The Rockies are on a major roll. Despite Manny Corpas being unable to close out Arizona in a wild ninth, Clint Hurdle’s ballclub still prevailed 3-2 in 11 innings to take the first two games of the NLCS in the Desert.

The difference was Colorado’s plate discipline in Jose Valverde’s second inning of work. After some tough luck on a Ryan Spilborghs roller for an infield hit, the Arizona closer who led the majors with 47 saves began to tire. He walked two batters to load the bases with two out and eventually lost the plate against Colorado’s Willy Taveras to force in the deciding run.

Only working his second frame for the second time all year, Valverde clearly was overthrowing which explained why he was falling behind batters and walked three. By the time the fateful Colorado 11th had concluded, he threw 42 pitches.

So, did Arizona skipper Bob Melvin screw up not getting someone ready earlier with not just the game on the line but maybe the series fate. No home team who’s dropped the first two on their field has ever comeback to win a championship series.

“Until he gives up a run, it’s his game,” the Diamondbacks manager told the AP later.

As for Valverde:

“I felt so good. I’m not tired. My arm felt good. That’s my first time throwing that many pitches.“

 

That just might explain the sudden loss of control.

You can understand Melvin wanting to go with his best in that situation but can someone explain why not one teammate including backstop Chris Snyder went out to settle Valverde down? Especially when he fell behind Taveras 2-0. The collective writing was on the wall.

When Colorado reliever Ryan Speier retired the side in order by getting rookie Chris Young looking for his first save of the season, the Diamondbacks were two games down with the next three shifting to Coors Field.

The Rockies have now won 19 of their last 20 games. An amazing run which wouldn’t have been possible without the following:
A.A ninth inning Todd Helton GW homer against the Dodgers

B.Brad Hawpe’s extra inning solo shot which sparked a three-game sweep of then WC leader San Diego.

C.Tony Gwynn, Jr’s two strike two out tying triple off Trevor Hoffman in a game Milwaukee won to keep the Rockies alive.

D.Kaz Matsui’s leadoff double off Hoffman which started a three-run rally in a lengthy extra inning WC play-in game with NL MVP candidate Matt Holliday tying it with a triple and getting part of his hand on the edge of the plate for Colorado’s second ever postseason berth.

Full credit goes to WFAN’s Chris “Mad Dog” Russo who cited all these unbelievable but true plays which allowed the Rockies to get to where they are now. The other half of the Mike and The Mad Dog program couldn’t have summed it up any better.

Colorado is only the second NL team in playoff history to win their first five games matching the 1976 Reds. Will it wind up a similar result and become the franchise’s first world championship?

Remains to be seen. But for now, you got to appreciate what this club has done. They’ve now won their last 10 road games and are feeling good about themselves:

“We’re playing with a lot of momentum,” Hurdle accurately assessed.

“We expect to win every game,” Spilborghs added. “To come out of here with two wins is pretty much what we expected.”

Do the Diamondbacks have any hope moving forward?

“We’ve come back from some difficult circumstances this year,” Melvin said. “It’s two games. A team has to win four before it’s over.”

Very true but his team will need a money performance from seasoned October vet Livan Hernandez when the series shifts to Denver tomorrow.

We’ll find out what kind of character Arizona has.