Rockies Classics - 1995 Wild Card Clincher (October 1, 1995)

it began on a windswept chilly evening in late april with a towering blast into the left field seats a fist thrust into the night sky a moment forever etched in our memory it has been a season full of unforgettable moments moments of unbelievable power displays of breathtaking heroism at the last possible moment times when upsetting the opponent apparently was very upsetting moments when you didn't think any human being could possibly make that play and along the way there were moments of quiet conversation and displays of dogged determination a season filled with moments of unbridled joy and agonizing disappointment through it all rockies fans have been there in historic numbers day after day night after night sharing in the moments of defeat sharing in the moments of triumph today the colorado rockies will take the field in search of clinching the national league wildcard in a season filled with glorious moments it could be their finest moment of glory the colorado rockies take the field to a standing ovation [Applause] the center fielder is going to lead it off marvin bernard he'll be followed by mike benjamin who is his second this afternoon and then batting third as always it's very bond he is followed by the clean-up hitter matt williams getting in the number five spot is mark carry on he is in right j.r phillips banning six his at first rich aurelia who has found a new life at the major league level he's the shortstop kurt manwearing the catcher is batting eighth and joe roselli the pitcher is batting ninth on the mound for the colorado rockies already with one ovation is brett saberhagen making his ninth start for the rockies but his important contribution not only the mound but in the clubhouse he challenges teammates after friday's night devastating loss of the giants he said we are going to win this thing you're not going to let a season go down the drain and this is a guy that knew he was going to be starting on sunday amplify themselves here's the pitch to change up diving cap cannot get to it and bernard is aboard not unexpected that is his eighth hit in 16 advance in this series 1-0 pitch to benjamin and he punched it up the line saber-hagen has it with ey covering and the sacrifice works for the giant as bernard moves over to second hole to pitch he strikes him out that is the second out here in the top of the first and what a big out that is with bernard in scoring position just heating them up on the inside corner for a little bit of a swing back here's the strike one pitch this is gone [Applause] oh talk about getting all of it and how dangerous a hitter he is and the giants take the early two-nothing lead up on the concourse saber-hagin got something right up in williams eyes i don't know if it was a change-up or a slider but matt just turned and hit a no doubter [Music] [Applause] matt williams does the damage a two-run home run giants are up two-nothing backing them over the rocky starting lineup is brought to you by the rocky mountain news eric young is at second and ewy is going to lead it off he'll be followed by the catcher joe girardi dante bashado is leading in all of the categories where mvp is the hitter he's hitting third the cleanup hitter is larry walker he's in right then it's the cat who is hobbled with a hamstring at first andre scalaraga ellis burks is in center he is number six in the lineup andy castilla the third baseman is batting seven followed by the switch hitting shortstop weiss and saberhagen the pitcher is batting nine on the mound for the san francisco giants is joe rosella rosselli was out for about 45 days with an inflamed shoulder earlier this year he has spent a lot of time in the minor leagues the last couple of years here's the 3-2 pitch to ey and he drives this one deep in center field bernard chases it back it is a one hop off the wall ewy's cat flies loose that means he is a top speed triple his ninth triple of the year i think ewi found a miracle cure overnight because he can't run any faster than that bad hamstring or not he was flat flying between second and third he told me the climax he said watch me today if the cap or the batting helmet goes off i'm at top speed and it's gone he is smoking and so is iwa is he trying to count to joe girardi friday pops up foul territory williams is there one away on a pretty good hitting streak over the last three weeks this one is deep will it get out of here right to the wall it is gone by marcarion but the run is going to score on the long sacrifice fly by dante vachette it's a 2-1 ball again we have two away and it's a ground ball the first unassisted on the first pitch and that is the end of the first inning the giants have the lead but now is two to one this one is high in deep by j.r phillips and it is out of here oh does he get ahold of that one and the giants get their run right back we should tell you that what harry neglected to say is it's six nothing chicago in the third inning and we'll tell you how the astros scored those runs or the cubs scored those runs but let's take a look at j.r phillips first who has tremendous power and whoa did he get all of that this is good but he's made two mistakes and gotten burned pops him up weiss going out on the grass ewy coming out man a jumping missed by ey over a sliding alice bird meanwhile standing in second now is richarlia [Music] ey behind it makes the play aurelia moves to third we have one out in the top of the second a 3-1 ball game giant oh he got it yet what's ellie that's the third strikeout in the ball game for saber hagen it's the second out here in the second 13 for 30. it's a deep fly ball buchet will amble back he's got it solo home run j.r phillips giants up 3-1 middle of the second backing there was something fly ball deep center field bernard is back and he has it two-two pitch this could get out of here is it going to be deep enough it's high off of the wall burke's round second he heads for third here comes the throw he has a triple how close can you get without going out i thought he had it and this one is high but not deep enough burks will tag he will score charlie the rockies are doing what they have to do to get in position to score fly ball right field carry on coming in he's got it and that retires the side in the bottom of the second but the rockies get one back giants lead 3-2 [Music] he drives this one in the left he'll be aboard on a base head so benjamin leads off with the base hip walks that is the most in the match runner's going here's the throw from girardi he is in underneath row is high and away the play three balls in a strike he drives this one down the line it'll go to the corner the run is going to score bonds heads for second and he's going to coast in with a double and his 104th rbi that is his 30th double on the year weiss backhands it snaps cat drops it can't hold on to it all hands are safe that was a struggle and barry it looked like walt had a play on barry at third and the cat with that hamstring trying to stay on the back now vinnie made a little bit of a break and that might have caused weiss to decide to go to first cat stretching and held onto the base but not the ball another threat continued [Applause] weiss cannot come down with it just inches away against pass beshet williams are going to wave him home no play as the ball was short-hopped by walt weiss out on the grass oh in each inning the giants have had the lead-off man aboard and he has scored and he draws the walk here is the first walk that saber reagan has given up in the ball game and here comes don but mark thompson is now on the mound in the third he has performed well in this series two endings friday night allowing a hit and hitting a man he struck out three thursday night he worked a perfect sixth inning retiring scarsoni bonds and matt williams and he's just kept going since then he drives this one deep in the gap larry walker and burke's come across running ground by walker run is going to score in the throw coming into third and j.r phillips moves to third so the sacrifice fly by richarlio it is airborne and here is alice burks the runner tags here comes the throw it is offline another run score eight rocks past the diving vinnie castilla and roselli is aboard with his second hit of the year we'll go to the top of the order and here's marvin bernard and he strikes him out so bernard is caught looking the ninth man to come to the plate for the giants in the third san francisco up 8-2 pretty good swing barry bonds on the run he cannot get there no mike thompson is going to help the situation or lead off asia i think mark thompson has been doing pretty well at the plate i didn't really look before he came up but he has had some hits for the rockies and that's a good start here's a look at this and that's a pretty good stroke that he puts on bonds playing over in left center field and for mark thompson right now the astros just in case you're wondering or tied with the cubs 6-6 ey drives this one deep in the gap and it is out of here eric young home run number six on the last day of the season memories of mile a two-run shot by eric young whoa an 8-4 ball game with nobody out of the bottom of the third off speed a pitch up and ei just waited and clubbed it to the opposite field he probably hadn't hit enough of them in batting practice that way to know so he was hustling but that cleared past the pitcher and benjamin falls down girardi face it three hits in a row [Applause] here's the bubble by benjamin he's trying to hurry and paul just wouldn't pay any attention to his body fly ball center field bernard is there gerardi tags moves up this one is high and deep and going back to the wall and looking out of here omron two run home run by larry walker rockies within two you the rockies would make a comeback and they've done it soon larry high fastball he thinks he has it but he also knows that if it's not out bernard's probably going to catch it his second home run of the series so far it's been one of your typical cubs have gone ahead this one has driven deep carry on lost it it's off of his glove he couldn't find it the cat is going to be at second everything went wrong early in the ball game for the rockies and now everything is going right it appears to be a cloud cover but for whatever reason carrion couldn't see it he put his glove up in front of his face and then at the last second realized he hadn't gone back far enough and relief two days later ground ball to third williams dives gets it he throws him out nice play by matt williams he's done just for a split second and might get by him but he is so tough second brilliant play he's made in the inning and he shows you why he's won three gold gloves he is fully extended then has the great athletic ability to get on his feet make the perfect throw comes over the top [Applause] but here in the third the rockies score four they get back in it it's an eight six ball game rockies down by two who has just had an unbelievable series for the astros is tied the game at seven if there's one free agent [Applause] determining factor runner goes pitches hit twice got a chance for two ey back to first in time benjamin was stealing barry bonds didn't and the rockies turned a double play six to four to three big here's a look at possibly the two biggest out thus far carry on fly ball deep left center field how far can berks go he got it i believe he did it yes he did great catch by ellis burks and there's finally a zero on the board the hard way concentration brilliant being two the count to wall fly ball to left bond should get this one walt battled but lighter beat him and it's one out here in the fourth inning got help from matt williams thompson fly ball right field side carrion's battling that tough sun again benjamin makes the catch and i think carrion's very happy that benjamin did he had a better angle two up two down in the rockies four looping drive to center bernard did not get a good start but he has to float on a high and marvin bernard who had played very brilliantly on defense has had two lapses here today he took two steps back and ey has the singles oh ey was picked off he will be tagged out i don't know if he was running or not but lighter hung him out to dry and that's the second time lighters picked off a rocky in the series he got ellis burks right here bouncing ball towards zy rockies are going to get the lead off man out and that was a little bit of an in-between hop as horizontal there would be a playoff in seattle tomorrow for the american league title and there's richarlia again wow his second in the volume his ninth of the series runner goes it's one kind of miss throw is going to be in the center field that went over while it was [Applause] tries to bunt does it's a fair ball ey is going to be late to first and gets there just in time whoa runner had to hold it third and watching the top right of your screen girardi is on it immediately and ey slow on the break and then he picks up speed and just gets there in time fly ball to the left dante's got a retreat still going back back back got it close again but again the rockies save runs they saved one with the brilliant burke sketch and they get a key out there we go to the bottom of the fifth girardi down the line fair into the corner extra bases joe around first and bonds polices it up a double a lead double here in the fifth and here's a look from deep down the line as you can see it is just fair dante slow tapper if this stays fair it's a base hit and it's fair matt williams could do nothing and we told you all year about the foul lines how they do not slant here and larry walker has a chance and watch it just like matt williams was watching it he wanted to hit the edge of the grass because you hurry come on come on walker a homer is last time up bouncing ball base hit right field here's girardi he'll score dante will go to third it's a one run game rip base hit walker will go at least the third we're tied galaraga will go on one leg to second and be in with a double pass matt williams bonds playing off the line tying run scored walker goes to third and look at the big cat spurs got him fastball inside corner and lighter made ground ball it'll score a run [Applause] and first out but the rockies take a 9-8 lead delivery looper down the line if it's fair it's another run it is an extra base hit for walt wise 10-8 as cat scores and the hits just keep coming this has been an inning of down the line this time is down the other line walt weiss with the double his 25th rbi as the cap comes limping on and the rockies lead by two eight e.y a little blooper behind third but barry bonds will get there he's got it the rockies will settle for a four spot we go to the six there's your score 14 hits in three games earlier this year three consecutive games lines but walker is closing in on this one and that's out number one bad place to hit it if you're mike benjamin bouncing ball towards kat fair andres de rico covering in time and that's two quick big outs here in the six houston was down six nothing in the third williams base hit up the middle ey might get there even if he did he couldn't throw anybody out so matt williams gets a two-out single here in the sixth inning carry on out on strikes so brian ricard made short work of mark carrion the rockies are down to nine outs to win this game we go to the bottom of the six girardi fouls nope fairball left field thought it was gonna be foul long run aurelia and bonds and somebody caught it but there's a couple of headaches in the meantime barry is hurt and sosa really is they cracked heads and really i got it i believe barry holding his eye i just i don't know if he sustained a cut or what [Applause] a lot of crowd noise both of them were calling it because sometimes you can't hear and it is a really who comes up with it really it immediately grabs the back of his head and binds the front of his oh mercy one out of dante high fly ball shadow left leonard started back and comes on for the catch two up two down in the sixth innings the braves walker hit for the 14th time this year that establishes a new record and larry just go to first base don't want any kind of an altercation that will cause you to have to leave the game and he takes the smart route uh oh walker picked off and now larry's going to try to make it back to first he's going to stay in the pickup for a while look [Applause] [Music] the rockies have had two picked off today and here is j.r phillips and this is a fair ball and phillips down the line and down the line has been a favorite saying of the announcers this afternoon not only for us they switched this to the end okay with the butt recar feels it and throws him out and he moves phillips over well i don't know if they should hurt manware and this one is high and deep and bushette is going back to the track he makes the running grab but the run is going to score and it's now a one-run ball again so manwaring will check out the score at wrigley field this is bending in the corner it's going to be a fair ball and mccarty will head for second on the mound is bruce ruffin and it's a ground ball to second e.y up and away and that is it so we're now in the middle of the seventh and the rockies rule by one down for the san francisco giants david mccarty stays in the ball game here's andre scalaraga ground ball to short and he just kind of coasts sammy sosa up ooh good situation ellis burks draws the one outlaw and he lines this one in the gap it's going to drop in taken on the hot by mccarty they're going oh they started has he started to wave berks [Applause] and so for walt weiss and his walk number 98 on the year he pops him out infield fly reel that one hurt [Applause] it's a fly ball center field a late jump by bernard but he is there makes the running grab so here on the bottom of the seventh the rocky strand three they still lead by one and the bits to benjamin it's a high fly ball walker should have it fights a bit of the sun and makes a flood here's the two-two pitch and it's a ground ball to ey up and away two down in the eighth here's the pitch he strikes him out we go to the bottom of the eight leading by one 11 cameras of the tape machines vince cam on this super slow-motion machine for all of us we want to thank you for making this such a great year one away here in the bottom of the android dante drives this one into the game and he is aboard a one ounce single barbache buchet has his second hit of the ball again he's got three rbis and he drives this one into right center field but shet will head for third here comes the throw walker has the double and he gets it standing up he is such a smart baseball player he steals the base is what he does his 31st up is one of the outstanding minor league players for the colorado rockies trinidad hubbard along with angel echeverria jamie wright gary gibson a comebacker there is one they turn the double play so hubbard hits into a comeback double double play and after eight the rockies still leave j.r phillips is under he strikes him out one down two to go he strikes him out base head so hill keeps the game going a two out single they will pinch run i'm sure for glenn allen and number 10 royce clayton is going to be the bench runner we've got to be careful with clayton even though he's got a bad back he's stolen over 20 bases this year [Music] the cat has it the celebration began [Applause] [Music] [Applause] unbelievable season unbelievable finish that kid has so much heart it's incredible the rockies trailing in the bottom of the third by a score of eight to two and climbing back to win this one by one tim and i had the celebration officially underway and curtis luskanik in super slow motion he knows yes unbelievable heart this team showed this year and they do believe and remember you cannot win the world championship if you do not get to the playoffs and the colorado rockies in their third year are in the playoffs and they are sharing this with the fans here at coorsfield truly a seasoned victory lap the last thing on the colorado rockies mine right now are the atlanta braves but trust me tomorrow they will start thinking very hard about the atlanta braves who they will play here tuesday but right now they savor this victory enjoy the wild cards there's bob he has to be as happy as any of the ball players here the architect of the team tom baylor didn't stop believing when they were down 8-2 today this team just came back and came back and came back all year and charlie i'm so thrilled for so many of them but for curtis who gave it up on friday night to have the courage to come back and do what he did yesterday and more importantly today absolutely wonderful the parade of champions and what's this this is a salute from the rock jerry pile the ceo and there's the ceo the skipper and also a few hundred miles away to the west a young man that is enjoying us just as much as his mom and dad his brothers here michael mcmorris who is watching in la jolla over the satellite and we know that he is celebrating just like everybody else is walt weiss bouncing back from the disastrous game monday night in los angeles to make the play of the game last night and show courage all year long as the parade of champions continues of course for you man that stepped up huge today big home run get him back close rbi single a double 1 307 games this man played the longest of anybody in the national league without making it the post season that streak has ended young man who came from mexico wanted to quit baseball father talked him into staying what a year he had the bulldog he was there day in and day out he probably feels like a used car right now maybe he doesn't he may feel like a brand new mercedes he didn't pitch well today but his inspirational talk on friday night sure did not hurt [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] and the champagne corks are popping in the rockies clubhouse as they have beaten the san francisco giants here today at coors field 10-9 to win the wilds card spot and move on to the playoffs the team to do it the quickest as an expansion team in their third season and what a day it has been here at coors field they go down to the final out to get the win 10-9 and the first post-season play for the colorado rockies

Channel: Colorado Rockies

Views: 1,473

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants, Wild Card, Coors Field, Denver, Colorado, Baseball, MLB, Major League Baseball, Larry Walker, Dante Bichette, Barry Bonds, Blake Street Bombers, Vinny Castilla, Andres Galarraga, Walt Weiss, Eric Young, Ellis Burks

Id: yTtF0q-MpR8

Length: 38min 3sec (2283 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 03 2020