Two teams in the Colorado Rockies and the San Diego Padres who are scrapping for a wild card spot in a practically lost division, but brought the bats with them to a historic four-game series in Coors Field.
Jon Gray had the bases loaded with two outs in the ninth. The Colorado Rockies had the lead over the San Diego Padres.
He hadn’t started this game as you might think. This was his first relief appearance and he had taken over for Wade Davis, who blew his second save of the season, after allowing a game-tying triple.
The game was now tied at 13-13.
So a strategy was employed. Bud Black, the Rockies manager, decided to intentionally walk the bases loaded to force up the pitchers’ spot. This was because the Padres were out of position players on the bench, so Matt Strahm, who started the first game of the series, was now at the plate.
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All Gray had to do was get one of the easiest outs in an average National League batting order.
On a full-count pitch, Gray missed low and Strahm was credited with the game-winning RBI.
Kirby Yates came in the bottom half of the inning and shut the door to secure the most miraculous of victories in baseball this season.
Miraculous was one thing, and just one game, but the four-game series was historic for both teams and one individual in the series.
The most notable stat was the combined runs scored in the series. The Padres and the Rockies scored a combined 92 runs in the four games.
92 runs is now the most runs scored in a four-game series since 1900! The next highest is 88 runs scored between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Brooklyn Dodgers back in May of 1929; according to Elias Sports Bureau research.
The most ever scored in a four-game series is 112 between the Cleveland Blues and St. Louis Browns of the American Association in 1887, per STATS data.
It was a series split, but Colorado outscored San Diego 48-44. It was the most San Diego have ever scored in a series; only fourth most for Colorado.
The teams combined for 131 hits, the most in a four-game series since 1922.
15 of those hits came off the bat of Charlie Blackmon. That’s the most by a player in a four-game series in the modern era. He is just the third player to accomplish such a feat since in any series since World War II.
Blackmon entered the series hitting .305 and his average is now up to .336. As a team, the Rockies gained 10 points on their batting average.
In this new age of ‘chicks dig the long ball’, Hunter Renfroe of the Padres hit three home runs during Friday night’s game, he had two more on Sunday. His OPS rose from .877 to .952.
I know scoring runs is the new norm, but sheesh what a weekend.