Rockies Review: April 13, 2008 - Slugger is cash money on way to National League award

Following an outstanding 2007 season that saw Matt Holliday fall short of winning the second NL MVP in franchise history, the Oklahoma native put forth an equally impressive 2008 in his final year before being traded to the Oakland Athletics.

Entering a three-game series at home versus Atlanta, Holliday had a slash line of .182/.280/.364 through the first six games of ’08. After going 0-for-3 against Tom Glavine, the 28-year-old outfielder blasted a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth to lift Colorado to a 2-1 victory.

On the next night, he went 3-for-4 with two more ribbies, including the game-decider. The final game of the series brought on a 2-for-5 performance from the left fielder with another pair of ribeyes to seal the sweep of Atlanta.

In Arizona for the next series, it would be more of the same. Holliday provided two of the four hits against DBacks’ Brandon Webb, as well as half the team’s RBI in an 8-2 affair. Game two was another lopsided loss, 10-3, with only a single and a walk against Dan Haren.

The final contest of the weekend against the Snakes on April 13 was one of his finest of the early season. With an afternoon that included a double, a homer and three runs batted in, Holliday’s 3-for-5 lifted the Rockies to a 13-5 victory at Chase Field.

In total, Holliday batted .480 with two homers and 10 RBI to move his slash line up to .340/.404/.638 and earn him honors as the NL Player of the Week, the fifth and final of his five-year run with Colorado.

On This Day

In 1997, reliever Darren Holmes became the sixth purple pitcher to go deep as he slugged the only home run of his career in an 8-3 loss to the Montréal Expos. Two days later, starter Mark Thompson homered at Wrigley Field; it was the only long ball of his career, too.

While Holliday was on his way to the weekly honor, starter Aaron Cook began a push towards the lone All-Star Game selection of his career. The 29-year-old began a six-game winning streak across six starts in 2008. Though a quality start against Arizona on this day in the exact sense – six innings, three earned runs – his next five starts would last a minimum of seven frames and allow no more than two runs.

Back in 2009, Chicago Cubs starter Ted Lilly had his best stuff working against the Rockies . It was not until the seventh inning that Colorado would finally scratch its first hit of the game. A weak single by Garrett Atkins past the third baseman would be the only hit they’d muster.

When Trevor Story grew bored of hitting home runs in pairs – he went deep seven times in the first six games of 2016 – he decided to have some fun. He recorded two triples, or half of his season total, in consecutive at bats against the Giants.

Fun Fact

Right-handed starter Andy Ashby went on to make two All-Star Game appearances for the San Diego Padres. Before joining the Friars for this successful run, he was a member of the inaugural Rockies in 1993, recording the first balk in franchise history. Don’t forget where you came from, Andy.

On This Day In Baseball History

Fifty years ago today, the Oakland Athletics defeat the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1, in the Oakland Coliseum home opener. Notable from this game: the use of gold-colored bases.  Introduced by flamboyant team owner Charlie Finley, the innovation would be short-lived. Later ideas from Finley, such as night games for the World Series and the designated hitter, would eventually catch on and thrive within the game.