NL: ARIZONA at COLORADO <div class="pre">NL AT COLORADO - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: J Salazar hit for B Lyon. SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: ARIZONA 4 COLORADO 6 TOP, 9TH DUE UP FOR ARIZONA: J Salazar (.167, 0 HR, 0 RBI)</div>
NL: ARIZONA at COLORADO <div class="pre">NL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - ARIZONA 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 4 10 1 COLORADO 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 x 6 6 1 (FINAL) BATTERIES: ARI - MICAH OWINGS, JUAN CRUZ (4TH), BRANDON LYON (7TH) AND CHRIS SNYDER COL - FRANKLIN MORALES, MATT HERGES (5TH), LATROY HAWKINS (7TH), BRIAN FUENTES (8TH), MANNY CORPAS (8TH) AND YORVIT TORREALBA HOME RUNS: ARI - CHRIS SNYDER (1) OFF BRIAN FUENTES IN THE 8TH, 2 ON COL - MATT HOLLIDAY (2) OFF MICAH OWINGS IN THE 4TH, 2 ON</div>
NL: ARIZONA at COLORADO <div class="pre">NL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - ARIZONA 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 4 10 1 COLORADO 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 x 6 6 1 (FINAL) BATTERIES: ARI - MICAH OWINGS, JUAN CRUZ (4TH), BRANDON LYON (7TH) AND CHRIS SNYDER COL - FRANKLIN MORALES, MATT HERGES (5TH), LATROY HAWKINS (7TH), BRIAN FUENTES (8TH), MANNY CORPAS (8TH) AND YORVIT TORREALBA WP - MATT HERGES (1-0) LP - MICAH OWINGS (0-1) SAVE - MANNY CORPAS (2) HOME RUNS: ARI - CHRIS SNYDER (1) OFF BRIAN FUENTES IN THE 8TH, 2 ON COL - MATT HOLLIDAY (2) OFF MICAH OWINGS IN THE 4TH, 2 ON TIME: 3:17 ATT: 50,213 PROBABLES:</div>
NL: ARIZONA at COLORADO <div class="pre">ARIZONA (4) VS COLORADO (6) - FINAL ARIZONA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg C Young cf 5 0 2 0 0 1 2 .286 S Drew ss 5 1 1 0 0 0 3 .294 E Byrnes lf 4 0 0 0 1 1 2 .176 C Jackson 1b 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 .333 M Reynolds 3b 4 0 0 0 0 2 4 .125 C Snyder c 4 1 2 3 0 0 0 .333 J Upton rf 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 .222 J Cirillo 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 .400 b-T Clark ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .222 A Ojeda 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 M Owings p 2 1 1 0 0 1 1 .333 J Cruz p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 a-A Callaspo ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 B Lyon p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 c-J Salazar ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143 Totals 37 4 10 4 1 6 16 a-reached on error for J Cruz in the 7th; b-struck out swinging for J Cirillo in the 8th; c-grounded to first for B Lyon in the 9th. BATTING: 2B - C Snyder (2, F Morales); J Upton (1, F Morales); C Young (1, M Corpas). 3B - J Upton (1, B Fuentes). HR - C Snyder (1, 8th inning off B Fuentes 2 on, 2 Out). RBI - C Jackson (1), C Snyder 3 (3). 2-out RBI - C Jackson, C Snyder 3. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - T Clark 1, J Cirillo 1, E Byrnes 1, M Owings 1, M Reynolds 1. Team LOB - 8. BASERUNNING: CS - C Young (2, 2nd base by F Morales). FIELDING: E - C Jackson (2, ground ball). COLORADO ab r h rbi bb so lob avg W Taveras cf 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .167 K Matsui 2b 4 1 1 1 0 2 1 .235 M Holliday lf 3 1 2 3 0 1 0 .333 T Helton 1b 3 0 1 0 1 1 2 .214 G Atkins 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .143 M Corpas p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 B Hawpe rf 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 .333 T Tulowitzki ss 3 1 0 0 1 2 0 .188 Y Torrealba c 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 .200 F Morales p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 a-S Smith ph 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 .500 M Herges p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 b-J Baker ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .500 L Hawkins p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 B Fuentes p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 J Carroll 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 31 6 6 6 3 11 7 a-doubled to left for F Morales in the 4th; b-struck out swinging for M Herges in the 6th. BATTING: 2B - S Smith (1, M Owings). HR - M Holliday (2, 4th inning off M Owings 2 on, 2 Out). RBI - S Smith 2 (2), K Matsui (2), M Holliday 3 (4). 2-out RBI - S Smith 2, K Matsui, M Holliday 3. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - T Helton 1, G Atkins 1. Team LOB - 5. FIELDING: E - L Hawkins (1, ground ball). ---------------------------------------------------- ARIZONA - 001 000 030 -- 4 COLORADO - 000 600 00x -- 6 ---------------------------------------------------- ARIZONA ip h r er bb so hr era M Owings (L, 0-1) 3 2/3 6 6 2 2 2 1 4.91 J Cruz 2 1/3 0 0 0 1 6 0 0.00 B Lyon 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 0.00 COLORADO ip h r er bb so hr era F Morales 4 5 1 1 1 2 0 2.25 M Herges (W, 1-0) 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 L Hawkins 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 B Fuentes 2/3 4 3 3 0 1 1 7.36 M Corpas (S, 2) 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.69 HBP - J Upton (by F Morales); M Holliday (by M Owings). Pitches-strikes: M Owings 84-52; J Cruz 39-24; B Lyon 19-15; F Morales 65-40; M Herges 22-13; L Hawkins 11-7; B Fuentes 24-14; M Corpas 15-8. Ground balls-fly balls: M Owings 3-6; J Cruz 0-1; B Lyon 2-1; F Morales 3-6; M Herges 2-2; L Hawkins 3-0; B Fuentes 0-1; M Corpas 2-1. Batters faced: M Owings 21; J Cruz 8; B Lyon 6; F Morales 18; M Herges 6; L Hawkins 4; B Fuentes 6; M Corpas 5. UMPIRES: HP--Tom Hallion. 1B--Angel Hernandez. 2B--Jim Joyce. 3B--Tim Mcclelland. LF--Mark Wegner. RF--Larry Vanover. T--3:17. Att--50,213. Weather: 55 degrees, clear. Wind: 2 mph, in from center.</div>
Smith's bloop, Holliday's blast lead Rockies to World Series <h3>COLORADO 6, ARIZONA 4</h3>DENVER (Ticker) -- Micah Owings was one pitch away fromescaping with a lead. Thirteen pitches later, the ColoradoRockies were well on the way to their first World Seriesappearance. Pinch hitter extraordinaire Seth Smith hit a two-out double tospark a six-run fourth-inning flourish and Matt Holliday cappedit with a 452-foot blast, and the Rockies held on for a 6-4victory on Monday over the shellshocked Arizona Diamondbacks tocomplete a four-game sweep of the National League ChampionshipSeries. The stellar Colorado bullpen survived an eighth-inning hiccup byBrian Fuentes - a three-run homer to Chris Snyder - en route toits 21st win in 22 games and joined the 1976 Cincinnati Reds asthe only clubs in NL history to start the postseason with sevenstraight wins. In just its second postseason in franchise history, Coloradowill play either the Cleveland Indians or Boston Red Sox in theWorld Series in Game One next Wednesday at the American Leaguechampion's home park. With its season on the line, Arizona went with the rookieOwings, who was known more for his hitting prowess than hispitching. Owings was 8-8 with a 4.30 ERA in 27 starts in the regularseason but hadn't pitched since September 27. But therighthander, who hit .333 in 60 at-bats with four homers andtossed 15 2/3 scoreless innings in his last two starts, lookedsharp early and took a 1-0 lead into the fourth. However, walks in the fourth to Brad Hawpe and Troy Tulowitzkigave Colorado some life and both advanced on a groundout,bringing Smith to the plate with two outs instead of Coloradostarter Franklin Morales. The 25-year-old Smith, who was 6-for-11 - all as a pinch hitter- since being recalled in mid-September, quickly fell behind0-2. After taking a ball, the lefthanded hitter fought off aninside fastball that he blooped down the left field line for asingle, plating both runners for a 2-1 lead. It looked like Owings was going to escape the inning when WillyTaveras hit a routine grounder to Conor Jackson, but the firstbaseman booted the ball for an error to keep the inning alive. Kaz Matsui followed with a soft single up the middle, platingSmith before Matt Holliday drilled a 1-1 offering to dead centerfield for a 6-1 lead, ending the night for Owings and any realhope that Arizona had of coming back in the series. The homer for Holliday, a favorite for the NL MVP Award, was hisfourth of the postseason and second in as many nights in thisseries. The three hits with runners in scoring position for the Rockiesin the inning was one less than the Diamondbacks' output withrunners in scoring position for the entire series. The erroralso allowed Colorado to hold a 6-0 lead in unearned runs forthe series. Matt Herges (1-0) pitched two perfect innings, LaTroy Hawkinsadded a hitless seventh before Fuentes yielded singles toStephen Drew and Conor Jackson before Snyder lofted a 2-0fastball just inside the left field foul line to cut the deficitto 6-4. Justin Upton followed with a triple to left-center, bringing thetying run to the plate, but closer Manny Corpas entered andstruck out pinch hitter Tony Clark on a 3-2 pitch to escape.Corpas worked around a one-out double by Chris Young, notchinghis fifth save of the postseason when shortstop Tulowitzki threwout Eric Byrnes from deep short for the final out. Longtime Rockies first baseman Todd Helton dropped to his kneesand raised both fists in the air as a wild celebration tookplace on the field and fireworks flew through the sky. The Rockies bullpen entered the eighth having surrendered justtwo earned runs in 26 innings in the postseason. Morales, a 21-year-old lefthander who had three scorelessoutings in September, was making just his 10th career start,including a shaky outing in Game Two of the NLCS againstPhiladelphia 11 days ago in which he allowed three runs inthree-plus innings. But the hardthrowing lefthander kept Colorado in the game,allowing just a run, five hits and a walk with two strikeouts infour innings before leaving. He yielded a run in the third inning - the first time Arizonahad led in the series since the first inning of Game One - on a<div class="pre">two-out line single to center field by Jackson, but a great</div>leaping grab of a liner by Tulowitzki at shortstop on a shot byChris Young prevented a much bigger inning. Morales strandedtwo runners in three of the four innings he pitched.
NL: ARIZONA at COLORADO <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ARIZONA (4) AT COLORADO (6) - HOW THEY SCORED ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ARIZONA 3RD: M Owings reached on infield single to shortstop. C Young lined out to shortstop. S Drew flied out to right. E Byrnes walked, M Owings to second. C Jackson singled to center, M Owings scored, E Byrnes to second. M Reynolds flied out to center. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 1, COLORADO 0. COLORADO 4TH: G Atkins lined out to second. B Hawpe walked. T Tulowitzki walked, B Hawpe to second. Y Torrealba grounded out to pitcher, B Hawpe to third, T Tulowitzki to second. S Smith hit for F Morales. S Smith doubled to left, B Hawpe and T Tulowitzki scored. W Taveras safe at first on error by first baseman C Jackson, S Smith to third. K Matsui singled to center, S Smith scored, W Taveras to second. M Holliday homered to center, W Taveras and K Matsui scored. J Cruz relieved M Owings. T Helton walked. G Atkins struck out swinging. (6 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) ARIZONA 1, COLORADO 6. ARIZONA 8TH: B Fuentes relieved L Hawkins. S Drew singled to left. E Byrnes popped out to shortstop. C Jackson singled to center, S Drew to third. M Reynolds struck out swinging. C Snyder homered to left, S Drew and C Jackson scored. J Upton tripled to deep center. M Corpas relieved B Fuentes. J Carroll at third base. T Clark hit for J Cirillo. T Clark struck out swinging. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 4, COLORADO 6.</div>
NL: ARIZONA at COLORADO <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ARIZONA (4) AT COLORADO (6) - EVENT LOG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Arizona Starting Lineups -- C Young CF, S Drew SS, E Byrnes LF, C Jackson 1B, M Reynolds 3B, C Snyder C, J Upton RF, J Cirillo 2B, M Owings RHP. Colorado Starting Lineups -- W Taveras CF, K Matsui 2B, M Holliday LF, T Helton 1B, G Atkins 3B, B Hawpe RF, T Tulowitzki SS, Y Torrealba C, F Morales LHP. Umpires -- Tom Hallion (HP), Angel Hernandez (1B), Jim Joyce (2B), Tim Mcclelland (3B), Mark Wegner (LF), Larry Vanover (RF). Gametime Weather: 55 degrees, Clear, wind in from center at 2 mph. ARIZONA 1ST: C Young singled to left. S Drew flied out to left. C Young caught stealing second, to pitcher. E Byrnes grounded out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 0, COLORADO 0. COLORADO 1ST: W Taveras flied out to right. K Matsui flied out to center. M Holliday singled to center. T Helton singled to right, M Holliday to second. G Atkins flied out to center. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 0, COLORADO 0. ARIZONA 2ND: C Jackson grounded out to first. M Reynolds struck out swinging. C Snyder doubled to deep left. J Upton hit by pitch. J Cirillo grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 0, COLORADO 0. COLORADO 2ND: B Hawpe grounded out to first. T Tulowitzki struck out swinging. Y Torrealba flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 0, COLORADO 0. ARIZONA 3RD: M Owings reached on infield single to shortstop. C Young lined out to shortstop. S Drew flied out to right. E Byrnes walked, M Owings to second. C Jackson singled to center, M Owings scored, E Byrnes to second. M Reynolds flied out to center. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 1, COLORADO 0. COLORADO 3RD: F Morales grounded out to shortstop. W Taveras singled to right. K Matsui struck out swinging. M Holliday hit by pitch, W Taveras to second. T Helton fouled out to third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 1, COLORADO 0. ARIZONA 4TH: C Snyder flied out to center. J Upton doubled to deep right center. J Cirillo flied out to center. M Owings struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 1, COLORADO 0. COLORADO 4TH: G Atkins lined out to second. B Hawpe walked. T Tulowitzki walked, B Hawpe to second. Y Torrealba grounded out to pitcher, B Hawpe to third, T Tulowitzki to second. S Smith hit for F Morales. S Smith doubled to left, B Hawpe and T Tulowitzki scored. W Taveras safe at first on error by first baseman C Jackson, S Smith to third. K Matsui singled to center, S Smith scored, W Taveras to second. M Holliday homered to center, W Taveras and K Matsui scored. J Cruz relieved M Owings. T Helton walked. G Atkins struck out swinging. (6 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) ARIZONA 1, COLORADO 6. ARIZONA 5TH: M Herges relieved F Morales. C Young struck out swinging. S Drew lined out to right. E Byrnes struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 1, COLORADO 6. COLORADO 5TH: B Hawpe struck out swinging. T Tulowitzki flied out to right. Y Torrealba struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 1, COLORADO 6. ARIZONA 6TH: C Jackson grounded out to first. M Reynolds grounded out to shortstop. C Snyder flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 1, COLORADO 6. COLORADO 6TH: J Baker hit for M Herges. J Baker struck out swinging. W Taveras struck out looking. K Matsui struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 1, COLORADO 6. ARIZONA 7TH: L Hawkins relieved M Herges. J Upton grounded out to pitcher. J Cirillo grounded out to shortstop. A Callaspo hit for J Cruz. A Callaspo safe at first on error by pitcher L Hawkins. C Young grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) ARIZONA 1, COLORADO 6. COLORADO 7TH: B Lyon relieved J Cruz. M Holliday struck out swinging. T Helton struck out swinging. G Atkins grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 1, COLORADO 6. ARIZONA 8TH: B Fuentes relieved L Hawkins. S Drew singled to left. E Byrnes popped out to shortstop. C Jackson singled to center, S Drew to third. M Reynolds struck out swinging. C Snyder homered to left, S Drew and C Jackson scored. J Upton tripled to deep center. M Corpas relieved B Fuentes. J Carroll at third base. T Clark hit for J Cirillo. T Clark struck out swinging. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 4, COLORADO 6. COLORADO 8TH: A Ojeda at second base. B Hawpe grounded out to pitcher. T Tulowitzki struck out looking. Y Torrealba flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 4, COLORADO 6. ARIZONA 9TH: J Salazar hit for B Lyon. J Salazar grounded out to first. C Young doubled to left. S Drew popped out to second. E Byrnes grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 4, COLORADO 6.</div>
NL: ARIZONA at COLORADO <div class="pre">ARIZONA (4) VS COLORADO (6) - FINAL ARIZONA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg C Young cf 5 0 2 0 0 1 2 .286 S Drew ss 5 1 1 0 0 0 3 .294 E Byrnes lf 4 0 0 0 1 1 2 .176 C Jackson 1b 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 .333 M Reynolds 3b 4 0 0 0 0 2 4 .125 C Snyder c 4 1 2 3 0 0 0 .333 J Upton rf 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 .222 J Cirillo 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 .400 b-T Clark ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .222 A Ojeda 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 M Owings p 2 1 1 0 0 1 1 .333 J Cruz p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 a-A Callaspo ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 B Lyon p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 c-J Salazar ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143 Totals 37 4 10 4 1 6 16 a-reached on error for J Cruz in the 7th; b-struck out swinging for J Cirillo in the 8th; c-grounded to first for B Lyon in the 9th. BATTING: 2B - C Snyder (2, F Morales); J Upton (1, F Morales); C Young (1, M Corpas). 3B - J Upton (1, B Fuentes). HR - C Snyder (1, 8th inning off B Fuentes 2 on, 2 Out). RBI - C Jackson (1), C Snyder 3 (3). 2-out RBI - C Jackson, C Snyder 3. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - T Clark 1, J Cirillo 1, E Byrnes 1, M Owings 1, M Reynolds 1. Team LOB - 8. BASERUNNING: CS - C Young (2, 2nd base by F Morales). FIELDING: E - C Jackson (2, ground ball). COLORADO ab r h rbi bb so lob avg W Taveras cf 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .167 K Matsui 2b 4 1 1 1 0 2 1 .235 M Holliday lf 3 1 2 3 0 1 0 .333 T Helton 1b 3 0 1 0 1 1 2 .214 G Atkins 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .143 M Corpas p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 B Hawpe rf 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 .333 T Tulowitzki ss 3 1 0 0 1 2 0 .188 Y Torrealba c 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 .200 F Morales p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 a-S Smith ph 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 .500 M Herges p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 b-J Baker ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .500 L Hawkins p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 B Fuentes p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 J Carroll 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 31 6 6 6 3 11 7 a-doubled to left for F Morales in the 4th; b-struck out swinging for M Herges in the 6th. BATTING: 2B - S Smith (1, M Owings). HR - M Holliday (2, 4th inning off M Owings 2 on, 2 Out). RBI - S Smith 2 (2), K Matsui (2), M Holliday 3 (4). 2-out RBI - S Smith 2, K Matsui, M Holliday 3. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - T Helton 1, G Atkins 1. Team LOB - 5. FIELDING: E - L Hawkins (1, ground ball). ---------------------------------------------------- ARIZONA - 001 000 030 -- 4 COLORADO - 000 600 00x -- 6 ---------------------------------------------------- ARIZONA ip h r er bb so hr era M Owings (L, 0-1) 3 2/3 6 6 2 2 2 1 4.91 J Cruz 2 1/3 0 0 0 1 6 0 0.00 B Lyon 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 0.00 COLORADO ip h r er bb so hr era F Morales 4 5 1 1 1 2 0 2.25 M Herges (W, 1-0) 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 L Hawkins 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 B Fuentes 2/3 4 3 3 0 1 1 7.36 M Corpas (S, 2) 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.69 HBP - J Upton (by F Morales); M Holliday (by M Owings). Pitches-strikes: M Owings 84-52; J Cruz 39-24; B Lyon 19-15; F Morales 65-40; M Herges 22-13; L Hawkins 11-7; B Fuentes 24-14; M Corpas 15-8. Ground balls-fly balls: M Owings 3-6; J Cruz 0-1; B Lyon 2-1; F Morales 3-6; M Herges 2-2; L Hawkins 3-0; B Fuentes 0-1; M Corpas 2-1. Batters faced: M Owings 21; J Cruz 8; B Lyon 6; F Morales 18; M Herges 6; L Hawkins 4; B Fuentes 6; M Corpas 5. UMPIRES: HP--Tom Hallion. 1B--Angel Hernandez. 2B--Jim Joyce. 3B--Tim Mcclelland. LF--Mark Wegner. RF--Larry Vanover. T--3:17. Att--50,213. Weather: 55 degrees, clear. Wind: 2 mph, in from center.</div>
Smith's bloop, Holliday's blast lead Rockies to World Series <h3>COLORADO 6, ARIZONA 4</h3>DENVER (Ticker) -- Micah Owings was one pitch away fromescaping with a lead. Thirteen pitches later, the ColoradoRockies were well on the way to their first World Seriesappearance. Pinch hitter extraordinaire Seth Smith hit a two-out double tospark a six-run fourth-inning flourish and Matt Holliday cappedit with a 452-foot blast, and the Rockies held on for a 6-4victory on Monday over the shellshocked Arizona Diamondbacks tocomplete a four-game sweep of the National League ChampionshipSeries. "Different hero every day," Colorado center fielder WillyTaveras said. "Tonight guys from the bench got the big hits." "It's been an organizational effort and I have never been moreproud of a group of men than I have of these men that wear aRockies uniform this year," Colorado manager Clint Hurdle said."There's a been a bunch of them and they've all made adifference." The stellar Colorado bullpen survived an eighth-inning hiccup byBrian Fuentes - a three-run homer to Chris Snyder - en route toits 21st win in 22 games and joined the 1976 Cincinnati Reds asthe only clubs in NL history to start the postseason with sevenstraight wins. "We don't really talk about (the streak), we are pretty muchfocused on that day's business. This club has had a good focusall season long of turning the page to the next day. We talkmore about fantasy football. In just its second postseason in franchise history, Coloradowill play either the Cleveland Indians or Boston Red Sox in theWorld Series in Game One next Wednesday at the American Leaguechampion's home park. With its season on the line, Arizona went with the rookieOwings, who was known more for his hitting prowess than hispitching. Owings was 8-8 with a 4.30 ERA in 27 starts in the regularseason but hadn't pitched since September 27. But therighthander, who hit .333 in 60 at-bats with four homers andtossed 15 2/3 scoreless innings in his last two starts, lookedsharp early and took a 1-0 lead into the fourth. However, walks in the fourth to Brad Hawpe and Troy Tulowitzkigave Colorado some life and both advanced on a groundout,bringing Smith to the plate with two outs instead of Coloradostarter Franklin Morales. The 25-year-old Smith, who was 6-for-11 - all as a pinch hitter- since being purchased in mid-September, quickly fell behind0-2. After taking a ball, the lefthanded hitter fought off aninside fastball that he blooped down the left field line for asingle, plating both runners for a 2-1 lead. It looked like Owings was going to escape the inning when WillyTaveras hit a routine grounder to Conor Jackson, but the firstbaseman booted the ball for an error to keep the inning alive. Kaz Matsui followed with a soft single up the middle, platingSmith before Matt Holliday drilled a 1-1 offering to dead centerfield for a 6-1 lead, ending the night for Owings and any realhope that Arizona had of coming back in the series. The homer for Holliday, a favorite for the NL MVP Award, was hisfourth of the postseason and second in as many nights in thisseries. "Runners on base, trying to score, looking for a pitch todrive," Holliday said. "He left a slider up and I was able toget enough of it and it went over the fence. "It's unbelievable I never dreamed to have this opportunity andI thank the lord I could be a part of this team and this groupof guys. I'm just so excited to be part of it and this MVPaward goes 24 ways and all the coaches and every one who hasever worked with me coming up." The three hits with runners in scoring position for the Rockiesin the inning was one less than the Diamondbacks' output withrunners in scoring position for the entire series. The erroralso allowed Colorado to hold a 6-0 lead in unearned runs forthe series. Matt Herges (1-0) pitched two perfect innings, LaTroy Hawkinsadded a hitless seventh before Fuentes yielded singles toStephen Drew and Conor Jackson before Snyder lofted a 2-0fastball just inside the left field foul line to cut the deficitto 6-4. Justin Upton followed with a triple to left-center, bringing thetying run to the plate, but closer Manny Corpas entered andstruck out pinch hitter Tony Clark on a 3-2 pitch to escape.Corpas worked around a one-out double by Chris Young, notchinghis fifth save of the postseason when shortstop Tulowitzki threwout Eric Byrnes from deep short for the final out. Longtime Rockies first baseman Todd Helton dropped to his kneesand raised both fists in the air as a wild celebration tookplace on the field and fireworks flew through the sky. "I can't believe it, what a crazy game," Helton said."Emotionally, I can't say enough about this ball club theresiliency they've shown. ... I don't know what to say. "It was fun, this has been a great ride, we're not done. We'regoing to keep it going." The Rockies bullpen entered the eighth having surrendered justtwo earned runs in 26 innings in the postseason. Morales, a 21-year-old lefthander who had three scorelessoutings in September, was making just his 10th career start,including a shaky outing in Game Two of the NLCS againstPhiladelphia 11 days ago in which he allowed three runs inthree-plus innings. But the hardthrowing lefthander kept Colorado in the game,allowing just a run, five hits and a walk with two strikeouts infour innings before leaving. He yielded a run in the third inning - the first time Arizonahad led in the series since the first inning of Game One - on a<div class="pre">two-out line single to center field by Jackson, but a great</div>leaping grab of a liner by Tulowitzki at shortstop on a shot byChris Young prevented a much bigger inning. Morales strandedtwo runners in three of the four innings he pitched.
Smith's bloop, Holliday's blast lead Rockies to World Series <h3>COLORADO 6, ARIZONA 4</h3>DENVER (Ticker) -- Micah Owings was one pitch away fromescaping with a lead. Thirteen pitches later, the ColoradoRockies were well on the way to their first World Seriesappearance. Pinch hitter extraordinaire Seth Smith hit a two-out double tospark a six-run fourth-inning flourish and Matt Holliday cappedit with a 452-foot blast, and the Rockies held on for a 6-4victory on Monday over the shellshocked Arizona Diamondbacks tocomplete a four-game sweep of the National League ChampionshipSeries. "Different hero every day," Colorado center fielder WillyTaveras said. "Tonight guys from the bench got the big hits." "It's been an organizational effort and I have never been moreproud of a group of men than I have of these men that wear aRockies uniform this year," Colorado manager Clint Hurdle said."There's a been a bunch of them and they've all made adifference." The stellar Colorado bullpen survived an eighth-inning hiccup byBrian Fuentes - a three-run homer to Chris Snyder - en route toits 21st win in 22 games and joined the 1976 Cincinnati Reds asthe only clubs in NL history to start the postseason with sevenstraight wins. "We don't really talk about (the streak), we are pretty muchfocused on that day's business," Holliday said. "This club hashad a good focus all season long of turning the page to the nextday. We talk more about fantasy football. In just its second postseason in franchise history, Coloradowill play either the Cleveland Indians or Boston Red Sox in theWorld Series in Game One next Wednesday at the American Leaguechampion's home park. With its season on the line, Arizona went with the rookieOwings, who was known more for his hitting prowess than hispitching. Owings was 8-8 with a 4.30 ERA in 27 starts in the regularseason but hadn't pitched since September 27. But therighthander, who hit .333 in 60 at-bats with four homers andtossed 15 2/3 scoreless innings in his last two starts, lookedsharp early and took a 1-0 lead into the fourth. However, walks in the fourth to Brad Hawpe and Troy Tulowitzkigave Colorado some life and both advanced on a groundout,bringing Smith to the plate with two outs instead of Coloradostarter Franklin Morales. The 25-year-old Smith, who was 6-for-11 - all as a pinch hitter- since being purchased in mid-September, quickly fell behind0-2. After taking a ball, the lefthanded hitter fought off aninside fastball that he blooped down the left field line for asingle, plating both runners for a 2-1 lead. It looked like Owings was going to escape the inning when WillyTaveras hit a routine grounder to Conor Jackson, but the firstbaseman booted the ball for an error to keep the inning alive. Kaz Matsui followed with a soft single up the middle, platingSmith before Matt Holliday drilled a 1-1 offering to dead centerfield for a 6-1 lead, ending the night for Owings and any realhope that Arizona had of coming back in the series. The homer for Holliday, a favorite for the NL MVP Award, was hisfourth of the postseason and second in as many nights in thisseries. "Runners on base, trying to score, looking for a pitch todrive," Holliday said. "He left a slider up and I was able toget enough of it and it went over the fence. "It's unbelievable I never dreamed to have this opportunity andI thank the lord I could be a part of this team and this groupof guys. I'm just so excited to be part of it and this MVPaward goes 24 ways and all the coaches and every one who hasever worked with me coming up." The three hits with runners in scoring position for the Rockiesin the inning was one less than the Diamondbacks' output withrunners in scoring position for the entire series. The erroralso allowed Colorado to hold a 6-0 lead in unearned runs forthe series. Matt Herges (1-0) pitched two perfect innings, LaTroy Hawkinsadded a hitless seventh before Fuentes yielded singles toStephen Drew and Conor Jackson before Snyder lofted a 2-0fastball just inside the left field foul line to cut the deficitto 6-4. Justin Upton followed with a triple to left-center, bringing thetying run to the plate, but closer Manny Corpas entered andstruck out pinch hitter Tony Clark on a 3-2 pitch to escape.Corpas worked around a one-out double by Chris Young, notchinghis fifth save of the postseason when shortstop Tulowitzki threwout Eric Byrnes from deep short for the final out. Longtime Rockies first baseman Todd Helton dropped to his kneesand raised both fists in the air as a wild celebration tookplace on the field and fireworks flew through the sky. "I can't believe it, what a crazy game," Helton said."Emotionally, I can't say enough about this ball club theresiliency they've shown. ... I don't know what to say. "It was fun, this has been a great ride, we're not done. We'regoing to keep it going." The Rockies bullpen entered the eighth having surrendered justtwo earned runs in 26 innings in the postseason. Morales, a 21-year-old lefthander who had three scorelessoutings in September, was making just his 10th career start,including a shaky outing in Game Two of the NLCS againstPhiladelphia 11 days ago in which he allowed three runs inthree-plus innings. But the hardthrowing lefthander kept Colorado in the game,allowing just a run, five hits and a walk with two strikeouts infour innings before leaving. He yielded a run in the third inning - the first time Arizonahad led in the series since the first inning of Game One - on a<div class="pre">two-out line single to center field by Jackson, but a great</div>leaping grab of a liner by Tulowitzki at shortstop on a shot byChris Young prevented a much bigger inning. Morales strandedtwo runners in three of the four innings he pitched.
Smith's bloop, Holliday's blast lead Rockies to World Series <h3>COLORADO 6, ARIZONA 4</h3>DENVER (Ticker) -- Micah Owings was one pitch away fromescaping with a lead. Thirteen pitches later, the ColoradoRockies were well on the way to their first World Seriesappearance. Pinch hitter extraordinaire Seth Smith hit a two-out double tospark a six-run fourth-inning and Matt Holliday capped theflourish with a 452-foot blast, and the Rockies held on for a6-4 victory on Monday over the shellshocked Arizona Diamondbacksto complete a four-game sweep of the National LeagueChampionship Series. "Different hero every day," Colorado center fielder WillyTaveras said. "Tonight guys from the bench got the big hits." "It's been an organizational effort and I have never been moreproud of a group of men than I have of these men that wear aRockies uniform this year," Colorado manager Clint Hurdle said."There's a been a bunch of them and they've all made adifference." The stellar Colorado bullpen survived an eighth-inning hiccup byBrian Fuentes - a three-run homer to Chris Snyder - en route toits 21st win in 22 games and joined the 1976 Cincinnati Reds asthe only clubs in NL history to start the postseason with sevenstraight wins. "We don't really talk about (the streak), we are pretty muchfocused on that day's business," Holliday said. "This club hashad a good focus all season long of turning the page to the nextday. We talk more about fantasy football." In just its second postseason in franchise history, Coloradowill play either the Cleveland Indians or Boston Red Sox in theWorld Series in Game One next Wednesday at the American Leaguechampion's home park. "We don't care who it is," Holliday said. "They're both verygood teams with very good pitching. We're just going to try toenjoy it tonight, you guys have nine days to ask us about theWorld Series." With its season on the line, Arizona went with the rookieOwings, who was known more for his hitting prowess than hispitching. "I felt good all night, I just made one mistake to Holliday,"Owings said. "We didn't have too many things go our way thisseries." Owings was 8-8 with a 4.30 ERA in 27 starts in the regularseason but hadn't pitched since September 27. But therighthander, who hit .333 in 60 at-bats with four homers andtossed 15 2/3 scoreless innings in his last two starts, lookedsharp early and took a 1-0 lead into the fourth. However, walks in the fourth to Brad Hawpe and Troy Tulowitzkigave Colorado some life and both advanced on a groundout,bringing Smith to the plate with two outs instead of Coloradostarter Franklin Morales. "I felt it was imperative to get a lead before they could turnit over to their bullpen," Hurdle said. "It was a gamble. Ihave a lot of good options with the amount of good players Ihave and I thought it was worth the risk." The 25-year-old Smith, who was 6-for-11 - all as a pinch hitter- since being purchased in mid-September, quickly fell behind0-2. After taking a ball, the lefthanded hitter fought off aninside fastball that he blooped down the left field line for asingle, plating both runners for a 2-1 lead. "I didn't know it was my time to hit until I actually went upthere," Smith said. "I got behind early in the count and Iwanted to do was get the barrel on the ball. I knew it wasgoing to fall in, I just had to wait to see if it was going tobe fair or foul so I just kept running." It looked like Owings was going to escape the inning when WillyTaveras hit a routine grounder to Conor Jackson, but the firstbaseman booted the ball for an error to keep the inning alive. "Nine times out of 10 he makes that play," Owings said. Kaz Matsui followed with a soft single up the middle, platingSmith before Holliday drilled a 1-1 offering to dead centerfield for a 6-1 lead, ending the night for Owings and any realhope that Arizona had of coming back in the series. The homer for Holliday, a favorite for the NL MVP Award, was hisfourth of the postseason and second in as many nights in thisseries. "Runners on base, trying to score, looking for a pitch todrive," Holliday said. "He left a slider up and I was able toget enough of it and it went over the fence. "It's unbelievable I never dreamed to have this opportunity andI thank the lord I could be a part of this team and this groupof guys. I'm just so excited to be part of it and this MVPaward goes 24 ways and all the coaches and every one who hasever worked with me coming up." The three hits with runners in scoring position for the Rockiesin the inning was one less than the Diamondbacks' output withrunners in scoring position for the entire series. The erroralso allowed Colorado to hold a 6-0 lead in unearned runs forthe series. Matt Herges (1-0) pitched two perfect innings, LaTroy Hawkinsadded a hitless seventh before Fuentes yielded singles toStephen Drew and Conor Jackson before Snyder lofted a 2-0fastball just inside the left field foul line to cut the deficitto 6-4. Justin Upton followed with a triple to left-center, bringing thetying run to the plate, but closer Manny Corpas entered andstruck out pinch hitter Tony Clark on a 3-2 pitch to escape.Corpas worked around a one-out double by Chris Young, notchinghis fifth save of the postseason when shortstop Tulowitzki threwout Eric Byrnes from deep short for the final out. Longtime Rockies first baseman Todd Helton dropped to his kneesand raised both fists in the air as a wild celebration tookplace on the field and fireworks flew through the sky. "I can't believe it, what a crazy game," Helton said."Emotionally, I can't say enough about this ball club theresiliency they've shown. ... I don't know what to say. I'd doa disservice to it trying to put it into words. "It was fun, this has been a great ride, we're not done. We'regoing to keep it going." The Rockies bullpen entered the eighth having surrendered justtwo earned runs in 26 innings in the postseason. Morales, a 21-year-old lefthander who had three scorelessoutings in September, was making just his 10th career start,including a shaky outing in Game Two of the NLCS againstPhiladelphia 11 days ago in which he allowed three runs inthree-plus innings. But the hardthrowing lefthander kept Colorado in the game,allowing just a run, five hits and a walk with two strikeouts infour innings before leaving. He yielded a run in the third inning - the first time Arizonahad led in the series since the first inning of Game One - on a<div class="pre">two-out line single to center field by Jackson, but a great</div>leaping grab of a liner by Tulowitzki at shortstop on a shot byChris Young prevented a much bigger inning. Morales strandedtwo runners in three of the four innings he pitched.
Smith's bloop, Holliday's blast lead Rockies to World Series <h3>COLORADO 6, ARIZONA 4</h3>DENVER (Ticker) -- Micah Owings was one pitch away fromescaping with a lead. Thirteen pitches later, the ColoradoRockies were well on the way to their first World Seriesappearance. Pinch hitter extraordinaire Seth Smith hit a two-out double tospark a six-run fourth-inning and Matt Holliday capped theflourish with a 452-foot blast, and the Rockies held on for a6-4 victory on Monday over the shellshocked Arizona Diamondbacksto complete a four-game sweep of the National LeagueChampionship Series. "Different hero every day," Colorado center fielder WillyTaveras said. "Tonight guys from the bench got the big hits." "It's been an organizational effort and I have never been moreproud of a group of men than I have of these men that wear aRockies uniform this year," Colorado manager Clint Hurdle said."There's a been a bunch of them and they've all made adifference." The stellar Colorado bullpen survived an eighth-inning hiccup byBrian Fuentes - a three-run homer to Chris Snyder - en route toits 21st win in 22 games and joined the 1976 Cincinnati Reds asthe only clubs in NL history to start the postseason with sevenstraight wins. "We don't really talk about (the streak), we are pretty muchfocused on that day's business," Holliday said. "This club hashad a good focus all season long of turning the page to the nextday. We talk more about fantasy football." In just its second postseason in franchise history, Coloradowill play either the Cleveland Indians or Boston Red Sox in theWorld Series in Game One next Wednesday at the American Leaguechampion's home park. "We don't care who it is," Holliday said. "They're both verygood teams with very good pitching. We're just going to try toenjoy it tonight, you guys have nine days to ask us about theWorld Series." With its season on the line, Arizona went with the rookieOwings, who was known more for his hitting prowess than hispitching. "I felt good all night, I just made one mistake to Holliday,"Owings said. "We didn't have too many things go our way thisseries." Owings was 8-8 with a 4.30 ERA in 27 starts in the regularseason but hadn't pitched since September 27. But therighthander, who hit .333 in 60 at-bats with four homers andtossed 15 2/3 scoreless innings in his last two starts, lookedsharp early and took a 1-0 lead into the fourth. However, walks in the fourth to Brad Hawpe and Troy Tulowitzkigave Colorado some life and both advanced on a groundout,bringing Smith to the plate with two outs instead of Coloradostarter Franklin Morales. "I felt it was imperative to get a lead before they could turnit over to their bullpen," Hurdle said. "It was a gamble. Ihave a lot of good options with the amount of good players Ihave and I thought it was worth the risk." The 25-year-old Smith, who was 6-for-11 - all as a pinch hitter- since being purchased in mid-September, quickly fell behind0-2. After taking a ball, the lefthanded hitter fought off aninside fastball that he blooped down the left field line for asingle, plating both runners for a 2-1 lead. "I didn't know it was my time to hit until I actually went upthere," Smith said. "I got behind early in the count and Iwanted to do was get the barrel on the ball. I knew it wasgoing to fall in, I just had to wait to see if it was going tobe fair or foul so I just kept running." It looked like Owings was going to escape the inning when WillyTaveras hit a routine grounder to Conor Jackson, but the firstbaseman booted the ball for an error to keep the inning alive. "Nine times out of 10 he makes that play," Owings said. Kaz Matsui followed with a soft single up the middle, platingSmith before Holliday drilled a 1-1 offering to dead centerfield for a 6-1 lead, ending the night for Owings and any realhope that Arizona had of coming back in the series. The homer for Holliday, a favorite for the NL MVP Award, was hisfourth of the postseason and second in as many nights in thisseries. "Runners on base, trying to score, looking for a pitch todrive," Holliday said. "He left a slider up and I was able toget enough of it and it went over the fence. "It's unbelievable I never dreamed to have this opportunity andI thank the lord I could be a part of this team and this groupof guys. I'm just so excited to be part of it and this MVPaward goes 24 ways and all the coaches and every one who hasever worked with me coming up." The three hits with runners in scoring position for the Rockiesin the inning was one less than the Diamondbacks' output withrunners in scoring position for the entire series. The erroralso allowed Colorado to hold a 6-0 lead in unearned runs forthe series. "We fought again to the end which we expect every night," Diamondbacksmanager Bob Melvin said. "(I told our players) hold your heads highcause we had a hell of a year." Matt Herges (1-0) pitched two perfect innings, LaTroy Hawkinsadded a hitless seventh before Fuentes yielded singles toStephen Drew and Conor Jackson before Snyder lofted a 2-0fastball just inside the left field foul line to cut the deficitto 6-4. Justin Upton followed with a triple to left-center, bringing thetying run to the plate, but closer Manny Corpas entered andstruck out pinch hitter Tony Clark on a 3-2 pitch to escape.Corpas worked around a one-out double by Chris Young, notchinghis fifth save of the postseason when shortstop Tulowitzki threwout Eric Byrnes from deep short for the final out. Longtime Rockies first baseman Todd Helton dropped to his kneesand raised both fists in the air as a wild celebration tookplace on the field and fireworks flew through the sky. "I can't believe it, what a crazy game," Helton said."Emotionally, I can't say enough about this ball club theresiliency they've shown. ... I don't know what to say. I'd doa disservice to it trying to put it into words. "It was fun, this has been a great ride, we're not done. We'regoing to keep it going." The Rockies bullpen entered the eighth having surrendered justtwo earned runs in 26 innings in the postseason. Morales, a 21-year-old lefthander who had three scorelessoutings in September, was making just his 10th career start,including a shaky outing in Game Two of the NLCS againstPhiladelphia 11 days ago in which he allowed three runs inthree-plus innings. But the hardthrowing lefthander kept Colorado in the game,allowing just a run, five hits and a walk with two strikeouts infour innings before leaving. He yielded a run in the third inning - the first time Arizonahad led in the series since the first inning of Game One - on a<div class="pre">two-out line single to center field by Jackson, but a great</div>leaping grab of a liner by Tulowitzki at shortstop on a shot byChris Young prevented a much bigger inning. Morales strandedtwo runners in three of the four innings he pitched.
