DENVER — Before the Rockies ended their six-game losing streak with a 2-1, 10-inning victory over the Mariners in the opener of a doubleheader Sunday afternoon, they endured another blow to their gutsy collective instincts.
Jacob Stallings thought he had at least a double, or even a homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. After a review, it was disqualified due to fan interference.
“He was deflating,” said Ryan McMahon, who put wind in the Rockies’ sails with an RBI single into the left side of the infield by M’s closer Andrés Muñoz after singles by Charlie Blackmon and Ezequiel Tovar — the latter of of which led to the tying run.
“You always hope things like that help you,” added McMahon, who delivered his sixth career shutout, fifth career hit and first non-home plate appearance. McMahon hit the first home run on April 5 with a grand slam against the Rays.
Tovar’s RBI — which McMahon fondly called “the reason we won this game” — broke the Rockies’ record 23 innings of scoreless home runs. They last scored at Coors in the fifth inning against the Diamondbacks on April 10.
Given the club’s start to the season, which has included a vicious stomach virus that claimed roster members for more than a week (and tried to interfere with Sunday’s game), no one would be blamed for wondering whether Stallings’ game it would lead to another stomach ache for the Rockies.
Stallings’ shot to deep left field off Ryne Stanek brought the crowd to its feet. One member of said crowd stretched with all his might to grab what might have been a house. In doing so, even though his glove knocked the ball away from Mariners left fielder Dylan Moore.
“I was hoping for the best — I thought it might have been a homer right off the bat,” Stallings said. “I wasn’t really sure what was going on. I saw the ball come back down the field, so I thought it hit the fence or something.”
Stallings beat Moore’s throw to second base. But the Rockies challenged, taking advantage of what might have been a game-ending home run.
“From the dugout, I couldn’t tell,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “Players who have better vision than me at that distance, it looked like it was showing on replay. It looked like he went over the wall. But according to the rule, in the judgment of the umpiring crew in New York, they thought Moore would have had a chance to catch it if it hadn’t been for the fan.”
Hadn’t the Rockies been through enough by that point?
Since the April 12 start of the team’s last road trip — the Rockies’ last win before Sunday — Blackmon, Brendan Rodgers, Jake Cave and third base coach Warren Schaeffer have all missed at least one game with his virus stomach. McMahon said he had it in Toronto, but was able to play. Rodgers missed four games before returning Sunday afternoon.
And the error hit right-hander Cal Quantrill, the Rockies’ starter on Sunday.
“I told him before the game I bet six zeroes would make him feel better,” Stallings said.
Well, Quantrill promoted half donuts. He handled the bases all day, with three hits and five walks. But he struck out four and finished his outing by working a two-on, no-out situation in the sixth.
And let’s just say Quantrill got in on a lot of action between innings as well.
“Full disclosure, he had a little bit of a stomach virus going around, throwing up between innings, struggling and making real plays — making some pitches when he needed to,” said Black, who watched relievers Jake Byrd (two innings), Nick Mears and Justin Lawrence (one each) combined to strike out six and not allow an earned run. Lawrence stymied the Mariners after JP Crawford singled home a runner to open the 10th.
Potentially embarrassing was the Rockies’ 1-for-10 performance with runners in scoring position through the first six innings. The scariest of events came with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth, when Mariners reliever Trent Thornton struck out Michael Toglia and forced a Stallings homer to ground out.
But the Rockies answered the call against Stallings and earned a win — one they’d been looking for for more than a week.