Someone must have turned off the humidor.
Capping off a wild weekend at Coors Field that saw the Rockies and Braves combine for 47 runs in three games, Colorado made a comeback for the ages.
After trailing by six runs at the start of the eighth inning, the Rockies pulled off the series-deciding eight-hit, seven-run series to take a 9-8 victory.
“It was fantastic,” manager Bud Black told reporters after the game. “It was great, even against a good bullpen. … We just had some really good at-bats, we were aggressive, we got some pitches in the strike zone and we didn’t miss.”
Jake Cave hit a two-run home run to opposite field off Luke Jackson to bring Colorado within 8-4 and bring life to the home dugout. After Jacob Stallings struck out, the Rockies slammed six straight hits, capped by Brendan Rodgers’ game-winning double off right-hander Joe Jimenez. The gapper scored Ryan McMahon after the third baseman tied the game at 8-8 with a two-run single.
The comeback was only the second time in club history that the Rockies overcame a six-run deficit going into the eighth inning and won. And the seven runs in the eighth inning were the most the Rockies scored in one inning all season.
Charlie Blackmon had one of those eight hits in the eighth inning – a two-run single to center – as part of a three-hit day.
“Charlie does so much every day. He stays focused and keeps fighting. He doesn’t give up until the game is over. He doesn’t let up. That sends a great message to our team,” Black told reporters. “But a lot of our guys do that too. … That’s one of the main reasons the coaches and I are proud of this group because they fight to the end.”
“The great thing is to be rewarded in a game like this, to win.”
The comeback negated another impressive display of power by the Braves, who finished the series with 11 home runs. Jorge Soler hit two of them on Sunday and was one of three Atlanta batters to hit a home run.
Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland was hit hard for two of those home runs, including Austin Riley’s solo hit in the first inning and Travis d’Arnaud’s 436-foot bomb to left-center field in the fourth. Freeland only had to face one more batter after d’Arnaud’s home run, who was replaced before the end of the inning after Orlando Arcia hit a single to left field.
A blister on Freeland’s index finger that forced him off the mound in his last start caused him problems again Sunday, the pitcher said. He finished the game with three runs allowed on four hits and one walk in 3 2/3 innings.
“It was starting to get a little tender,” Black said of the blister. “Not as bad as the other day when we had to take him out, but I didn’t want to affect his ability to get the others out. It was affecting his throws and I think it was time to take him out.”
Soler appeared to end the celebrations with a 444-foot three-pointer against Justin Lawrence that gave Atlanta a 6-2 lead in the seventh inning. Soler hit another home run in the eighth inning against substitute Josh Rogers, a solo home run to center, for an 8-2 lead.
In total, Atlanta had 17 extra-base hits in the series, six of them on Sunday.
But it wasn’t enough to stop the Rockies from winning two of three games. Colorado tied its last home game against the Mets and Braves at 3-3 after right-hander Victor Vodnik had to pitch the minimum in the ninth inning to end the game.
“No lead is safe here at Coors Field,” Freeland said. “When you come here and think the lead is safe, these things happen. It was great to see. … The offense never gave up and it showed.”
The Rockies are now 27-32 at Coors Field and 44-75 overall for the season.
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