Colorado Rockies morning after: 3 things to like from sweep of the Padres

When the temperature at Coors Field is blazin’ and a sweep of the Padres would be amazin’, who you gonna call …?

… Chuck Nazty!

Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon was the key to the win

With the score tied in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday afternoon, Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black looked to his bench and called on Charlie Blackmon—as a pinch-hitter—to deliver a decisive hit against a key National League West rival.

In true Chuck Nazty style, Blackmon answered with a single to center field to drive in Trevor Story from second base with the winning run in Colorado’s 8-7 walk-off victory against San Diego and a sweep of the three-game series with the Padres.

The win in front of a crowd of 18,798 was the Colorado Rockies’ sixth walk-off victory of the season, matching Oakland’s total as the most in the Majors.

The game Wednesday was played with a first-pitch temperature of 97 degrees and marked the third straight day of scorching temperatures at Coors Field. For the first two games of the series on Monday and Tuesday, the game-time temperature each evening was 98 degrees.

With the heat on, the Rox (28-41) returned home from a dismal 1-5 road trip to score their fourth series sweep of 2021 and the first against the Padres (38-32) since September of 2019.

For Blackmon, the walk-off hit was the sixth in his illustrious career as he continues to move up the Rockies’ career charts in several offensive categories. The game-winning hit in Chuck Nazty’s only plate appearance Wednesday extended his on-base streak to 18 games.

Of course, Blackmon wasn’t the only offensive standout for Colorado, which amassed 13 hits after getting 12 hits off Yu Darvish and San Diego pitching in an 8-4 victory Tuesday night.