COLORADO CLOSER TO PLAYOFF BERTH
SAN DIEGO» The Rockies are tiptoeing on the hot plate of a race for a postseason berth, but their manager drifted to thoughts of a tall, cool quarterback spying a celebrity in 1989.
“When Joe Montana points out John Candy, I mean, I don’t know if that’s urban legend, but I hope it’s true,” Colorado skipper Bud Black said. “‘Hey, isn’t that John Candy?’ That’s great. Because it’s a game. And guys play best when they’re relaxed.”
It is not an urban legend. The San Francisco 49ers quarterback really did point out the comedian sitting in the stands before he marched his team 92 yards for the winning touchdown in Super Bowl XXIII. And Black really did learn a lesson.
With only a week remaining in what is their best season since 2009, the Rockies are feverishly trying to keep their grip on a wild-card playoff berth. So why not turn to a rookie pinch hitter with a rotating collection of nicknames?
Pat Valaika, whose run-scoring bloop double in the sixth inning and solo homer in the ninth Sunday led the Rockies to a muchneeded 8-4 victory over the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, is variously tagged with the moniker “Barrels” or “Pine Tar.” Barrels if he hits a line drive, Pine Tar if he nubs one off the handle.
“We call it a ‘jugular run,’ ” Black said.
Valaika’s timely appearance helped salvage a road trip, as the Rockies (84-72) moved one big step toward a playoff finish. Both the Cardinals and Brewers lost by wide margins Sunday, and the Rockies’ victory gave them a twogame lead over Milwaukee, 2½ games over St. Louis, with only six games remaining.
The Rockies’ magic number is five, meaning any combination of victories by Colorado or Milwaukee losses totaling five will send Colorado to a wild-card playoff game at Arizona on Oct. 4. The Diamondbacks clinched the National League’s top wild card Sunday by defeating Miami.
“Just find a way to get on base and barrel the ball,” Valaika said, adopting the California calm once displayed by “Joe Cool” Montana. “We’re in the driver’s seat. We’re fortunate because we’re not really chasing. This is on us. All we have to do is win some games. That’s a good feeling.”
Charlie Blackmon followed Valaika’s home run in the ninth with a solo shot of his own, a teamleading 36th, the third-most from a leadoff hitter in baseball history. Blackmon also singled and scored in the first and walked and scored in the third as the Rockies had their highest run total since pounding the Padres 16-0 at Coors Field on Sept. 16.
Blackmon punctuated his homer with an overhand bat-flip toward the Padres’ dugout, a hard-stop on what had been a derailing Colorado offense. The Rockies had been shut out three times since Thursday, the first time in club history they failed to scored in three of four games. They finished their West Coast road trip 2-4.
“All home runs give me relief,” Blackmon said. “I just really wanted to get a hit there, and I got a hit.”
Rookie German Marquez (11-7, 4.38), the 22-year-old from Venezuela who has now thrown more innings than any other pitcher on Colorado’s staff, got through five innings, allowing five hits and two runs — back-to-back homers by Wil Myers and Yangervis Solarte in the first.
In their past nine games, the Rockies’ starting pitchers have allowed only 14 runs in 50 innings for a 2.52 ERA.
Sunday’s runaway victory took the Rockies back to Denver, where they will play out the regular season with a pair of threegame series at Coors Field against the Marlins and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Rockies finished this season with a 41-40 road record — just their second winning mark away from Coors Field in 25 years, tying a mark from 2009, the last time the Rockies reached the playoffs.
“We’re in a good place,” Blackmon said. “We just got a really good win, and we’re going home. We don’t have to worry about travel and all that mess. We can just be at home and worry about baseball.”