The game of baseball transforms within the confines of Coors Field. This reality favored the Colorado Rockies on a recent Friday, culminating in an exceptionally dramatic contest.
The Rockies found themselves down 9-0 after the Pittsburgh Pirates’ initial turn at bat in the first inning. Later, they trailed 16-12 as the ninth inning commenced. Nevertheless, they emerged victorious with a final score of 17-16.
Center fielder Brenton Doyle delivered the decisive moment, launching a walk-off, two-run home run against Pirates relief pitcher Dennis Santana.
The game featured a total of 33 runs, 40 hits, 13 extra-base hits, 14 walks, and 56 total bases. According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com, this marked only the third instance in MLB’s divisional era (since 1969) where a team overcame a deficit of at least nine runs in the first inning to win, following the 1989 Philadelphia Phillies and the 2006 Cleveland Indians.
Here’s a graphical representation of the game’s progression:
Following the Pirates’ initial surge, the Rockies gradually narrowed the gap, although the Pirates maintained a seemingly comfortable lead with consecutive three-run innings in the fourth and fifth. Entering the eighth inning, the Rockies were seven runs behind, but home runs from Yanquiel Fernández and Hunter Goodman positioned them within reach for Doyle’s game-winning play.
This season had presented numerous challenges for the Rockies and for Doyle specifically. Despite his defensive prowess, he entered the game with a struggling batting average of .216/.263/.328, even considering the offensive advantage provided by Coors Field. Had he played for almost any other team, he would likely have been removed from the regular lineup. As measured by wRC+, which evaluates offensive contributions while accounting for the ballpark’s effects, he was statistically the least productive qualified offensive player in the major leagues as of Friday.
Now, both he and the Rockies have a noteworthy achievement to celebrate. This triumph elevates their record to 29-80, which still ranks as the worst in MLB, yet they are no longer projected to surpass the losses record set by the previous year’s Chicago White Sox.
