In a collapse heard round the baseball world after midnight last night, both closers of the battling Diamondbacks and Rockies faltered and hoisted the entire game onto their backs. First, with a hard fought 2-1 lead in the bottom of the ninth, Rox closer Manny Corpas beaned Young with one out later allowing him to score on a ground out by Byrnes. Fortunately, Stephen Drew had a ‘Baldwin Brothers’ moment, walking off of second base after the umpire called him safe and into the eternal jibing that his brothers will offer.
When the Snakes trotted their intimidating closer Valverde out in the eleventh inning having thrown far more pitches than he normally does, he too stumbled. After giving up a single to Spilly, he walked Brad Hawpe and Jamey Carroll to load the bases for defensive hero Willy Taveras. Taveras stood in and patiently took four flaming pitches that, unfortunately, weren’t even close to the strike zone. Base runner trots home to take the lead, ball handed to Speier for a perfect eleventh and the Rockies headed to Sky Harbor Airport for the trip back to the oxygen depleted confines of Coors Field for game 3. As the sign used to warn at the old Mile High Stadium fence, “Breathe Deeply, you are now one mile above sea level.”
LOVE | ACCEPT | FORGIVE 