Colorado Rockies: The future is carrying the team right now

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DENVER, CO – AUGUST 11: Ryan McMahon #24 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates hitting a walk-off, three-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field on August 11, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. Colorado won 3-2. (Photo by Joe Mahoney/Getty Images) /

They say that all good teams need more than 25 players to step up in order to get where they want to go. That bears true for the Colorado Rockies as they chase down something they’ve never done in franchise history.

Twenty-four years of Colorado Rockies baseball have come and gone without seeing the Denver Nine capture a National League West title. Now in their 25th year of existence, the Rockies have a chance to do just that. They have never been this close. After taking three of four in an epic series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado sits just 1.5 games back of the division-leading Arizona Diamondbacks and a half game behind the second-place Dodgers heading into Monday’s action.

Before this season, the closest the Rockies had been to first on the morning of August 13 was 2.5 games in 1996. The Rockies would never get any closer that season and ended the campaign 8 games back in the West.

From here on, they are in uncharted waters. And if they want to keep 2018 from ending like 1996, they need to stick with what’s working … giving opportunities to the team’s young talent.

A glance at the recently-concluded Dodgers’ series could easily leave Rockies fans believing they could have swept the Dodgers and moved a half-game ahead of LA in the division. After all, they held a 5-3 lead in the eighth inning before the bullpen did its thing and gave the Dodgers a dramatic 8-5 9th inning win. Six more outs and the Dodgers would have left Denver victims of a four-game sweep that sent them into third place in a division they believe should be theirs.

At the same time, the Rockies could have easily been swept and had their postseason hopes all but dashed. After a heart-breaking loss in the first game, Nolan Arenado left the second game with a sore shoulder and would not start for the rest of the series.

To make matters worse, Colorado trailed the Dodgers 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh on Friday, in danger of falling 4.5 games back of first place. On Saturday night, they were down 2-0 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Even Sunday’s game could have easily gone the Dodgers’ way after L.A. tied the game at 3 in the eighth. So why weren’t the Rockies swept?

DENVER, CO – AUGUST 10: Ryan McMahon #24 of the Colorado Rockies points to the stands and celebrates after hitting a seventh inning go-ahead two-run homerun against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field on August 10, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

It goes back to the idea of having all 25-plus guys on the team step up in big moments to help the team win … and, right now, the focus is on the Rockies’ inexperienced but talented young players who have been thriving in their opportunities to receive regular playing time.

Most notably, it was because highly-touted rookie infielder Ryan McMahon got a chance to play in Arenado’s absence and had a clutch weekend the likes of which Major League Baseball has not seen in 11 years.

The 23-year-old crushed a two-run homer in the seventh inning of Friday night’s game, lifting the Rockies to a 5-4 victory. And on Saturday, he deposited a 1-0 pitch just over the right field scoreboard for a three-run walk-off home run that scored the Rockies’ only runs in their 3-2 win. The last player to hit game-wining home runs in the seventh inning or later on back-to-back nights was Arizona’s Chris Young in 2007.

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After watching him stun the Dodgers the last two nights, L.A. manager Dave Roberts was not about to let McMahon beat him again. Intentional walks to McMahon and fellow youngster David Dahl loaded the bases for Chris Iannetta with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Iannetta walked, bringing home the winning run and sending the Dodgers trudging to the clubhouse yet again in what was a brutal weekend of blown opportunities that lead to three dejecting, close losses for L.A.

While the Rockies’ veterans’ offensive struggles continue, players like McMahon (whose versatility allows him to play second base and first base in addition to third) and Dahl are making the most of their opportunities. McMahon is hitting .348 in August and has two home runs and five RBI in the three games in place of Arenado. Dahl has recorded five homers and 16 RBI despite losing two months to a broken foot and not really receiving consistent playing time until recently.

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With more young bats waiting in the wings at Triple-A and Double-A, ready to complement a talented young rotation, Rockies fans have a lot of reasons to be excited about the future of this team. And as we watch guys like McMahon and Kyle Freeland & Company carry the team to the brink of first place, it seems that excitement might come a little early.

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They say that all good teams need more than 25 players to step up in order to get where they want to go. That bears true for the Colorado Rockies as they chase down something they’ve never done in franchise history.

More from Rox Pile

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