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07-04-2006, 08:56 PM
July 3, 1995
Coors Field
Denver, CO
Coming out of the unfinished 1994 season, the 1995 campaign go off to a late start after the strike carried over into Spring Training. A general malaise hung over the sport as many fans remained upset at the childish actions of both the owners and players, and attendance was down at most MLB venues.
Attendance was also down in Colorado, but not due to lingering effects from the strike. The Rockies had moved from Mile High Stadium into a smaller Coors Field to start 1995, and fans were flocking to the new park with more than 50,000 on hand to see this game, just the 30th in Coors Field history.
Another part of the excitement was the home team, in just their third season, stood 33-29 at the moment, good enough to put them a half-game in front of Los Angeles in the NL West. Colorado had regained the lead in the division with a 10-1 win over the Dodgers in LA a day before, and was coming off a 10-game West Coast road swing.
Manager Don Baylor had the Blake Street Bombers at his disposal on offense. Known for their power, especially at home, hitters like Andres Galarraga, Vinny Castilla, Dante Bichette and Larry Walker were a very capable quartet. The homers got the publicity, but a hidden asset to most fans was their overall speed throughout the lineup. This was a club that would lead the NL with 200 homers during the 144-game season. But they would also steal 125 bases.
The pitching was the weakness. Kevin Ritz was the most consistent member of the rotation. Billy Swift was winning games, but had just dropped his ERA below six with the win in LA the day before. Armando Reynoso, who would be starting this game, was just cranking up after missing the first part of the year with an injury. The bullpen was the strength of the mound corps as Curtis Leskanic, Darren Holmes, Bruce Ruffin and Steve Reed had been able to keep the club in games late.
The Astros were 33-27 and second in the NL Central, 5½-games behind Cincinnati. Houston entered this series having won six of their last seven and 13 of last 16 to climb back into the overall playoff hunt in the NL. In its second season under manager Terry Collins, Houston was still an ‘old-style Astrodome’ team built primarily around speed, defense and pitching. But they were slowly turning into a more power conscious squad. Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell were the big stars already on offense, and they were in a lineup that boasted a speedy outfield in Derek Bell, Brian Hunter, James Mouton and John Cangelosi.
The rotation featured Doug Drabek, Shane Reynolds, Greg Swindell, Daryl Kile and Mike Hampton in his first full season exclusively as a starter. Todd Jones and Dave Veres were the main arms out of the bullpen, and the team’s biggest strength was its ability to pick up wins late in close games.
Veteran Doug Drabek would be making his 14th start of the season in this one, entering the game with a 4-5 record and 4.62 ERA.
This contest would be one of those ‘typical Coors Field scoring affairs,’ though they’re not too typical these days.
The Astros jumped on Reynoso for three in the first. Hunter led off with a double and came home an out later on a Bagwell single. Bagwell then trotted plateward on Bell’s homer to left. Houston would put two more runners on after that but leave them stranded.
Colorado got one back in their half of the opening frame as Eric Young singled, stole second and eventually came home on a Galarraga two-bagger.
The Astros made it 4-1 in the second on an unearned run behind Colorado shortstop Walt Weiss’ error, and Drabek put a zero up in the Rockies’ half of the inning. Mouton led off Houston’s third with a home run and the Astros likely thought they were on their way to a win with a 5-1 lead at that point.
But Mike Kingery doubled to lead off the Colorado third and came home an out later on Walker’s single. That was followed by back-to-back jacks off the bats of Galarraga and Castilla, and the game was suddenly tied, 5-5, as the Rockies batted around in the frame.
Juan Acevedo came on to start the fourth on the hill for Colorado, and he set Houston down 1-2-3. Drabek came back out in the bottom of the fourth and was greeted by Kingery and Bichette singles. A Galarraga single brought Kingery home an out later and, an out after that, Joe Girardi tripled to bring two more home and chase Drabek with the Rockies up 8-5. Doug Brocail came out of the pen for Houston and kept Girardi from scoring.
Now it looked like Colorado was ahead for good, but Houston would change that with a run in the fifth, thanks in large part to a balk and a wild pitch, and four more in the top of the sixth, thanks to a pair of walks and an infield single. Now the Astros were back in front, 10-8.
The Rockies would tie it with a pair in the bottom of the sixth, an error by Houston catcher Tony Eusebio playing a crucial role, and the game was back to a tie, this time 10-10 with six innings in the books.
Galarraga’s second homer of the game in the seventh, off the Astros’ fourth pitcher of the game, Jim Dougherty, would break the tie for good. And Bichette’s 3-run homer in the bottom of the eighth, the big blow in a 4-run inning, would put the game away for the Rockies. Roger Bailey tossed a scoreless seventh and Darren Holmes kept Houston off the pay station the last two frames to secure a 15-10 victory for the Rockies.
Coors Field
Denver, CO
Coming out of the unfinished 1994 season, the 1995 campaign go off to a late start after the strike carried over into Spring Training. A general malaise hung over the sport as many fans remained upset at the childish actions of both the owners and players, and attendance was down at most MLB venues.
Attendance was also down in Colorado, but not due to lingering effects from the strike. The Rockies had moved from Mile High Stadium into a smaller Coors Field to start 1995, and fans were flocking to the new park with more than 50,000 on hand to see this game, just the 30th in Coors Field history.
Another part of the excitement was the home team, in just their third season, stood 33-29 at the moment, good enough to put them a half-game in front of Los Angeles in the NL West. Colorado had regained the lead in the division with a 10-1 win over the Dodgers in LA a day before, and was coming off a 10-game West Coast road swing.
Manager Don Baylor had the Blake Street Bombers at his disposal on offense. Known for their power, especially at home, hitters like Andres Galarraga, Vinny Castilla, Dante Bichette and Larry Walker were a very capable quartet. The homers got the publicity, but a hidden asset to most fans was their overall speed throughout the lineup. This was a club that would lead the NL with 200 homers during the 144-game season. But they would also steal 125 bases.
The pitching was the weakness. Kevin Ritz was the most consistent member of the rotation. Billy Swift was winning games, but had just dropped his ERA below six with the win in LA the day before. Armando Reynoso, who would be starting this game, was just cranking up after missing the first part of the year with an injury. The bullpen was the strength of the mound corps as Curtis Leskanic, Darren Holmes, Bruce Ruffin and Steve Reed had been able to keep the club in games late.
The Astros were 33-27 and second in the NL Central, 5½-games behind Cincinnati. Houston entered this series having won six of their last seven and 13 of last 16 to climb back into the overall playoff hunt in the NL. In its second season under manager Terry Collins, Houston was still an ‘old-style Astrodome’ team built primarily around speed, defense and pitching. But they were slowly turning into a more power conscious squad. Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell were the big stars already on offense, and they were in a lineup that boasted a speedy outfield in Derek Bell, Brian Hunter, James Mouton and John Cangelosi.
The rotation featured Doug Drabek, Shane Reynolds, Greg Swindell, Daryl Kile and Mike Hampton in his first full season exclusively as a starter. Todd Jones and Dave Veres were the main arms out of the bullpen, and the team’s biggest strength was its ability to pick up wins late in close games.
Veteran Doug Drabek would be making his 14th start of the season in this one, entering the game with a 4-5 record and 4.62 ERA.
This contest would be one of those ‘typical Coors Field scoring affairs,’ though they’re not too typical these days.
The Astros jumped on Reynoso for three in the first. Hunter led off with a double and came home an out later on a Bagwell single. Bagwell then trotted plateward on Bell’s homer to left. Houston would put two more runners on after that but leave them stranded.
Colorado got one back in their half of the opening frame as Eric Young singled, stole second and eventually came home on a Galarraga two-bagger.
The Astros made it 4-1 in the second on an unearned run behind Colorado shortstop Walt Weiss’ error, and Drabek put a zero up in the Rockies’ half of the inning. Mouton led off Houston’s third with a home run and the Astros likely thought they were on their way to a win with a 5-1 lead at that point.
But Mike Kingery doubled to lead off the Colorado third and came home an out later on Walker’s single. That was followed by back-to-back jacks off the bats of Galarraga and Castilla, and the game was suddenly tied, 5-5, as the Rockies batted around in the frame.
Juan Acevedo came on to start the fourth on the hill for Colorado, and he set Houston down 1-2-3. Drabek came back out in the bottom of the fourth and was greeted by Kingery and Bichette singles. A Galarraga single brought Kingery home an out later and, an out after that, Joe Girardi tripled to bring two more home and chase Drabek with the Rockies up 8-5. Doug Brocail came out of the pen for Houston and kept Girardi from scoring.
Now it looked like Colorado was ahead for good, but Houston would change that with a run in the fifth, thanks in large part to a balk and a wild pitch, and four more in the top of the sixth, thanks to a pair of walks and an infield single. Now the Astros were back in front, 10-8.
The Rockies would tie it with a pair in the bottom of the sixth, an error by Houston catcher Tony Eusebio playing a crucial role, and the game was back to a tie, this time 10-10 with six innings in the books.
Galarraga’s second homer of the game in the seventh, off the Astros’ fourth pitcher of the game, Jim Dougherty, would break the tie for good. And Bichette’s 3-run homer in the bottom of the eighth, the big blow in a 4-run inning, would put the game away for the Rockies. Roger Bailey tossed a scoreless seventh and Darren Holmes kept Houston off the pay station the last two frames to secure a 15-10 victory for the Rockies.