Jose Valverde walked Willy Taveras with the bases loaded in the 11th inning, as Colorado, after blowing a lead in the ninth inning, beat Arizona, 3-2, in Game 2 of their National League Championship Series.
The Rockies, who captured the opener 5-1 on Thursday, and have won eight in a row and 19 of their last 20 games going back to the regular season, will take a commanding lead in the best-of-seven set going back to Denver for Game 3 Sunday.
“We’re excited to be in the situation we’re in,” first baseman Todd Helton said. “Denver is going to be a crazy place this weekend. We’re excited to go home and keep playing the way we’ve been playing.”
Arizona’s bullpen had gone 17 innings without allowing a run in this postseason, until Valverde walked Taveras on a high and inside pitch. Before that, pinch-hitter Ryan Spilborghs legged out an infield hit to start the 11th. Brad Hawpe walked with one out, and after Yorvit Torrealba’s infield pop-up Jamey Carroll walked on a full count before Taveras calmly took four consecutive pitches.
Doug Slaten retired Kaz Matsui to end the inning, but the damage was done.
“I don’t know if that was our game plan going in,” Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said of the 5-0 start to the playoffs. “We didn’t draw it up to win the first five. We’re just locking into one game at a time and we’re starting to pick up some momentum.”
Taveras came home with the go-ahead run on Helton’s sacrifice fly in the fifth inning and made a diving catch to save a run in the seventh, but Manny Corpas blew the save opportunity in the ninth, thanks in part to an error from second baseman Matsui.
Chris Young drove in a run and scored the tying one in the ninth inning for the Diamondbacks.
Both teams left 11 men on base, but it was the Rockies who capitalized at the end against Valverde (0-1), who hadn’t tasted defeat since August 12 against Washington.
“We left quite a few guys on base today so did they,” Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said. “They scratched out one more than we did.”
Corpas (1-0) threw two innings to get the win, and Ryan Speier retired the side in order in the bottom of the 11th to notch the save, fanning Young to end the game. That moved the Rockies within two victories of their first NL pennant in franchise history.
“We’re playing with a lot of momentum,” Hurdle said. “Corpas just lets it get away and holds the door. There was no safety net for our bullpen from the sixth inning on. I thought they responded very, very well.”
Ubaldo Jimenez held the Diamondbacks to four hits and a run while striking out six against four walks in five innings in the start for the Rockies.
Doug Davis was charged with five hits and two runs — one earned — over five frames for Arizona. The lefty also had control problems with four walks, while fanning five.
Livan Hernandez is slated to pitch for Arizona in Game 3 and Josh Fogg for the Rockies.
Taveras continued to show why adding him to the NLCS roster has been a great move for Hurdle. Taveras, who didn’t play the final three weeks of the regular season due to a strained right quad and was held out of the Division Series sweep of Philadelphia, has started the two games in center field in the NLCS.
Eric Byrnes singled off LaTroy Hawkins with two outs in the seventh. Tony Clark, then facing a 2-2 offering, sent a ball to the gap in right-center field. The speedy Tavares though stretched his glove and made diving grab to rob what likely would have been the tying hit, but it left the Rockies with a 2-1 edge.
“I was playing the other side of the field,” Tavares said. “I didn’t think he crushed that ball. He hit it good, but the ball hung up a little bit longer enough.”
Mark Reynolds singled leading off the Arizona eighth, but Brian Fuentes struck out the next two batters before getting Augie Ojeda to ground out.
Corpas blew the save in the ninth. He hit Young with a 1-2 pitch with one out. Stephen Drew singled to center to put runners at the corners. The Rockies were playing their infield in when Byrnes chopped a ball to Matsui at second base. Matsui flipped the ball quickly, but high to shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, whose foot was ruled not to touch the base from second base umpire Tom Hallion. Young scored, but Drew, not seeing the call, tried to go to third, and was tagged out. Clark grounded into a force play to send the game into extra innings.
Neither team had a hit in the 10th.
The Rockies put an unearned run on the board in the second. Helton reached on an error from Reynolds at third to lead off, and with two down Hawpe singled to center, placing runners at the corners. Torrealba then singled on the chalk down the right field line.
Arizona wasted a leadoff double to Clark in the second and the Rockies couldn’t score Taveras after he led off the third with a double, Colorado’s first extra-base hit of the series. Arizona tied the game in the bottom of the inning, thanks partly to a Taveras misplayed ball. Davis laced a hit over the head of the center fielder to lead off. Young singled up the middle to tie the game, but was thrown out trying to steal.
Taveras walked on four pitches to start the fifth and Matsui singled to left field. Matt Holliday’s fly ball moved Taveras to third, and Helton followed with a fly out to left. Byrnes’ throw home was late as Taveras slid home safely without a tag attempt.
Jimenez escaped a bases-loaded pickle in the bottom of the inning, as he walked Young, and Drew. Then after a wild pitch with two outs, Clark was intentionally walked. However, Jimenez fanned Reynolds to end the inning.
- Steve
