Denver will be the host for this Monday’s instalment of North American sport on Five. Sadly for baseball fans, it looks like the venue will be Invesco Field rather than Coors. The World Series could still go to game five, but Boston’s 10-5 victory in game three last night has made a 4-0 sweep a very real possibility. The Rockies have to win tonight to avoid this fate and the first three games of the series give little reason to suggest they will.
When the Red Sox won the opener 13-1, there was a sense that they had caught Colorado cold. The Rockies simply didn’t turn up and Boston despatched them without breaking a sweat. The same couldn’t be said about game three and that’s why it was such a back-breaking victory. Powered along by the magnificent Coors Field crowd, the Rockies fought back from a disastrous third inning during which they conceded six runs. They knocked Matsuzaka out after 5.1 innings and Matt Hollidays’ three-run blast in the bottom of the seventh gave Boston a scare for the first time in the series. Yet all their efforts counted for nothing. Every time they landed a big punch, their opponent took it on the chin and punched back even harder.
We’ve all seen over the past two months how dangerous the Rockies are when they get on a roll and the Red Sox used their superior talent to cut short any rallies before they could change the course of the game. The first example occurred in the bottom of the fifth. With one out and two men on, Julio Lugo and Mike Lowell combined brilliantly on the right side of the infield to turn what looked to be a certain run-scoring single by Matsui into an out at third base. Dice-K then got Tulowitzki to pop out to end the inning, still with a zero next to Colorado’s name on the scoreboard.
The Rockies were able to score two runs in the sixth, yet the inning left them pondering missed opportunities again. Ryan Spilborghs looked to have closed the Red Sox lead to one with a three-run homer, only for the ball to land harmlessly in Jacoby Ellsbury’s glove near the top of the centre-field fence. Jeff Baker was the next man up and he drilled a line drive that would have scored two runs had Julio Lugo not acrobatically leapt up and stabbed it to end the inning. The feeling of deflation was palpable among both the fans and the Rockies’ players.
Even Holliday’s shot in the following inning proved to be a false dawn. Having made the score 5-6, the Rockies’ gameplan was simple: hold the Red Sox scoreless in the top of the eighth and then continue the assault. In typical fashion, Boston ripped the momentum back in their favour by plating three runs before adding another in the top of the ninth. Staring up at the scoreboard after the game, the Rockies knew that if just one or two plays had gone their way, the result might have been different. It wasn’t bad luck that cost them though. The game-changing plays went Boston’s way because they were the better team on the day. That’s a realisation many teams have had to accept this season.
The story of game three was one of the Boston bully boys demonstrating their dominance on both the National League champions and the rest of the Majors. Oakland’s GM Billy Beane once memorably stated that the play-offs are a crapshoot as the outcome seven-game series might not truly reflect the ability of the two teams involved. While this opinion may have some merit (e.g. even the Royals could win four games out of seven against the Red Sox if things go their way), the 2007 postseason is not going to produce a surprise World Champion. The Red Sox have been the best team in baseball this year and they are intent on winning the trophy to underline the point.
The old sports adage of taking one game at a time has never been more relevant than it is right now for the Rockies. Thinking about winning four straight games against this Boston side won’t do much for your confidence. Even one game looks like a big ask at the moment, but the Rockies now have no second chances.
Game three may have had a familiar ending, but it was a dramatic game nonetheless and hopefully game four can continue in that vein. The storyline is already set, with two starting pitchers making their World Series debuts after battling through serious illnesses in the recent past. Coverage starts at 00.10 on Five, with first pitch an hour earlier than yesterday due to the clocks going back. Phil Jupitus will be joining Jonny and Josh in the studio, no doubt hoping that his Red Sox can finish off the series in style.
