NewsBig task remains on Rockies' slate
Colorado (91-68) at Los Angeles (93-66), 8:10 p.m. MT
By Owen Perkins / Special to MLB.com
10/01/09 9:55 PM EST
DENVER -- The one remaining task for the Rockies after clinching a spot in the playoffs is simple: beat the Dodgers as many times this weekend as they've done all season long. The Rockies are 3-12 against the Dodgers this season, but if they can win their final three games against the Dodgers, they'll surge past their rivals and take the National League West division crown, giving them an even bigger boost into the postseason. "When you're in, you're in," said Troy Tulowitzki. "If we go and win the division, that's all fine, but it doesn't matter to me." The Rockies will hold nothing back, pitching three of their best starters in the final three games. Ubaldo Jimenez had his last start shifted in order to line him up to pitch the first game against the Dodgers, continuing a series of big-time appearances for the rapidly maturing fire-baller. On Saturday, it's Jorge De La Rosa to the hill, and he's had a second half that is second to none. Put him together with Jason Marquis, whose first half set the standard in the NL, and the Rockies couldn't ask for a better shot at turning the tide in L.A. "There's some celebration, because we're in the playoffs, but when we wake up tomorrow they're going to say we can still win the division," owner Charlie Monfert said after Thursday's clincher. "We can get a home series here, we'll take that. They'll get back to their business. Whether we open at home or on the road, this team's pretty dedicated. They're going to be tough to beat." The Rockies stopped talking about the division weeks ago, but as the Dodgers have hit a four-game skid that coincided with the Rockies current four-game winning streak, the matchup seems a little more level than the record would suggest. It was the Dodgers, after all, who swept the Rockies in Colorado in May and ended Clint Hurdle's tenure as manager. The Rox were 1-8 against their division rivals at that point, but a reversal is not out of the question this weekend. "I like our team because they've come up through the system," Monfort said, praising a squad that started nine home grown players in Thursday's clincher. "This team's got some heart. I'm excited to watch them play. Whenever they've been pushed up against the wall, they've respoinded." It's hard to think of the Rox playing with their backs against the wall after Thursday."We want to go in there and beat L.A.," said Aaron Cook, who settled any doubt about his role on the playoff roster with his eight innings of one-run ball Thursday. "We haven't played good against them this season, so this is our opportunity to go in there and play good solid baseball and see what happens."
Pitching has been the key to the Rockies' success, with a starting staff that features five with 10 wins or more and a bullpen that has shown its resiliancy and an ability to hold leads. The Rockies are 69-11 when leading after six, 74-5 after seven, and an astounding 81-1 when leading after eight. "When we won in '95, it was the Blake Street Bomber guys," said hitting coach Don Baylor, who managed the 1995 team to the franchise's first postseason appearance behind a blistering home run pace. "It's a little bit different now. You pitch and play defense. You never thought you would say pitching got us to this point, but pitching really did." Manager Jim Tracy promises he will hold nothing back, sending his best players onto the field, the ones responsible for getting the team to its franchise-best 91 wins with three games remaining. "All year long, with where we started with the hole we were in and climbed out of that, we've shown resiliance," Tracy said. "There was a huge game aginst the the Giants, when Jorge De LA Rosa stood up and threw eight scoreless innings. We've been tested an awful lot. When the Braves were gaining on us, it wasn't what we weren't doing, it was what the Braves were doing. "So we just continued to win games and win games. If you look at the month of September, with the exception of June, it's the best month we've had the whole season. And we still got October." Pitching matchupCOL: RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (14-12, 3.52 ERA)
Jimenez pitched seven strong innings against St. Louis on Saturday night, taking a tie game into his final inning before yielding a leadoff solo homer that proved to be the Cardinals' winning run in their division-clinching victory. He struggled in the first, yielding three runs on two walks and two soft hits, and he is working to be more effective out of the gate. He finished with four runs on six hits and three walks, and once he found his fastball command, he retired 10 of 11 batters faced after the first inning, and 16 of 20 into the seventh. He struck out the side in the fourth, which allowed the Rockies to tie the game in the bottom of the inning. LAD: LHP Randy Wolf (11-6, 3.22 ERA)
Wolf will probably get this start, which would put him in line to start Game 1 of the playoffs. Wolf pitched the club's postseason clincher in Pittsburgh and was in position to win after allowing two runs in 6 1/3 innings, but the bullpen let it get away for his 16th no-decision. Still, he's been the most consistent starter on the staff this year and a workhorse with 209 1/3 innings. Tidbits
The Rockies have clinched all three of their playoff appearances on the final home game of the season -- in 1995, 2007 and 2009. In their first two trips to the playoffs, the last home game was also the last game of the season. ... Colorado heads to L.A. a franchise-best 23 games over .500. ... Thursday's win was Cook's first since July 26. ... Tulowitzki stole his 20th base in the first inning Thursday, giving him the sixth 20-homer, 20-steal season in franchise history. ... Todd Helton had his fourth consecutive multihit game Thursday. ... Brad Hawpe finished the homestand the way he began it -- with a homer. He had three homers on the homestand, including one in his first and last at-bats. Tickets
Buy tickets now to catch the game in person.
On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio• Gameday
• Official game notes On television
• FSN On radio
• KOA 850 Up next
• Saturday: Rockies (Jorge De La Rosa, 16-9, 4.45) at Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw, 8-8, 2.89), 8:10 p.m. MT
• Sunday: Rockies (Jason Marquis, 15-12, 3.95) at Dodgers (TBD), 2:10 p.m. MT
Owen Perkins is a contributor to MLB.com This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
