ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, July 1, 1996 TAG: 9607010116
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DENVER
SOURCE: Associated Press
It figured either Colorado or Los Angeles would score 13 runs Sunday. The precedent had been set in the three previous games.
But once the Rockies had reached that magic number, they still had a ways to go.
The Rockies rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth Sunday, capping a wild four-game series with a 16-15 victory over the Dodgers.
``We just were not going to be denied today,'' said Don Baylor, the Rockies' manager. ``All I knew was we had the last at-bat. If we stayed close, their guys out of the bullpen were not going to contain us. Of course, we couldn't stop them, either.''
The teams combined for 85 runs in the series. Colorado won 13-1 and 13-4 before the Dodgers took a 13-0 lead and hung on for a 13-10 victory Saturday night.
The two-run rally in the ninth was the seventh lead change in a game that had 10 home runs, six by the Dodgers, including three on three consecutive pitches in the third by Mike Piazza, Eric Karros and Raul Mondesi.
Los Angeles also hit six homers Saturday, three by Piazza, and fell one shy of tying the major-league record for homers in consecutive games.
The Rockies had 20 hits and the Dodgers had 18, as the teams used 11 pitchers in the 4-hour, 20-minute game - the longest nine-inning game in NL history, eclipsing the 4:18 between the Dodgers and San Francisco in 1962.
Colorado's Eric Young, who played for the Salem Avalanche earlier this season, tied the major-league record with six stolen bases, including three in the third. The Rockies stole 10 bases, nine off Dodgers starter Hideo Nomo.
``We were going to run,'' Baylor said. Dodgers starter Hideo ``Nomo has a slow delivery, and [catcher] Piazza hasn't thrown out many runners.''
The Rockies trailed 15-14 with two out in the ninth and runners on first and third against Dodgers closer Todd Worrell (3-4). Pinch-hitter Jeff Reed singled through the hole at short to tie the score, and rookie Quinton McCracken followed with a double down the first-base line that scored Vinny Castilla with the winning run.
Asked if it was his biggest moment in baseball, McCracken said, ``Definitely. I was trying to relax and take some hacks and take whatever I could get. It's great to just be in the lineup and get an opportunity to prove I can compete at this level.''
Mondesi's second home run, a two-run shot in the ninth, capped a three-run rally and gave Los Angeles a 15-14 lead. Mondesi went 4-for-6 with six RBI.
Bill Russell, the Dodgers' interim manager while Tom Lasorda recuperates from a heart attack, said the Rockies ``have the advantage here with the last at-bat. And no lead is safe here. We thought we had the game under control when Mondesi hits the home run in the ninth. They get the hits they need in their half against the NL save leader. When you do that, you have to say they earned it.''
Despite giving up Mondesi's homer, Bruce Ruffin (3-2) got the victory.
Dante Bichette went 5-for-6 with four RBI for Colorado, and Ellis Burks added three hits and three RBI.
``When we got that far, even with the Mondesi homer, we were not going to give up,'' Bichette said.
Karros had two solo homers, and Todd Hollandsworth had three RBI, including a solo homer. Piazza, the NL's leading hitter, had a solo homer and RBI single.
Nomo gave up nine runs - five earned - with four walks and nine strikeouts in five innings.
The Rockies became the first team in the majors to reach 2 million in attendance. A crowd of 48,103 extended their major league-record consecutive sellout streak to 93.
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. The Dodgers' Raul Mondesi breaks from the batter'sby CNBbox on his way to a triple Sunday during Los Angeles' 16-15 loss to
Colorado in Denver. color. KEYWORDS: BASEBALL