9 facts about epic Padres-Rockies 92-run series
DENVER -- The Padres and Rockies split four games at Coors Field this weekend. The series had everything.
And we mean everything.
The two teams set a Major League record with 92 runs in a four-game set, and things certainly got wacky along the way. Here's a look at nine unforgettable moments from a wild weekend in Denver.
9. Dueling inside-the-parkers
OK, technically, only Colorado's Ian Desmond recorded an inside-the-park home run. But San Diego's Greg Garcia circled the bases on a double and an error to lead off Saturday's game as well.
Desmond's was particularly impressive, as he went home to home in 15.09 seconds on Friday night -- the fastest time in the Majors this season.
Desmond also smashed a decisive grand slam Saturday night, and he ran his hitting streak to 10 games on Sunday. After an ice-cold start, Desmond has turned his season around.
"Ian has made some subtle changes to his swing, and we’re seeing the results," Rockies manager Bud Black said.
8. Right-field flooding
The Padres and Rockies endured three delays this weekend, two of which were due to weather. The second delay was by far the strangest. In the top of the first inning on Sunday afternoon, a water main broke down the right-field line, and it flooded the warning track in foul ground in a first inning that lasted longer than an hour, including the stoppage.
"I feel like we were being tested today, for sure,” Rockies right fielder Charlie Blackmon said. “That was a really tough time to have that happen -- day game after the night game. Guys' bodies are really on the edge. And then to sit down, have a delay, then sit down and have another delay, it's part of the reason why it seems like such an emotional series.”
The game was delayed by 15 minutes, before the slugfest resumed. The two clubs combined for nine runs in the first inning on Sunday.
7. Ejections galore
When the Padres' Manny Machado was tossed from Saturday's game for arguing balls and strikes in the fifth inning, it was only the beginning. Machado went off on home-plate ump Bill Welke, and at one point he threw his bat to the backstop. An inning later, manager Andy Green was ejected after he came onto the field for a few choice words with Welke.
But pitcher Matt Strahm's ejection was the oddest of the three. The Padres' dugout had been chirping at Welke, who warned the group to stop. With Phil Maton on the mound, Strahm said he yelled, "Come on, Phil," toward the pitcher. According to Strahm, crew chief Mike Everitt heard, "Come on, Bill," and that's why he was tossed.
6. Strahm vs. Gray -- twice!
The series started somewhat inconspicuously on Thursday night, with a comparatively mundane 9-6 Rockies victory in which Jon Gray outpitched Strahm. They would meet again.
The Padres stormed back from a three-run deficit in the ninth to tie the score at 13 on Sunday afternoon. With Wade Davis scuffling, Rockies skipper Bud Black called on Gray to record the final out. (It was his throw day.) San Diego, meanwhile, was out of bench options, and after Black ordered two intentional walks, Green called for Strahm as his pinch-hitter.
“I jokingly said at the start of the ninth, ‘Just get it to me, and we'll win,’” Strahm said. “I was assuming if it got to me we'd already have the lead.”
Those words proved prophetic anyway. Strahm didn’t take the bat off his shoulder, and he walked on six pitches -- the game-winning RBI.
5. Tatis does it all
During the series, Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. became the only player in baseball this year to record hits in seven consecutive at-bats, and that probably wasn't even the most impressive thing he did.
With two outs in the seventh on Saturday, Tony Wolters hit a liner to Tatis' right. Tatis went full extension for an absurd airborne grab to end the inning.
"Just reaction," Tatis would later say. "You see it, and you try to get there."
A day later, Tatis showed off his otherworldly arm strength. His 93.4 mph throw on a Daniel Murphy groundout was the fastest by an infielder this season, according to Statcast. The average Major League fastball is clocked at 93 mph.
4. Renfroe's trifecta
If Hunter Renfroe's All-Star case wasn't loud before this weekend, it is now. The Padres slugger went deep five times in the series, bringing his total to 23. Three of those came Friday night, when Renfroe joined Steve Finley as the only Padres with two three-homer games.
Renfroe mashed 1,316 feet worth of dingers on Friday, including a 459-foot moonshot that bounced over the seating in left-center field. It helped spark the largest ninth-inning comeback in Padres history.
3. Blackmon rakes
Blackmon led off Sunday's game with a homer, and he singled later in the frame. Another single in the sixth brought him to 15 hits in the series, setting the Major League record for a four-game series. Buck Jordan of the Braves in 1934 and Bill White of the Cardinals in '61 had 14.
Blackmon came one hit shy of tying Milt Stock of the Brooklyn Robins as the only players in MLB history with four hits in four straight games. Stock did so in 1925.
2. Comeback madness
The Rockies had never blown a six-run lead in the ninth inning. The Padres had never come back from a six-run deficit in the ninth inning. Until Friday night.
Trailing 11-5, San Diego stormed back with a six-run rally that began and ended with singles from Tatis. His 116-mph laser to tie the score was the hardest-hit ball Statcast has ever recorded for a Padres hitter. The Padres would score five more in the 12th to win it.
Then on Sunday, the Padres rallied from a five-run deficit and a three-run margin in the ninth. They tied it on Garcia’s triple and took the lead on Strahm’s walk. Their 14-13 victory marked the first time in franchise history that the Padres had come back from multiple five-run deficits in the same series.
"I ain't seen nothing like it," Wil Myers said.
1. Record breakers
The all-time record for runs in a four-game series was 88, set by the Phillies and Dodgers in May 1929. Renfroe's second home run Sunday tied that mark, and Myers' two-out RBI single in the ninth inning plated the 24th run of the game and 89th of the series, setting a new Major League record. The Padres’ four-run ninth inning ran that number to 92.
The teams also combined for 131 hits, which was two shy of the all-time record for a four-game series set 97 years ago. The Padres broke franchise records for runs scored (44) and runs allowed (48). Their 62 hits also tied a franchise mark.
Meanwhile, the Rockies tallied 69 hits, tying a 23-year-old franchise record for a four-game series. Their 48 runs were the third most in franchise history.
“We scored a lot of freaking runs,” Machado said. “It was something crazy.”
Yes, Manny, it certainly was.