DENVER — September baseball may mean watching touted prospects enjoy their first moments in the Major League spotlight, but all the attention of Rockies fans centered on bench player Cristhian Adames as he delivered the two-run game-winning hit Wednesday night.
With one out and the bases loaded, Adames knocked a double off the right field scoreboard, plating Pat Valaika and Charlie Blackmon to deliver the Rockies a 6-5 victory, their second walk-off win of the season.
“He’s played a tough role this year, and he’s handled it well for a young player,” Weiss said of Adames, who has struggled this year posting a .219 batting average in 102 games.
Adames has quietly begun to find consistency at the plate with more at bats, however, recording hits in seven of his last nine games.
Adames delivered the final blow in a welcome ninth inning Rockies offensive assault that rid the bitter taste of Tuesday’s one-run loss. With the score standing at 5-3 entering the ninth, Nolan Arenado brought the game within a run with a solo home run to lead the inning off.
The Rockies, who are now 9-19 in one-run games, have too often watched offensive opportunities fizzle in the late innings. But Arenado’s blast would lead to Tom Murphy, Blackmon and Nick Hundley all reaching base to set the stage for Adames’ heroic at-bat.
“You’re just hoping to get something going. Nolan comes up big again, gets us one closer. After that we’re trying to manufacture something. That’s what we did.” Weiss said.
At the center of the offense throughout the night were rookies David Dahl and Tom Murphy, who provided a tantalizing taste of the future with back-to-back solo home runs in the fourth inning.
Dahl has now hit in 36 of his last 42 games since making his debut, slashing .318/.368/.510 in that time. His former minor-league teammate Murphy also posted his second multi-hit game since being called up on September 5, seamlessly continuing an offensive stride the two found together earlier this year in Triple-A Albuquerque.
“I think it’s the development coming up here and just composure,” Dahl said of the success of the Rockies rookies this year. “We’re doing a good job just taking it for what it is,” he said.
De La Rosa managed to go six innings, but struggled in what is likely one of his final starts at Coors Field. The Rockies fell behind 1-0 in the first after a sacrifice fly by Buster Posey to drive in Dom Nunez. They would add two more in the second as De La Rosa gave up two runs on three straight extra base hits, including a 457-foot home run by Brandon Belt.
De La Rosa would finish the night relinquishing five earned runs on nine hits, recording five strikeouts and one walk. After posting a 3.04 ERA in his last eight starts, it was disappointing as likely one of De La Rosa’s final appearances at home, where he holds the best winning percentage of any pitcher in Rockies history at .736 (53-19).
