies fared throughout the 2007 season. It’s a month-by-month look at what transpired to lead Colorado to the World Series and a special place in the sports memory banks of everyone in the Mile High City.
A May to remember, but a series to forget
Much like April of their storied 2007 season, the Colorado Rockies ended May in dead last place in the National League West. But a seven-game winning streak at the tail end of the month was a glimpse of what was to come later in the year.
That year, of course, they appeared in their first World Series after sweeping every NL team in the playoffs, only to be swept by the Red Sox in the end.
Ten years ago, the Rockies relied primarily on star sophomore talent of Troy Tulowitzki alongside the likes of Todd Helton (the legend, the Toddfather), Brad Hawpe (the man from all the bad commercials), Matt Holliday (who definitely touched home plate) and Ryan Spilborghs (Mr. 14th-inning-walk-off-grand-slam-turned-broadcaster).
The Rockies started off the month on a high note with a 9-7 win over the San Francisco Giants, thanks in part to a monster, five-run fourth inning. That night, Hawpe drove in three RBIs on three hits, only to be shown up by Holliday, who drove in four runs off of three hits. But it was closer Brian Fuentes who really saved the day, collecting two strikeouts and retiring another batter in the ninth to really seal the deal and bring their overall record to 11-16.
Two games later, after dropping the final game of the Giants series, the Rockies bounced back in an impressive fashion, defeating the Cincinnati Reds 6-5 in 11 innings thanks again to Fuentes in the bottom of the ninth after facing just four batters.
After that, they ended up winning the series against the Reds, losing the series against the Cardinals, and splitting four games with the Giants.
For much of May 2007, the purple menaces followed a pattern of win-loss-loss, including a 12-inning heart-breaker to the Kansas City Royals at Coors Field on May 20, during which they allowed five runs in the end-all inning thanks to the late-game stylings of reliever Ramon Ramirez. It definitely wasn’t ideal for all the fans that stayed the full four-and-a-half hours to see how it would all play out.
Although they would end up losing their next two series against Arizona and Kansas City at home, the tides began to turn in their favor when they visited the Diamondbacks just four days after hosting them in Denver. They surrendered that first game to the Snakes, but they didn’t let that stop them from making some noise in the NL West over the next week.
As the month came to a close, the Mile High men started to heat up, taking seven straight contests from the D-backs, Giants and Cardinals. Fourteen days later, they broke the positive side of the .500 barrier for the month with a win over, ironically, the Red Sox.
The ’07 Rockies will always be remembered for their magical September, but that seven-game winning streak in May was a pivotal point for the club and a hint of what was to come later in the year.
They ended May with a 15-13 record, allowing 139 runs while only scoring 119 of their own. They boasted a .536 winning percentage throughout that month, which was head over heels better than the .385 percentage they put up just the month before. When the calendar flipped to June, the Rockies were 25-29, 6.5 games out of first place in the division, and still waiting for their fortunes to truly turn.
Read More: Rocktober Revisited – April