MEDIA CLIPS – Aug. 24, 2018

Desmond's walk-off HR puts Rox in tie for WC Rockies half-game out of top spot, 1 back in West; Freeland sets stage Owen Perkins | MLB.com | Aug. 23, 2018

DENVER -- The Rockies added 's big bat to their lineup for Thursday's rubber match with the Padres, but it was the hot hand of who broke through Colorado's slumbering lumber to win the game with a two-run walk- off homer, stealing a 4-3 win to take the series and secure a tie for second in the Wild Card race.

The Rockies were held to five hits through the first seven innings, but they tapped into their "LoDo" magic to walk off for the third time in their last five home games -- and record their fifth win in the last two weeks in games where they'd been trailing after eight innings. They picked up a half-game on the D-backs, who didn't play Thursday, to sit a game behind the

NL West leaders. Tied with the idle Brewers for the second Wild Card spot -- though with an edge of .001 percentage point -- they are a half-game behind the Cardinals for the top Wild Card spot.

"That's kind of been our M.O. for the past seven or eight games, coming from behind late and winning games," starting said. "It's not the easiest way to do it, and it's definitely high pressure, but at the end of the day it's a

'W' on the board."

The Rockies were down, 3-2, with two outs in the ninth, and on second. Story had blooped a to right off Padres closer Kirby Yates, who struck out to open the inning and fanned Gerardo Parra after Story's hit, setting the stage for Desmond.

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"After the way that Kyle pitched today -- he came out and did a great job, the bullpen came in and did a great job, Jake

[McGee] had probably one of his better outings of the year -- in that situation with two outs, runners in scoring position, I was really just trying to be short, trying to get the next guy to the plate," Desmond said.

But after Desmond turned on Yates' 1-0 offering and drove it 419 feet over the left-field fence, there was no need for another Rockie to come to the plate.

"If you keep the game close, anything can happen," manager said. "One big swing can get it done."

Freeland was masterful on the mound through his first five scoreless innings. He allowed five hits and a walk through the first five frames, then yielded a rocket of a solo homer from Hunter Renfroe in the top of the sixth to lose the lead and tie the game.

"I left one up to Renfroe," Freeland said. "Tried to get it in, didn't get in far enough. We flooded the area a lot his first two at-bats, so he was probably seeing dead red right there. Got his pitch and put a great swing on it, put it out. Other than that, everything was working well. Me and Chris [Iannetta, his catcher] were on the same page the entire game."

After a one-out single from A.J. Ellis in the top of the seventh, Freeland saw his day come to a close. He ended up allowing two runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out seven in 6 1/3 innings. It was his ninth quality start at home and his fourth in a row. He is 7-2 with a 2.27 ERA at home.

"Kyle's been so consistent," said Black. "That's the thing I'm really proud of and impressed by, just the consistency over the last 3 1/2 months. He's taking the ball deep into the game, his strike-throwing ability, his ability to make big pitches at certain key parts of the game -- as a second-year pitcher, he's made big strides since his rookie season."

The seventh inning was rough for the Rockies, as Bryan Shaw came in for Freeland and faced three batters without recording an out. He walked pinch-hitter Wil Myers, then Freddy Galvis reached base on a rare error from Story and Jose

Pirela plated Ellis and Myers with a single up the middle for a 3-2 lead. Shaw's runs were unearned, keeping his ERA at

3.00 in 13 outings since returning from the disabled list (right calf strain) on July 11.

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The Rockies are now 50-6 in games when the opposition scores three or fewer runs.

Holliday was 0-for-3 in his 2018 season debut, and did not have a play in the outfield before Parra replaced him in the top of the seventh as a defensive switch.

"You got to win these games, especially at home," Holliday said. "When something special's happening, you find ways to win games.

"No disrespect to the Padres, but they're a team that we need to beat if we want to get where we want to go, so it was a really big win for us."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

David Dahl's eventful day was almost lost in the late-inning heroics. He had two of the Rockies' three hits through the first five frames against rookie left-hander Joey Lucchesi, lacing a double to right in his first at-bat in the third. He advanced on a Chris Iannetta single to left, then got caught in a rundown when Freeland dropped a sacrifice bunt. Charlie Blackmon hit into an inning-ending double play to rob the Rockies of the chance to plate a man from third with no outs.

But Dahl made up for the lost opportunity in his next at-bat, driving Lucchesi's 2-0 pitch 436 feet over the center-field fence and into the visitors' bullpen to break a scoreless tie in the fifth inning.

HE SAID IT

"I did [think it had a chance to leave the park], and then I remembered there was a tornado blowing in from left field. Most of the time, that ball goes out of the park. I've hit a few homers here, and I know what it feels like. I thought I had one, and then I looked up and saw the parachute pop." -- Holliday, on his sharp flyout in the fifth inning

ROCKIE NEEDS A NEW PAIR OF SHOES

As Holliday made his 2018 debut for the Rockies on Thursday, he was walking in a pair of cleats he wore in 2007.

Holliday's new shoe order is scheduled to arrive Friday, so the team had to scramble to find some size 14s for Holliday.

Rockies vice president of community and retail operations Jim Kellogg pulled a pair of cleats from an archived '07 uniform of Holliday's, and Holliday wore the old pair in his first game back. 3

"Apparently not many guys around here wear 14s," Holliday said. "They found some of my old shoes from '07, so I wore some shoes that hadn't been worn in a few years. Hoping to pick some of that '07 mojo off of my shoes."

UP NEXT

Players' Weekend kicks off Friday, with "Senze," , toeing the rubber for the Rockies, while the Cardinals counter with Miles Mikolas ("Mik") in a battle of right-handers to open a three-game set with Wild Card implications.

Senzatela moved from the bullpen to the rotation in July, and is 2-2 with a 3.60 ERA in six subsequent starts. Both of his wins came at home, pitching 12 2/3 innings and allowing just one run for a 0.71 Coors Field ERA as a starter this season.

He pitched five innings of two-run ball in Atlanta on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. MT.

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No shoes? No problem in Holliday's Rox return Back with Colorado for first time since 2008, veteran receives ovation Owen Perkins | MLB.com | Aug. 23, 2018

DENVER -- Matt Holliday poked his head around the clubhouse door and peeked into the locker room, a broad smile on his face as he sized up the moment, wondering if the timing was right for the newest -- and oldest -- Rockies callup to make his appearance. For the teammates who embraced him when he entered the room -- and the fans who have eagerly waited to welcome him back home to Coors Field -- the timing couldn't be better.

"It was pretty surreal," Holliday said of his first day coming back to Coors Field, a baseball lifetime after his big league debut with Colorado in 2004 at the age of 24. "Honestly, it felt sort of normal, but at the same time pretty nostalgic, thinking back 15 years ago when I did that for the first time. I was kind of that kid at Christmas last night. I had a hard time sleeping. I was really excited to walk into Coors Field again as a member of the Rockies."

There was only one problem: After 10 years away wearing A's green, Cardinals red and Yankees blue, Holliday didn't have the proper footwear for a Rockie.

"Apparently, not many guys around here wear 14s," Holliday said, referring to his shoe size. "They found some of my old shoes from '07, so I wore some shoes that hadn't been worn in a few years. Hoping to pick some of that '07 mojo off of my shoes."

With a new shoe order scheduled to arrive on Friday, the team had to scramble to find some size 14s for Thursday's game. Rockies vice president of community and retail operations Jim Kellogg went to the archives and pulled a pair of cleats from one of Holliday's 2007 uniforms, so he wore the old pair in his first game back.

Holliday received a standing ovation before his first at-bat in the second inning, and he went on to record a groundout and a pair of flyouts before being removed in the seventh inning for defensive purposes during Thursday's 4-3 walk-off win against the Padres. His fifth-inning fly to left gave Holliday hope that it might leave the park.

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"Then I remembered there was a tornado blowing in from left field," Holliday said. "Most of the time, that ball goes out of the park. I've hit a few homers here, and I know what it feels like. I thought I had one, and then I looked up and saw the parachute pop."

Before taking the field Thursday, Holliday picked from three hats hanging in his locker, charting his path over the past three and a half weeks since signing a Minor League contract with the Rockies. His hand hovered over the Rookie-level

Grand Junction Rockies cap and the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes cap, before donning the Rockies' Major League cap, officially signifying his return to the big leagues after nearly five months on the sidelines.

"I kind of came into this with no expectations," Holliday said of the uncertainty he had about his journey through the

Minors and his ultimate homecoming. "I just wanted to take it day to day and be where I was and just enjoy just being with the guys in Grand Junction, and then being with the guys in Albuquerque and really stay focused on enjoying myself and being with my kids and being around those players and just enjoying baseball. That was my intent coming into this, and ultimately, if I was supposed to be back here, then I would. I'm grateful to be back."

Holliday left the Rockies after the 2008 season -- in a trade with Oakland that brought Carlos Gonzalez to Colorado. He logged five big years in purple pinstripes to launch his career. He was a three-time All-Star during his tenure, the Most

Valuable Player of the 2007 National League Championship Series, and the runner-up for the NL MVP Award that season.

Holliday's game-winning slide across home plate on a Jamey Carroll in the 13th inning of the tiebreaking

Game No. 163 against the Padres in 2007 stands as one of the most dramatic moments in Rockies history -- from one of the greatest Major League games ever played. Rockies manager Bud Black was in the opposite dugout for that game and is still haunted by the memories of being eliminated from the postseason by Holliday's phantom slide.

"I get a lot of blame for that with the San Diego fans," Holliday said of the controversial run that has been questioned ever since. "[] Tim McClelland is the one that some of this angst should be aimed at. I didn't call myself safe. Tell

Buddy, 'Take it out on Tim.'"

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For his part, Black is eager to have Holliday in his dugout, and he wasted no time writing his name in the lineup card -- starting him in left field and batting fifth after watching him hit .346 with three homers and 14 RBIs with the Isotopes.

"He's been playing regularly in Triple-A," Black noted. "He's had over 50 at-bats. Physically, he feels great. Mentally, he's ready. Today, he'll pop in there against a left-handed starter [Joey Lucchesi] to get some at-bats. Each and every night, if he's not starting, he'll be available to pinch-hit. There's a dangerous bat there late in the game with power that's a presence against a bullpen. When Matt steps in the batter's box, there's immediate fear that something's going to be hit hard. That's always a good thing."

Holliday's presence in the dugout could be described as Jason Giambi-esque, a powerful weapon capable of inflicting damage with a glove that can still play in the field every day, despite the crowded corps in Colorado's outfield that includes

Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon, Gerardo Parra, David Dahl and first baseman Ian Desmond.

Desmond was responsible for Thursday's win, hitting a two-out, two-run, walk-off for his 20th homer of the season.

Holliday's impact was already felt in the Coors Field clubhouse, where a team one game out of first place welcomes his veteran bat. Though he spent eight seasons in St. Louis, slashing .293/.380/.494, his five breakout years in Colorado arguably captured him at his best, slashing .319/.386/.552.

"We got better today," Nolan Arenado said. "He's going to help us win ballgames. He's still a good player. He knows how to hit. He didn't lose that. He hit [19] homers last year [with the Yankees], and he didn't play very much. Still got power, he can still play."

Arenado and Holliday developed a friendship when Troy Tulowitzki introduced them over dinner in Arenado's rookie season, and the two have stayed in touch ever since, with Nolan picking the brain of a player he admired as one of his favorites while growing up and developing his own approach at the plate.

"I mimic his finish," Arenado said of his approach at the plate. "That's how I've always finished. I've tried. I'm happy he's here." 7

Chris Iannetta joked that he was glad to no longer be the "old man" of the Rockies at age 34, and Holliday's smile only got bigger.

Chris Iannetta

@Chris_Iannetta

You wake up and check Twitter.... the feeling when find out your not the oldest guy on the team anymore... Thanks Matt!

@Rockies

"I appreciate that -- I'll take it as a compliment," Holliday said. "Fifteen years later, I'm still good enough that people want me here. The one thing I do have is experience. I've seen thousands of pitches and faced tons of pitching over my career."

There are no shortage of reasons the Rockies want Holliday back in their clubhouse, and they're ready to unleash those reasons on the rest of the West.

"Matt has been through pennant races," Black said. "Matt has been on winning teams. Matt has great leadership ability, has a great way with teammates. That's going to help."

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Freeland's 'Two-One' recalls HS, college mates Players' Weekend 2018: Rockies Owen Perkins | MLB.com | Aug. 23, 2018

DENVER -- For die-hard Rockies fans, the number 21 is magical. It was the number on the back of Eric Young's jersey when -- on April 9, 1993 -- he took the first swing of a Colorado player in Denver's Mile High

Stadium and sent the pitch over the left-field fence for a leadoff homer, electrifying the 80,227 fans and defining "baseball with an altitude" for generations to follow.

It's also the number worn by Kyle Freeland, a second-year pitcher who has been the most consistent starter in what could go down as the strongest Rockies rotation to date.

It would be natural to assume that Freeland, a Denver native raised on the Rockies, had EY in mind when he chose the number 21 for the back of his own jersey.

"It's EY's number too, yeah," Freeland said after a magical walk-off win to take a series from the Padres Thursday. "I was really young. I probably don't remember it, but I've seen it multiple times since then."

Freeland, in fact, was born five weeks after that first game in Colorado, and the inspiration for his jersey number -- which this weekend will double as the nickname on the back of his jersey, "Two-One," -- came years later when he played his first season of baseball for Denver's Thomas Jefferson High School.

"That number was actually given to me in high school after my freshman year by one of the upperclassmen who graduated," Freeland recalls. "I wasn't on varsity my freshman year. I had surgery. And then sophomore year when he graduated, 21 was handed down to me. He was one of the guys that I looked up to."

That explains the number. But what about the nickname, "Two-One?"

For that, switch gears to football and one of the most acclaimed sports books of Freeland's era, a non-fiction book by

Buzz Bissinger, later made into an equally celebrated movie and television show, which is an enduring cultural

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phenomenon that helped create a bond between Freeland and his teammates from his days at The University of

Evansville in Indiana.

"When I was in college, me and my solid group of guys on my team, we were all into the TV show 'Friday Night Lights,'"

Freeland explained. "Tim Riggins [the high school fullback central to the story] would always call everyone on the team by their number, and he'd say it by number, so like, 'Two-One, One-Seven,' whatever.

"We just kind of started saying that around our clubhouse and in games. It kind of just rolled. So 'Two-One' stuck with me since freshman year of college."

When Freeland takes the field this Players' Weekend, cheering his current teammates on from the dugout after his

Thursday start to win the series with the Padres, "Two-One" will be stuck on the back of his unique Players' Weekend jersey.

It's fitting that on a weekend meant to celebrate the players in a light-hearted manner, capturing nicknames new and old, so often the product of unique relationships among teammates, Freeland will be giving a shout-out to the high school teammates who inspired him, the college teammates who helped shape him in his critically formative baseball years and the work of creative non-fiction from Buzz Bissinger that so essentially captures those enduring relationships between players coming together as a team to pursue a common purpose.

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Ian Desmond continues to win games for the Rockies, even in a slump. ‘He will rise to the occasion,’ Bud Black says Nick Groke | Athletic.com | Aug 24, 2018

DENVER — When the Rockies returned to Coors Field this week, Ian Desmond walked into his at-bats with Aretha

Franklin’s “Rock Steady,” a 1971 deep soul classic, playing on the Coors Field speakers, as a tribute to the singer and because he digs the song.

He was not looking for new inspiration or trying to bust a jinx.

“Nobody in this room needs an extra spark,” Desmond said. “We all know what we’re playing for.”

On Thursday, for the second time in a week, an oasis in another slump, Desmond won the Rockies a game, this time with a walk-off, two-run homer to left field in the ninth inning in Colorado’s 4-3 victory over the Padres. Five days before, at

Atlanta, Desmond doubled in two runs in the ninth to kick up the Rockies’ win in 10 innings over the Braves.

Both game-breakers came with two outs. He is testing the concept of clutch.

“All of us as players have a certain level of pride where we want to be the guy who wins it every time,” Desmond said

Thursday. “But to me, I just try to trust the process. It doesn’t happen every time. Sometimes I come out of my shoes and get too big. But this time, I trusted in what I believe and it worked out.”

Desmond’s second season with the Rockies has not been one to wow fantasy leagues or crack open the stats sheets. His batting average fell to .167 well into May before he turned his season around and raised it to .242 in late July. His OPS fell to .553 in May and shot to .763 in early August.

But he never lost his starting spot at first base because Rockies manager Bud Black continues to see his direct value, even as Desmond’s average over 16 games in August sits at .200 amid a recent, new slump.

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“For us, he contributes on a daily basis, whether it’s on defense or the basepaths or with big swings,” Black said. “We’ve talked about his ability to win games in a lot of different ways. Whether it’s with the home run, the , baserunning, taking advantage of his legs.”

Longtime manager last week told The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal about the lack of aggressively and athletically putting pressure on an opposing team, at the expense of waiting for home runs.

“The game is getting so slow,” Baker said. “And it’s not exciting. What happened to the triple? Scoring from first on a double or a long single, running 3-2. I think the game is going to come back. It has to come back …”

It never left with Desmond. He ticked off Baker’s to-do list in one game at Atlanta last week. He tripled in two runs on a line drive to left-center in the third. He singled in the sixth and immediately stole second, then he scored standing up on a

Chris Iannetta hard liner to right. He singled in two more runs in the eighth.

He was flying around the bases. All he had to do was get to first.

“I was taught that aspect of the game and that part of the game carries weight just as much as any other aspect of the game,” Desmond said. “I’m just doing what I was taught.”

He has a below-average, park-adjusted OPS+ and a sub-zero WAR according to Baseball-Reference, but the Rockies can point to several contributions from Desmond that directly led to victories. He homered off Sean Doolittle in the ninth on April 15 in a 6-5 win over the Nationals. He homered off Noah Syndergaard early and again off Hansel Robles in the eighth in a 3-2 win over the Mets on May 6.

This is why Black has been reluctant to turn over first base to prospect Ryan McMahon while the Rockies are chasing the postseason. McMahon, who hit deciding homers in back-to-back games in a critical series against the Dodgers two weeks ago, has not yet reached Desmond’s level of contribution.

“We’ve given Desi a few days off the last couple weeks, and had a couple different discussions,” Black said, “but we know eventually he will rise to the occasion because that’s what he’s done in the past.” 12

Desmond’s game-winner Thursday was his second career walk-off homer, the first since 2012 when he was an All-Star with the Nationals. San Diego’s Kirby Yates left a split-finger fastball up in the that Desmond jerked to left field, his 20th home run this season.

He was 0-for-3 before walking up in the ninth, but still steady.

“I’m just trying to help the team win the game,” Desmond said. “I’m just trying to contribute.”

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Rockies welcome back veteran Matt Holliday, upend Padres Associated Press | ESPN.com | Aug. 23, 2018

DENVER -- Matt Holliday wore cleats from 2007. The Coors Field mojo almost felt straight from that decade, too.

When Colorado made a charge to its only appearance, it was behind late-season wins just like the dramatic one the Rockies pulled out on this throwback Thursday.

Ian Desmond hit a two-run, two-out homer in the ninth inning, and the Rockies beat the 4-3 in the return of the 38-year-old Holliday.

"When something special is happening, you find ways to win games," said Holliday, who wore a pair of black spikes that the clubhouse manager dug out of storage from '07 since Holliday had only a gray pair. "Those are important wins and a huge swing by Ian."

Desmond lined an 88-mph splitter from reliever Kirby Yates (4-3) over the fence in left after Trevor Story singled earlier in the ninth and stole second. It was Desmond's second career walk-off homer. His other was May 2, 2012, against Arizona.

"It felt good. It felt good to win the series," Desmond said. "Winning a series is really important this time of year."

Yates said the pitch to Desmond was one that didn't "have any bite to it."

"I got him the other night," Yates said. "He got me today."

Holliday was in Colorado's starting lineup for the first time in a decade after having his contract selected from Triple-A

Albuquerque before the game. He finished 0 for 3 -- he was lifted for a defensive replacement in the seventh -- but had a long drive in the fifth that he thought was gone. He even went into a little hop.

"I remembered it was a tornado blowing in from left field," Holliday cracked. "I hit that good."

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The Rockies overcame a baserunning blunder early and a costly error late to take two of three games from the Padres and move within one game of first-place Arizona in the NL West.

Jose Pirela came through with a bases-loaded, one-out hit up the middle off reliever Bryan Shaw to give the Padres a 3-2 lead. It was just after Story misplayed a slow roller.

Chris Rusin (1-2) worked a scoreless ninth to pick up the win.

Kyle Freeland turned in a solid outing by allowing two runs over 6 1/3 innings in the no-decision. The 25-year-old Denver native was elated to take the field with Holliday.

"That's a guy I looked up to big time, when I was in middle school and high school," Freeland said.

On a blustery day, Joey Lucchesi kept the Rockies in check for six innings. The left-hander allowed two runs and struck out six. His only major mistake was allowing a solo homer to David Dahl.

Lucchesi worked his way out of a messy situation in the third courtesy of a mistake on the bases by the Rockies. With no outs and runners on first and third, Dahl broke for home on Freeland's bunt, only to be thrown out. Charlie Blackmon then hit into a double play to end the threat.

It was an emotional day for Holliday, who returned to where his career began. The team played the song "Holiday Road" from "National Lampoon's Vacation" before the game. He also received a standing ovation before his first at-bat -- a groundout to second.

Holliday hasn't played in the majors since last season with the . He suited up the first five seasons of his career for Colorado, hitting .290 as a rookie in 2004 and helping lead the Rockies to their only World Series appearance in 2007.

"I'm grateful to be back," said Holliday, who hit .319 with 128 homers for Colorado from 2004-08.

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TRAINER'S ROOM

Padres: INF Christian Villanueva was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a fractured right middle finger. INF Carlos

Asuaje was recalled from Triple-A El Paso.

MYERS UPDATE

San Diego infielder Wil Myers wasn't in the lineup after suffering a cut on his nose the day before. He was working on grounders at third during batting practice when a ball hit him. He entered as a pinch-hitter in the seventh and drew a walk.

He hopes to play Friday.

"Hopefully get back over at third again and pretend like it never happened," Myers said.

UP NEXT

Padres: Open a three-game series Friday in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. LHP Clayton Richard (7-10, 5.11 ERA) goes for the Padres and LHP Rich Hill (5-4, 3.73) for the Dodgers.

Rockies: RHP Antonio Senzatela (4-3, 4.47) takes the mound Friday when the Rockies start a three-game series versus

St. Louis. The Cardinals will throw RHP Miles Mikolas (13-3, 2.80).

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Matt Holliday returns to Rockies lineup for first time since 2008 Associated Press | ESPN.com | Aug. 23, 2018

DENVER -- The 38-year-old outfielder sauntered into the clubhouse at Coors Field and instantly felt like a rookie again.

Matt Holliday was back at home.

The Rockies selected Holliday's contract from Triple-A Albuquerque on Thursday; he signed a minor league deal last month.

A seventh-round pick in 1998 by Colorado, Holliday played the first five seasons of his 14-year career with the Rockies, hitting .290 as a rookie in 2004 and helping lead Colorado to its only World Series appearance in 2007.

He's hoping to reprise a similar role this season with a Rockies team in the thick of the playoff chase.

"Honestly, it felt sort of normal [being back], but at the same time pretty nostalgic a little bit -- just thinking back 15 years ago, when I did that for the first time," said Holliday, who was in left field and batting fifth against San Diego on Thursday.

"It was kind of that kid at Christmas [feeling] last night. Had a hard time sleeping."

Teammate Chris Iannetta made him feel his age, reminding Holliday he was now the oldest player on the roster. He took that honor from the 35-year-old Iannetta, who was Holliday's teammate in 2007.

"I appreciate that. I'll take it as a compliment," said Holliday, who won a World Series title in 2011 with St. Louis. "Fifteen years later, I'm still good enough that people want me here. I hope I can go out and contribute."

Holliday, a seven-time All-Star, hasn't played in the majors since last season with the New York Yankees, when he batted

.231 with 19 homers.

No matter to Gold Glove third baseman Nolan Arenado.

"We got better today," Arenado said. "He's still a good player. He still knows how to hit. He didn't lose that. 17

"He's always a fundamental player, a fundamental hitter. You don't lose that."

Trailing Holliday on Thursday were his two of his sons, 14-year-old Jackson and 11-year-old Ethan. They played pingpong in a back room while Holliday prepared for the game. The last time Holliday was in a Rockies uniform -- Colorado traded him to Oakland after the 2008 season -- a young Jackson would frequently take batting practice in the middle of the clubhouse.

"You all better watch out if I pitch to him in the locker room. You all might get hurt," Holliday cracked. "He's a really good player. You all better pay attention after the game."

It didn't take Holliday long to get into the swing of things again. He batted .346 with three home runs and 14 RBIs for the

Triple-A Isotopes.

But he went into this adventure with muted expectations.

"I didn't know what to expect, how I would feel," Holliday said. "The one thing I do have is experience. I've seen thousands of pitches and faced tons of pitching over my career."

As for his role, manager Bud Black said he will "see how it goes."

"If he's not starting, he'll be available to pinch-hit," Black said. "There's a dangerous bat there late in the game with some power."

The one lingering question was this: Did Holliday actually touch home plate in Game No. 163 in 2007? Holliday tagged from third in the 13th inning against San Diego and dove in headfirst for the winning run, a victory in the NL wild-card tiebreaker that vaulted Colorado into the postseason. Whether Holliday touched home remains a contention with Black, who was the Padres' manager then.

Holliday joked that home plate umpire Tim McClelland shared some responsibility. 18

"I didn't call myself safe," Holliday said. "It wasn't my fault. I tell Buddy, 'Take it out on Tim."

Black doesn't buy it.

"He should be blamed. He missed home. You know what that is? That's baseball," Black light-heartedly said. "That one hurt. I still think about it."

Now, they're united.

And this version of the Rockies has impressed Holliday from afar.

"In some ways it's similar to 2007," Holliday said. "It's a lot of young guys and guys who came up together, sort of coming together at the right time. A good mix of veteran leadership and young players that are bringing a lot of energy and really trying to prove themselves and establish themselves as great major league players.

"It's a really talented team and a team that has a chance to do something special."

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How the legend of Matt Holliday stacks up against other Rockies’ greats Patrick Lyons | BSNDenver.com | Aug. 23, 2018

DENVER – Author Thomas Wolfe surmised, “you can’t go home again” in his 1940 posthumous novel of the same name.

Matt Holliday and the Colorado Rockies don’t care much for that idiom.

After nine years away from the Colorado Rockies with stops in Oakland, St. Louis and New York, Holliday has returned to

Colorado, his home for the first five seasons of his illustrious career.

From 2004 to 2008, Holliday made three All-Star appearances, won three Silver Slugger Awards and won a batting title en route to 128 home runs for the Rockies.

During the 2008 offseason, poised with the possibility of losing their star outfielder to free agency after the next season,

GM Dan O’Dowd traded Holliday to Oakland for a package of players that included Huston Street and Carlos Gonzalez.

After passing each between the Athletics and Rockies nearly a decade ago, the two now pass each other in the same locker room beneath Coors Field.

Back Home

Holliday isn’t the first player to spend time away from the Rockies only to come back some years later.

The first player to return was also one of the first Rockies players.

Reliever Steve Reed of the inaugural club in 1993 pitched in purple until 1997 before returning in the twilight of his career during the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

Other Rockies players who have had multiple stints with the organization include Jamey Wright, LaTroy Hawkins, Franklin

Morales, Jeff Francis, Manny Corpas, Jay Payton and current Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta.

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Vinny Castilla departed and returned several times, both during his playing days and in his transition as a coach.

Castilla, another original Rockies player, left after 1999 to receive some moderate pay days with Tampa Bay and Atlanta before coming back to Colorado in 2004 and again in 2006.

Once his playing career concluded in 2006, the former third baseman was hired as a Special Assistant to the General

Manager for the Rockies starting in 2014.

Dante Bichette, Walt Weiss, Eric Young, Alan Cockrell, Darren Holmes and also made the transition at Coors

Field to coaching off the field from being a player on it.

Nothing But A Number

Much has been made about Holliday’s age of 38, but the Stillwater, Oklahoma native is far from the oldest player in

Rockies history.

The most recent Rockies position player to appear this deep into his late thirties would be ’s final season of

2013 when the 39-year-old first baseman suited up for 124 games with Colorado.

A search for outfielders of a similar age finds 35-year-old Ryan Raburn, who played 113 games in 2016, and 37-year-old

Jay Payton, who strung together a handful of games in 2010.

The last time a Rockies outfielder was age 38 or older was Melvin Mora in 2010, when the former Orioles All-Star started four games in left field.

The oldest position player in franchise history was both an outfielder and a teammate of Holliday during the 2007 season:

Steve Finley.

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The veteran center fielder finished his nineteen-year career with Colorado at age 42. Finley appeared as a for starter Rodrigo Lopez in the fifth inning on June 3 that year against Reds SP Matt Belisle, marking his final game in the majors.

Holliday is far from the oldest player in Rockies history. Even if he decided to stick around for another decade, he’d still fall short of the franchise record for the oldest player to ever take the field for Colorado.

That record goes to starting pitcher Jamie Moyer, who tossed ten games with Colorado in 2012 as a comeback player recovering from Tommy John surgery as a 49-year-old.

Satchel Paige, the most ageless pitcher of all-time, a man who hurled three scoreless innings as a 58-year-old, often quipped, “Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it don’t matter.”

If Matt Holliday can deliver the production that the Rockies feel he can provide, it’s without any doubt that their first NL

West pennant in franchise history will be the only thing that matters.

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Believing in the Rockies’ Belief in Matt Holliday Craig Edwards | FanGraphs.com | August 23, 2018

Yesterday, Jeff Sullivan wondered aloud why the Rockies, a contending club that would benefit from some offensive help, hadn’t taken any steps to address a pretty clear weakness. Today, Colorado responded by calling up a 38-year-old outfielder who couldn’t get a major-league deal this season. If nostalgia is your thing, the Rockies’ decision to bring back

Matt Holliday is a clear winner. Whatever questions Sullivan had yesterday, however, likely weren’t cleared up by this most recent move. That doesn’t mean it won’t work, of course.

From a feel-good perspective, the move is a no-brainer. Below is a WAR leaderboard for position players in Rockies franchise history.

Rockies’ WAR Leaders Name G PA HR AVG OBP SLG wRC+ WAR

Todd Helton 2247 9453 369 .316 .414 .539 132 55.1

Larry Walker 1170 4795 258 .334 .426 .618 147 44.4

Troy Tulowitzki 1048 4415 188 .299 .371 .513 124 34.1

Carlos Gonzalez 1220 4961 225 .291 .351 .518 117 25.5

Nolan Arenado 840 3538 178 .293 .348 .540 119 24.6

Matt Holliday 698 2968 128 .319 .386 .552 133 20.2

Charlie Blackmon 884 3713 133 .301 .357 .493 113 17.1

Vinny Castilla 1098 4451 239 .294 .340 .530 101 15.5

Andres Galarraga 679 2924 172 .316 .367 .577 124 13.4

Ellis Burks 520 2054 115 .306 .378 .579 127 11.0 Ubaldo Jimenez leads all with 18.1 WAR

Holliday is one of the franchise’s greatest players, arguably the team’s best hitter of all time after . In 2007,

Holliday hit .340/.405/.607 with a 151 wRC+ and 6.9 WAR, that last figure still the best a Rockies player has recorded since Holliday was traded to the A’s ahead of the 2009 season. He finished second in the MVP voting that year, was called safe at home, and won the NLCS MVP as the franchise advanced to their only World Series appearance. Holliday would go on to capture a title with the Cardinals, but as the place where his career started, Denver clearly has some significance to the outfielder.

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Whatever value Holliday’s return has emotionally for the club and its fans, it’s distinct from his value as a player attempting to aid a club in a tight playoff race. The Rockies can’t be in the business of currying favor with fans or ex- players when they are within two games of the division and just half a game out of the Wild Card. The allocation of a roster spot to Holliday only makes sense if he can contribute. As Sullivan noted yesterday, there is a pretty low bar when it comes to production that might improve the team:

To this point of the season, the Rockies rank fifth-worst in baseball in combined WAR at first base. The rest of the way, they project for the second-worst WAR at first base. And, on top of that, the Rockies also project to be third-worst in left field. The reason I bring up two positions is because Ian Desmond can play either one. See, it’s not just that the Rockies have played a lot of Desmond. It’s that they’ve played a lot of both Desmond and Gerardo Parra. Parra has started to lose playing time to David Dahl, and Desmond has started to lose playing time to Ryan McMahon, but, to just fast-forward to the point, let’s all look at a table:

Here’s the table that followed the aforementioned passage — in this case, however, with Holliday substituted for Daniel

Murphy.

Player Comparison Player 3-year wRC+ 2018 wRC+ Projected wRC+ Projected WAR Matt Holliday 104 NA 103 0.0 Ian Desmond 89 80 90 0.1 Gerardo Parra 72 80 83 0.0 Ryan McMahon 71 74 92 0.1

Holliday is projected to mark an improvement over what the Rockies have been running out there all season. That sounds like a strange thing to say about a 38-year-old who recorded a replacement-level campaign in 2017, but let’s take a quick look back at that season to see what actually occurred. We find that Holliday ended the year with a 98 wRC+ and 19 homers in 427 plate appearances. How he arrived at that mark paints two potential pictures. In the first, Holliday is done as a productive major-league hitter. The graph below shows Holliday’s rolling wRC+ across the entire 2017 season.

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Holliday started off the season well and then got worse and worse. From June 22 through the rest of the year, Holliday received 163 plate appearances, but he struck out nearly 30% of the time with a .166/.215/.278 batting line for a 25 wRC+. That’s why he only batted three times during the playoffs and probably why he didn’t get a major-league deal heading into this season. The stat line seems to suggest that Holliday was done as a productive player, but the stat line doesn’t know Holliday was sidelined by an unusual illness that sapped his strength. In mid-June, Holliday was fatigued, hit the disabled list, and was eventually diagnosed with Epstein-Barr Syndrome. It would seem that Holliday was not just really bored with baseball last summer; it turns out he had mono.

This is Holliday pre- and post-Epstein-Barr.

Matt Holliday with and without Mono in 2017 PA OBP SLG ISO BABIP wRC+ Pre-Epstein-Barr 268 .377 .529 .258 .315 140 Post-Epstein-Barr 163 .215 .278 .113 .208 25

Holliday wasn’t just holding his own for half a season last year, he was excelling. It’s fair to assume that Holliday’s skills as a hitter didn’t just disappear; as a bat-only veteran with an awful second half, however, he probably wasn’t all that appealing to clubs this past offseason. He had a better season than Jose Bautista in 2017 and is just one year older, but a minor-league deal in March or April might not have been what he was looking for. Bautista has certainly rebounded, and

Holliday has had more recent success than the current Mets slugger. If Holliday’s brief stint in the minors was any 25

indication, his hitting skills are more similar to the first-half edition of last year’s Matt Holliday and less like those exhibited by a player who struggled to finish the season.

Holliday played in just 16 minor-league games this August, but in 66 plate appearances, he’s recorded 10 walks and just nine strikeouts, suggesting that his batting eye is fine. He was able to make solid contact, producing a .345 batting average, and he wasn’t just blooping hits, as he put up a .255 ISO with five doubles and three homers. In the tiniest of sample sizes, Holliday put up a 174 wRC+ on the strength of shots like this:

Albuquerque Isotopes

@ABQTopes

As promised, here is video of Matt Holliday's home run from tonight.

No report on if the ball has landed quite yet.

Albuquerque Isotopes

@ABQTopes

ICYMI: Matt Holliday may have broken this baseball.

You can see Holliday and the rest of the #ABQTopes in person as we open a seven-game homestand tonight at Isotopes

Park!

🎥🎥@FresnoGrizzlies

Maybe last year’s first half was a mirage, and perhaps he will find major-league pitching significantly more difficult than minor-league pitching. It is really hard for 38-year-olds to find success in the majors. But maybe Holliday has a good six weeks left in him, and the bat that has been with him his entire career will shine through in Colorado. It’s exciting to see him get another shot, even if that’s just mostly nostalgia talking.

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Updated: It's Holliday Time Again in Colorado Tracy Ringolsby | InsidetheSeams.com | Aug. 23, 2018

Matt Holliday had been playing baseball seems like since the day he could walk and grip a bat, until last spring. At the age of 38, and after 20 years in , Holliday found himself watching from afar last March, taking a job as a part-time analyst for MLB radio when an offer never came for him to continue his career.

Four months into the season, however, Holliday still had that urge, and found the Rockies, the team that originally drafted him in the seventh-round back in June of 1988, willing to give him a chance to go to Triple-A Albuquerque and confirm the belief that he could be a bonus off the bench for a team very much in the National League post-season mix.

The proving is done.

Holliday's contract was purchased by the Rockies, and he is in the lineup, playing left field and hitting fifth in Thursday's series finale against the Padres. And then, in a touch of irony, will be in uniform for the weekend series with the Cardinals that opens at Coors Field on Friday night.

He will wear No. 7, his original Rockies No. 5 now being worn by Carlos Gonzalez, who came to the Rockies in the trade that sent Holliday to the Oakland A's after the 2008 season.

Infielder was optioned back to Albuquerque to make room for Holliday, but will be recalled when the roster is expanded from 25 to 40 players in September.

Prior to the 2008 season, the Rockies signed Holliday to a two-year, $23 million deal to cover his final two years of arbitration, but when agent Scott Boras rejected a four-year, $72 million extension to cover the first four years of free agent, general manager Dan O’Dowd became convinced that agent Boras was intent on taking Holliday on the free-agent market following 2009.

As a result, in November of 2008, a year removed from free agency, Holliday was dealt to the A’s for a package that included Gonzalez.

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By the middle of 2009, the A’s shipped him to the Cardinals, where he was a factor through the 2016 season, being a part of six post-season teams, including two that advanced to the World Series, including a 2011 team that won a world championship.

The Rockies, however, always remained a special team for him, the organization that originally signed him and gave him his opportunity when the late Jerry McMorris, the front man of ownership at the time, stepped in to personally handle the negotiations after hesitations by then-general manager Bob Gebhard.

Holliday, one of the top four quarterback recruits in the country and committed to play football at Oklahoma State, received an $840,000 signing bonus, a record for a seventh-round draft choice.

It’s more than Holliday will receive this time around, in the big leagues, but this is about a chance to say goodbye. This isn’t about money. This is about a chance to finish a career where it began – with the Rockies.

He has passed the first test with his strong showing in the minor leagues.

Holliday hit .345 in 16 minor-league games, the first game coming at Rookie-level Grand Junction, and the last 15 with

Triple-A Albuquerque, where Holliday was used at first base, in the outfield, as a DH and a pinch-hitter and hit .346 with three home runs, four doubles, 14 RBI and nine walks. He has played in only one game in the last four days.

The Rockies created the spot on the 40-man roster for Holliday by placing Double-A catcher Chris Rabago on waivers.

The Yankees claimed Rabago on Wednesday. That left the Rockies with 39 of 40 spots on the roster filled, creating the opening to add Holliday.

By activating Holliday before Sept. 1, he is automatically eligible for the post-season roster.

Rockies manager Bud Black was careful in answering questions about Holliday's situation on Wednesday, but it was apparent he would be wearing a Rockies uniform.

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“He’s checking off the boxes,” Black said. “The main thing all of us were looking for, and I’ll include Matt, is just how he feels physically. And how he’s getting into baseball shape, just how a player would in .

“The thing that we’re very happy with is the physical side of it,” Black said. “But mentally, Matt has been a long-time player and he can get back up to speed real quick.”

Ironically, it was nine years ago Friday that the Rockies made a similar move, signing a 38-year-old Jason Giambi, who had been released by the A's, to provide a veteran influence and left-handed-hitting streak for a team deep in right0handed hitters.

Giambi delivered, hitting .292 in the final days of that season -- with two home runs, 11 RBI and seven walks in 31 plate appearances -- as the Rockies claimed the NL wild-card for a second time in three years. Giambi was such a strong clubhouse influence he wound up spending the next three seasons with the Rockies in that limited bench\major clubhouse influence role.

Holliday had been working out on his own to stay in shape, just in case, and when there were signs the Rockies could have interest, he returned to Stillwater, Okla., where he grew up, and where his brother Josh is the head baseball coach at Oklahoma State.

While Holliday's primary role will be that late-inning threat off the bench that the Rockies have been lacking, he also will provide a needed right-handed bat to step in when a left-hander starts against a Rockies team that features four left- handed hitters as primary outfielders -- Charlie Blackmon, Carlos Gonzalez, David Dahl and Gerardo Parra.

For Holliday it would be exciting to be a part of getting the Rockies back to the post-season. He was a critical factor in the

2007 season when the Rockies made their only World Series appearance.

And for Black, it would interesting for him to have Holliday on his side -- this time.

Holliday was the impact bat on that 2017 team that rallied from fourth place in the NL West, 6 1/2 games out of first place, on the morning of Sept. 16, and in the next 15 days, won 13 of 14 games, rallying to tie the Padres for second place in the 29

NL West, two games back of the Diamondbacks, but more importantly forcing a one-game playoff at Coors Field with the

Padres to decide the NL wild-card.

Holliday not only hit .340 with 36 home runs and 137 RBI that season, finishing second to Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies in

NL MVP Voting, but was the NL Player of the Month that September when he hit .365 with 12 home runs and 32 RBI.

He, however, will be remember forever in Rockies history more for his head-first, controversial slide into home plate on a

Jamey Carroll sacrifice fly to shallow right field that lifted the Rockies to a 9-8, 13-inning victory against the Padres and into the post-season.

The Padres had actually taken an 8-6 lead in the top of the 13th and had Hall of Fame closer Trevor Hoffman on the mound, but with one out, Troy Tulowitzki doubled in a run to cut the lead to 8-7, and then Holliday followed with a game- tying triple, and after an intentional walk to Todd Helton, Carroll delivered that controversial sacrifice fly that left Holliday dazed at the plate, and Black only wondering what might have been had instant replay been in place back then.

"He still hasn't touched the plate," Black said with a smile.

Tim McClelland, the home plate umpire that night, said the ultimate decision was the ball eluded Padres catcher Michael

Barrett.

"Michael Barrett stuck out his leg, but he didn't have it planted in the ground," McClelland said. "What I saw was Holliday kind of slide through that leg and touch the plate. He would have been safe no matter what, but when the ball came out (of

Barrett's glove) it made it a no decision."

Safe, or out, 13 years ago, Holliday is now ready to be back "in" at the big-league level, this time with Black as his manager, and this time, instead of being that middle-of-the-lineup, right-handed force, as the looming veteran threat off the bench, waiting for that opportunity to provide another chapter in his book of magical moments with the Rockies.

The Holliday Files

THE 2018 PREPARATIONS FOR A BIG-LEAGUE RETURN 30

2018 LG LEVEL G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG

Grand Junction PIO ROK 1 3 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0.333

Albuquerque PCL AAA 15 52 12 18 4 0 3 14 9 9 0 0 0.346

Totals - - 16 55 12 19 5 0 3 15 10 9 0 0 0.345

THE MLB RESUME

OP Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG S

1

2004 Col NL 2 400 65 116 31 3 14 57 31 86 3 3 .290 .837

1

1

2005 Col NL 2 479 68 147 24 7 19 87 36 79 14 3 .307 .866

5

1

2006 Col NL 5 602 119 196 45 5 34 114 47 110 10 5 .326 .973

5

1 1.01 2007 Col NL 5 636 120 216 50 6 36 137 63 126 11 4 .340 2 8

1

2008 Col NL 3 539 107 173 38 2 25 88 74 104 28 2 .321 .947

9

9 2009 Oak AL 346 52 99 23 1 11 54 46 58 12 3 .286 .831 3

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OP Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG S

6 1.02 2009 StL NL 235 42 83 16 2 13 55 26 43 2 4 .353 3 3

1

TOTAL 5 581 94 182 39 3 24 109 72 101 14 7 .313 .909

6

1

2010 StL NL 5 596 95 186 45 1 28 103 69 93 9 5 .312 .922

8

1

2011 StL NL 2 446 83 132 36 0 22 75 60 93 2 1 .296 .912

4

1

2012 StL NL 5 599 95 177 36 2 27 102 75 132 4 4 .295 .877

7

1

2013 StL NL 4 520 103 156 31 1 22 94 69 86 6 1 .300 .879

1

1

2014 StL NL 5 574 83 156 37 0 20 90 74 100 4 1 .272 .811

6

7 2015 StL NL 229 24 64 16 1 4 35 39 49 2 1 .279 .804 3

1

2016 StL NL 1 382 48 94 20 1 20 62 35 71 0 0 .246 .782

0

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OP Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG S

1

2017 NYY AL 0 373 50 86 18 0 19 64 46 114 1 0 .231 .748

5

1

8 695 115 208 46 31 121 79 134 10 Totals 32 37 .299 .889 7 6 4 1 6 4 7 0 4 8

8

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10 reasons Matt Holliday’s return to the Rockies is just right Two weeks earlier or later, and Holliday’s return wouldn’t be quite as fun Renee Decher | PurpleRow.com | Aug. 23, 2018

“It was kind of that kid at Christmas (feeling) last night. Had a hard time sleeping.”

That’s how 38-year old Matt Holliday described his feelings about being back in the Rockies’ clubhouse. Since he signed a minor-league contract in July, Rockies fans have been counting the days until his return. It could have happened at another time, either earlier or later. But it happened now. That’s worth dwelling on.

Here are 10 reasons why this was the perfect time for Holliday to rejoin his former team.

1. The Padres were in town

This isn’t to troll the Padres, who’ve had a tough 50-80 go of it in 2018, but Jeff Bridich could not have chosen a more perfect game. Rockies fans spent the day reliving the 2007 slide — yes, of course, he touched home plate — and it was wonderful.

2. The Cardinals are coming to town

After Holliday left the Rockies, he went to the Cardinals. There’s a certain symmetry to his facing his old team this weekend. Plus, this will be an important series against a red-hot team, so Holliday’s return will be timely. And it leads to great tweets from the Cards like this one:

St. Louis Cardinals

@Cardinals

This is fun. See you this weekend, Matt! 😉😉

Colorado Rockies

@Rockies

OFFICIAL: The Colorado Rockies have selected the contract of OF Matt Holliday.

Holliday will wear No. 7.

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3. Bud Black has time to adjust

There has been speculation for awhile that Buddy, coach of the Padres when Holliday touched home plate, might have trouble adjusting to having Holliday back in the clubhouse. As Black said after being hired as the Rockies’ manager, “To this day, I don’t think he’s touched it. He’s a fine player.” Now, they’ve got time to shake it off and move on.

4. The Rockies need another right-handed bat

We’ve heard this for months: The Rockies need another hitter. Holliday stands out in a sea of Rockies left-handed outfielders. The right-handed bat that everyone worried about has arrived.

5. Holliday was destroying Isotopes Park

Perhaps you’ve seen the video where Holliday hit a home run that rattled the scoreboard? After 15 starts with the ‘Topes and more than 60 plate appearances, it was clear that Holliday had mastered MiLB ball. He left ABQ with a 1.055 OPS and a .455 on-base percentage. It was, as #RockiesTwitter puts it, time for a MUP.

6. Nolan wanted it

Yesterday, Nolan told told Nick Groke, “I want him here.” What Nolan wants, Nolan gets. His instincts have been right so far (e.g., the return of Carlos González).

7. Chris Iannetta gets to feel younger

Here’s what Iannetta tweeted after the announcement of Holliday’s arrival.

Chris Iannetta

@Chris_Iannetta

You wake up and check Twitter.... the feeling when find out your not the oldest guy on the team anymore... Thanks Matt!

@Rockies

Chris, you’re 35, and you’ve put in a long season. Hopefully, there’s more to come. So if this helps, we’re all for it.

8. Batting titles

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The Rockies now have on their roster four winners of the NL Batting Title: Holliday, Carlos González, DJ LeMahieu, and

Charlie Blackmon. When you’re looking at making the playoffs, you can never have too many batting titles.

9. Interleague play

The Rockies are playing the of Anaheim next week, in Anaheim. A visit to an AL stadium will give

Holliday steady at bats for a two-game series without having to play in the outfield or at first base. (David Dahl and Ryan

McMahon need to as much playing time as they can get.)

10. Mythology matters

The Rockies are hot and competing for a playoff spot. Holliday’s addition to the roster now means he’ll be eligible for the postseason roster, should the Rockies make it. Moreover, Holliday contributes to the mix of experienced-and-newer players that Bridich likes to work with. But Matt Holliday is more than a right-handed bat. He’s also a key part of Rocktober mythos, and having him in the clubhouse makes that mythology real. Yes, this is a young team with players like Arenado,

Freeland, Gray, Márquez, Anderson, McMahon, and Dahl. But this team also has a playoff history, and Matt Holliday embodies it.

Besides, maybe there’s still a piece of his chin near home plate that will bring good October fortune.

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Despite all our rage the Rockies are still in the race We’ve yelled, we’ve whined, we’ve complained. And yet, here they are. Connor Farrell | PurpleRow.com | Aug 24, 2018

Yelling about sports is one of the five best things about them. We can’t control the game or its events in the slightest.

We’re put into an uncomfortable scenario where something is affecting our emotions, and yet we can’t do anything about the outcome. So, we have to yell. It’s all we can do. We simply must yell.

The yelling is cathartic. We are trained from birth to change our circumstance with action (or at least try), and yet here are sports. Sports are sitting there on a TV or 200 feet away from us in our stadium seats. We would get arrested if we tried to change the circumstance. Yelling is all we have.

Rockies fans have done their fair share of yelling this season. Of any season in my Rockies fandom, I can honestly say

2018 has taught me more about yelling and about being wrong than any other. It’s taught me how long these seasons are, and how two weeks can feel like a lifetime and a blink all at once.

The most consistent yelling is usually when the lineup is posted. An easy way to get your yelling muscles warmed up is to get mad about a photograph of a printed sheet of names. The lineup has caused ire probably 92% of games so far this year, yet they have not lost all of those games. They haven’t even lost half, if you want to get technical about it.

All of this yelling we’ve done, all of this emotion we express at the events we cannot change, appears to have done very little to stop the Rockies from winning. In most other seasons, you’d see the cracks in the shell, then people would yell about the cracks, and then the cracks would flood the hull and the Rockies would finish with about 72 wins. It was consistent, if not fun. It at least allowed those doing the yelling some cathartic reassurance, which counts for something.

But this year the Rockies have skipped stepped three. The cracks showed, the yelling started, the yelling continued, the yelling has not stopped, and yet the team has continued to win. We seem to be yelling with all of our might, and they just don’t care.

This isn’t to suggest that those yelling want to be right. On the contrary, they’re yelling in the hope that they’re proven wrong. But usually, when proven wrong while yelling, you stop yelling. This year, the yellers haven’t exactly been proven

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wrong. The offense hasn’t been that good! The bullpen looks like an overspend! The Rockies appear to be mishandling several position player prospects! All of these things are right. The rage is seemingly justified. So shouldn’t the Rockies be losing? Shouldn’t my dry, scratchy throat have a reason?

Obviously, the rotation has been incredible, which may be one reason they keep winning. But even with that, the Rockies have been outscored by eight runs, which means they should have a losing record. They should be losing! Now, I’m not good at math, I had to take STAT 201 twice just to graduate college (I failed once, which in stats measurements means

I’m 50% good at math). But even though I’m not good at math I can see this team has been annoying. I’ve yelled at them!

People who are good at math usually say things like “no need to yell friend, the math will make sure everything is okay”.

But the math is wrong! How can I trust math ever again? The math is also yelling.

So I’m yelling, the math is yelling, surely people with ELWAY53 in their twitter handles are yelling, so why are all of us wrong?

We’re wrong because of the very reasons we’re mad in the first place. All this math is just an attempt to claim control — or at least knowledge — over the events. Pythagorean wins, ZiPS, Steamer — it’s all handfuls of sand trying to move the beach. It’s right a lot; we wouldn’t yell about them if they were wrong most of the time. But in this effort to hold control over the events, we force out pre-anger. We yell about what hasn’t happened yet because it will surely happen. And when it does happen: Aha! It happened, just like we said. Like when a kid playing his music too loud blows his speakers. We told you, kid. We told you this would happen.

Part of the fun is being wrong, obviously. The Rockies remain in the race and fun to watch. That is good enough for me, if

I’m being honest. But we’re wrong because we’re trying to be right in the first place. I don’t know if that makes sense, seems like it doesn’t. But also, maybe it does.

The Rockies are laughing in the face of our yelling. Which is fine, I’m having fun anyway, even without the cathartic assurance I was promised when I accepted the yelling into my life.

Maybe I’m getting the best of both worlds now.

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Maybe I get to see the Rockies win and I get to see my yelling justified. I, like Marie Antoinette, am having my cake and eating it too. I get to see Ian Desmond ground out just like I said while also seeing the Rockies win — maybe with a

Desmond walk-off home run! — just like I wanted. I’m both right and wrong. I’m in some kind of nirvana.

So this all leads to a hypothesis, or maybe it’s a theory: Are the 2018 Rockies the perfect team? Both justifying the rage while also remaining entertaining and in the race?

I posit, through the evidence I’ve presented: Yes. Yes they are.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some yelling to get to.

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Cardinals vs. Rockies could shake up wild card standings, plus what you need to about their weekend series The Rockies and Cardinals are the two hottest teams in the NL and they'll meet this weekend in Coors Field Mike Axisa | CBSSports.com | Aug. 23, 2018

With less than six weeks to go in the regular season, the various postseason races are really starting to heat up, and there may not be a more wide open race than the NL wild card. Four teams are competing for two spots at the moment.

This weekend in Denver, two of those four teams will meet for a three-game series as the Colorado Rockies host the St.

Louis Cardinals for three games at Coors Field. A few weeks ago this looked like it might be a meaningless series.

Instead, it is very important for both clubs, as well as the other wild-card hopefuls. Here are the tentative pitching matchups:

START DATE TIME TV ROCKIES SP CARDINALS SP

Friday, August 8:40 p.m. FS Midwest/ATT Antonio Senzatela (4-3, Miles Mikolas (13-3, 24 ET SportsNet-RM 4.47) 2.80)

Saturday, 8:40 p.m. FS Midwest/ATT German Marquez (11- August 25 ET SportsNet-RM 9, 4.42) John Gant (5-5, 3.76)

Sunday, August 3:40 p.m. FS Midwest/ATT Tyler Anderson (6-6, (3-0, 26 ET SportsNet-RM 4.45) 2.98)

Fans in the St. Louis market can stream the series on fuboTV (Try for free).

Neither Kyle Freeland nor , Colorado's two best starters, will get the ball in this series, putting the Rockies at something of a disadvantage. That said, once you adjust for ballpark, the three starters the Rockies are sending out there this weekend have all prevented runs at an above-average rate this season. The Cardinals? They've reinvented their rotation on the fly.

"The Cardinals pitching staff, they are unrecognizable. There is no Carlos Martinez in the rotation, there is no Adam

Wainwright in the rotation, there is no Michael Wacha in the rotation," said Jonah Keri on CBS Sports HQ (video above).

"... (The Cardinals) are really turning over a whole staff. It's remarkable the way the Cardinals have done that this season.

And actually, if you want a reminder of what this looks like -- a staff sort of coming out of nowhere with almost all new

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guys -- that's really what the 2017 Rockies did. Other than Jon Gray, new faces everywhere, and it totally worked. That's what's happened so far for the Cardinals."

The surging Rockies and equally surging Cardinals will play three very important games with major postseason implications this weekend at Coors Field. Here's what you need to know going into the series.

The NL wild-card race is tight

Like I said, there are four teams competing for the two wild-card spots at the moment, and those four teams are in a virtual tie in the standings. Here is the NL wild-card picture coming into Friday, with SportsLine projected records and postseason odds:

TEAM W-L GB RUN DIFF PROJECTED W-L POSTSEASON ODDS

Cardinals 71-57 (.555) +1/2 +63 90-72 72.7%

Rockies 70-57 (.551) - -8 87-75 39.6%

Brewers 71-58 (.550) - +27 88-74 53.0%

Phillies 69-58 (.543) 1/2 +3 86-76 31.1%

Dodgers 67-61 (.523) 3 1/2 +106 89-73 57.3%

Make sure to check out SportsLine's daily pick sheet for insight about every game.

The Rockies are percentage points -- percentage point, really -- ahead of the Brewers for that second wild-card spot. With five weeks and three days to go in the regular season, there are four teams essentially tied for the two wild-card spots, with the Dodgers looming.

Because the race is so tight, these head-to-head series take on added importance. It's a chance for the Cardinals and

Rockies to create some separation with at least one of those other wild-card hopefuls. Counting on other teams for help

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late in the season is no fun. Best to take care of business yourself, and this weekend is a chance for the Cardinals and

Rockies to do just that.

It should be noted that, while the Rockies are competing for a wild-card spot, they are only one game back of the

Diamondbacks in the NL West. Winning the division is obviously preferable to settling for a wild-card spot and surely their goal is the NL West title. The Cardinals are three games behind the Cubs in the NL Central.

These are two the hottest teams in the NL

Both the Cardinals and Rockies go into this weekend's series having won eight of their last 10 games, but their hot streaks extend much further back than that. St. Louis swept the Dodgers in Los Angeles earlier this week and they are 13-2 with a plus-43 run differential in their last 15 games. They are 23-11 since Mike Matheny was let go.

As for the Rockies, they took two of three from the Padres earlier this week, with Ian Desmond's two-run walk-off home run providing Thursday's win.

The Rockies are 10-2 in their last 12 games and they're 32-15 in their last 47 games now. Colorado not only has the

National League's best record since June 27, they've allowed the second fewest runs in the league (181) since that date.

(The Dodgers have allowed 180 runs since June 27.)

Going into the All-Star break, the Rockies were two games back of the second wild-card spot while the Cardinals were four games back. They've both climbed up the standings in the month since the Midsummer Classic.

This is not their first meeting of 2018

The Rockies and Cardinals played four games at Busch Stadium from July 30 to August 2. The Cardinals won three of four, with two of the three wins coming via walk-offs. hit a walk-off solo home run on July 30 and Jose

Martinez provided a two-run walk-off single on August 2.

That series was played during the time in which Colorado's bullpen seemed to blow a lead every night. They suffered three walk-off losses in the span of five games and the high-priced relief crew of Wade Davis, Jake McGee, and Bryan

Shaw just couldn't seem to get anyone out. They've been better of late, however. 42

The Cardinals currently lead the season series 3-1 and that is not insignificant. The head-to-head record could come into play for postseason tiebreaker scenarios. The Rockies need to sweep this weekend to clinch the season series win and thus tiebreaker status over the Cardinals. St. Louis needs just one win to do so.

Welcome to Coors Field, Cardinals pitchers

The Cardinals' three starting pitchers for this weekend's series have combined for one (1) career inning at Coors Field.

That inning belongs to Mikolas, who allowed four runs (three earned) in one inning of relief back when he was with the

Padres in 2012. That was before he went to Japan and reinvented himself. Neither Gant nor Gomber have ever pitched in

Colorado's hitters' haven.

Generally speaking, pitchers who get ground balls and throw a lot of fastballs have the most success in Coors Field.

Keeping a ball on the ground is an obvious plus, and because breaking balls don't break the same way in the thin mountain air, the more fastballs, the better. Here's a breakdown of the three starters the Cardinals are sending to the mound this weekend:

PLAYER GROUND BALL RATE FASTBALLS BREAKING BALLS CHANGEUPS

Miles Mikolas 50.4% 48.2% 47.5% 4.4%

John Gant 44.8% 55.3% 18.1% 26.6%

Austin Gomber 35.9% 49.6% 43.2% 7.1%

Gomber might be in for some trouble Sunday. He is not a ground ball pitcher at all -- Gomber has a 38.4 percent ground ball rate in Triple-A this year, so it's not a sample size issue, fly balls are his M.O. -- and he throws a lot of breaking balls.

I'm curious to see how Mikolas handles Coors Field. He's gotten plenty of ground balls this year but he throws a lot of breaking balls. How effective will his curveball and slider be at altitude?

Holliday will face his former team

Welcome back to the big leagues, Matt Holliday. Holliday signed a minor-league contract with the Rockies earlier this year and they called him up Thursday. He went 0 for 3 as the left fielder and No. 5 hitter in his return to Colorado. 43

Holliday is back in the big leagues with his former team and this weekend he'll face another one of his former teams, the

Cardinals. He played with the Rockies from 2004-08 and the Cardinals from 2009-16, with a short stint with the Athletics in the middle. Quite a coincidence, eh? Holliday signs with a former team and they call him just as they're about to play one of his other former teams in a rather important series.

This is Players' Weekend

It is Players' Weekend, and that means players across the league will wear special uniforms with nicknames on the back.

Here are the jerseys the Rockies and Cardinals will wear this weekend:

The Rockies and Cardinals will play a huge series during Players' Weekend. MLB.com/CBS Sports

While I respect the Rockies for going with purple as their primary color, I think I prefer the Cardinals' Players' Weekend jerseys. Either way, I am very much pro-Players' Weekend. Anything that spices up the dogs days of summer and allows players to show a little personality is a-okay with me.

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