In 2007, the Colorado Rockies finished the regular season by winning 14 of 15 games to leap from fourth place in the NL West into what would eventually become their first and only World Series appearance. Mile High Sports celebrates the anniversary of ‘Rocktober’ by recapping each game from each of those days ten years ago.
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September 20, 2007
Rockies 9, Dodgers 4
After being beaten in the first three games of their series, the visiting Dodgers looked ready to leave Denver — and after starter Derek Lowe surrendered a whopping eight hits, five walks and six earned runs in only three innings, the Rockies showed them the door.
Five different Rockies — Kazuo Matsui, Troy Tulowitzki, Todd Helton, Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe — had multi-hit games, with ‘Tulo’, Atkins, Hawpe and Ryan Spilborghs each hitting home runs, to boot. The laugher could have been even more of a blowout; the Rockies left 13 men on base, but on this day, it didn’t matter.
Ubaldo Jimenez claimed the win to even his season record at 4-4, while relievers Matt Herges, LaTroy Hawkins and Jorge Julio finished it off. Despite the game’s combined 13 runs, 21 hits and 11 walks, the game was finished in a relatively brisk two hours and 56 minutes.
The Dodgers left Denver licking their wounds and residing one spot lower in the NL West standings then they were when they arrived. As for the Rockies? They started this series in fourth place, six games behind the Padres, and they finished it in third, closing the gap to four and one-half.
They’d have a chance to close it even further soon enough, though they couldn’t have guessed it as they boarded a flight to sunny San Diego.