Colorado Rockies grind out a big win against a great Cardinals team

What a game.

A baseball game like the Colorado Rockies and the St. Louis Cardinals had at Coors Field is the type of game that creates baseball fans. It encompassed everything that makes baseball a great game.

The Rockies played the underdog role against the mighty St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals are a team steeped in tradition, brimming with talent, a pedigree and a fan base that is passionate about baseball and have generations of heroes that have influenced the bloodline of that franchise. The Rockies, to be frank, are quite the opposite. They have never defined themselves, they have had limited success, and despite having a few great players in their history, the club still could be viewed as the little brother to the rest of the league.

On Tuesday night, that little brother didn’t back down. Rockies ace Jorge De La Rosa went toe-to-toe with Michael Wacha, the latest in a long line of home grown pitchers that have turned into stars for the Cardinals. Wacha didn’t disappoint. He was nearly untouchable. It was a night where the Rockies didn’t have many chances.

Fortunately for the Rockies, De La Rosa was just as good. What might be the best kept secret in Major League Baseball is that De La Rosa is actually a very good pitcher. On Tuesday, the lefty went seven innings, giving up two runs on three hits. He struck out eight and walked two. He took a no-hitter into the 5th inning.

As is becoming a common theme, De La Rosa had to be visited by the team trainers on Tuesday. He’s had groin issues for several years, had a cut on his finger and in recent seasons a bruise on his thumb among other issues. While most pitchers wouldn’t be able to pitch as well while injured, it seems that De La Rosa actually does pitch better with minor injuries. Whether it makes him focus harder on his mechanics, or simply is a coincidence, he seems to get stronger while battling some sort of ailment.

The Rockies offense was waiting to break through. They were struggling against Wacha, but kept battling. DJ LeMahieu didn’t seem to be bothered by Wacha. He singled to the opposite field in each of his first two at-bats. Troy Tulowitzki was also able to scratch a hit off of the young starter. The Rockies were battling all night.

Down 2-0 in the bottom of the 6th inning, the purple pinstripes may have taken the next step towards becoming a respectable team. After Carlos Gonzalez singled off of Wacha, Nolan Arenado did what is becoming a common sight from the Rockies young star. He came up with a huge swing in the clutch. On a 94 MPH fastball, Arenado gave the fans in left-center field a souvenir. The home run was a no doubter. It was Arenado’s 15th home run of the season, many of which have come when his team needed them the most.

The following inning the Rockies added two more runs, giving them a 4-2 lead. After Walt Weiss nearly blew the game by going to Boone Logan to face two right-handed batters to start the 8th inning, Scott Oberg was summonsed to get out of the jam and he did just that. Logan gave up a home run to Peter Bourjas, then walked Tony Cruz, then plunked Kolten Wong on an 0-2 pitch before finally getting an out. It was the latest in a long line of struggles for Logan, who is going to go down as one of the worst free agent signings in Rockies history.

Oberg was able to wiggle out of the inning, preserving a one-run lead. John Axford, one of the Rockies biggest pickups, finished off the Cardinals in the 9th for his 11th save of the season. Saving the game was especially big for the Rockies and De La Rosa considering the fact that it gave De La Rosa 72 wins in a Rockies uniform, tying him for the most in franchise history with Aaron Cook.

It was a game Rockies fans haven’t seen in a long time. The team never quit. They didn’t back down. The Colorado Rockies of the past few seasons would never have even showed up to the ballpark with an idea of winning on Tuesday. The prospect of facing Wacha, who was 8-1 coming in to the game, would have been a give-up game for the Rockies.

This Rockies team has had their struggles. They have had their really bad stretches. Frankly, they probably aren’t good enough to contend. However, they apparently don’t believe that. They have fought and battled throughout the course of the season. After big losses, after gut-punches that normally would have buried them for days, they have come back to the park the next day and played like the night before had never happened.

Patience isn’t something that fans of any team should be told to have. The general nature of fans is that they want to win and win now. However, the reality for the Rockies is that expectations have to be tempered. They are in a re-branding type of situation. Internally they are deciding who they are. After years of excuses from Dan O’Dowd and his team, the Rockies are seeing what a new mindset can do for them. In the early-going, it looks like it is working.

A successful season for the Rockies is going to be 81 wins. If they can win half of their games they are going to be in great shape. There are kinks that have to be worked out and are going to take time to fix. The talent is close, but needs to be developed, something that was missing from the previous regime.

The Rockies seem to be on the cusp of breaking through. Half of that battle is figuring out how to not back down when facing great teams and great pitchers. That happened on Tuesday night. That’s a big step for the team.

This Rockies team is taking the steps required to be a good team in the league. They must continue to play games like Tuesday night’s to move forward down the path that they are on.

One way they could continue that improvement is by not being content with a series win over the Cardinals, but going out and completing the sweep on Wednesday afternoon.