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MLB


Rockies Top Marlins In Slugfest

POSTED: 5:03 am PDT July 5, 2008

(Sports Network) - Chris Iannetta drove in four runs, including the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth, as the Colorado Rockies trailed by as many as nine runs but rallied for a wild, improbable 18-17 win over the Florida Marlins in the second of a four-game set at Coors Field.

With Kevin Gregg on to close with a 17-16 lead, Clint Barmes and Matt Holliday started the ninth with back-to-back singles. Garrett Atkins then ripped a liner to left for a single, and Barmes sprinted home with the tying run. Jeff Baker hit a grounder to second that looked to be a surefire double play, but Hanley Ramirez dropped the flip to second and the bases were loaded. Iannetta then slapped a grounder through the drawn-in infield to give the Rockies one of the most unlikely victories in franchise history.

"It was a crazy game," Iannetta said. "We scored a bunch of runs to get back into the game, then they scored five runs. Then we came back, and it was great to be on top at the end."

The teams combined for 43 hits and eight home runs -- six from the Rockies -- in the slugfest. The nine-run deficit is the largest the Rockies have ever overcome and the largest lead the Marlins have ever lost.

Atkins finished 5-for-6 with three runs batted in and three runs scored for the Rockies, who picked up their second straight win in their final at-bat and fourth in a row overall. Holliday homered twice -- including a grand slam -- and drove in five runs, while Spilborghs was 4-for-5 with a pair of long balls, three RBI and four runs scored. Barmes also had four hits and scored three times.

The rally made an unlikely winner out of Taylor Buchholz (3-2) who worked a scoreless ninth. Starter Greg Reynolds lasted just 1 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits, while Cedrick Bowers was rocked for five runs in two frames and Jason Grilli was touched for four runs in an inning-plus.

Cody Ross had five RBI for the Marlins, who have lost three of their last four. Hanley Ramirez homered, knocked in two and scored three runs, while Jorge Cantu and Mike Jacobs had four hits apiece.

Gregg (6-4) blew his sixth save while taking the loss in relief of Scott Olsen, who lasted five innings despite being hammered for nine runs -- eight earned -- on 11 hits.

"Obviously it was a great day for hitters, and not such a good day for the pitchers," Jacobs said. "We slugged, they slugged. The bottom line is, they outslugged us."

Florida took the lead right out of the gate, as Ramirez led off the game with a homer to center. Jacobs added an RBI double, and Matt Treanor clubbed a two- out, 3-2 change-up over the wall in left to give the Marlins a 5-0 lead before Olsen ever took the hill.

But, the Rockies immediately struck back, as consecutive doubles by Spilborghs and Barmes cut the deficit to four in the bottom half. However, Josh Willingham answered with a two-run double in the second for a 7-1 Florida lead.

RBI singles from Spilborghs and Barmes brought Colorado back within four in the home second. Baker's groundout plated another run in the third.

But, Bowers couldn't keep the Marlins at bay, as he loaded the bases with nobody out in the fourth before Ross cleared them with a double to center. One out later, Alfredo Amezaga upped the lead to 11-4 with an RBI double of his own. Luis Vizcaino came on in relief and struck out Olsen, but Ramirez ripped an RBI double and Jeremy Hermida followed with a run-scoring single to give Florida a nine- run advantage.

Spilborghs launched a mammoth solo homer over the bleachers in left in the bottom of the fourth, and Holliday added a leadoff blast in the fifth as the Rockies closed within 13-6.

Colorado kept up the rally in the fifth, as a single by Atkins and a double from Baker set the table for Iannetta, who crushed a three-run homer off a billboard in left to cut the lead to four.

Spilborghs continued to comeback in the sixth, leading off with his second homer of the night -- a liner just over the wall in left-center. With Barmes on second one out later, Atkins hammered a hanging breaking ball into the seats in left to make it a one-run game.

"Just guys trying to get on base, getting things started, and that was just an unbelievable game," Barmes said.

Ross' two-run single off Jason Grilli in the seventh pushed the Florida lead back to three at 15-12. Luis Gonzalez's pinch-hit single off Manny Corpas later in the frame plated two more to restore a five-run lead. But, the Rockies would close out the night with six unanswered runs.

Justin Miller and Logan Kensing loaded the bases with nobody out in the home half, and Holliday continued the Independence Day fireworks by drilling a 3-2 slider into the stands in left-center for a grand slam.

Renyel Pinto and Doug Waechter combined on a perfect eighth, keeping the Rockies off the board in an inning for the first time all night.

Game Notes

The 35 combined runs were the second-highest total in Coors Field history. The record is 36 runs, set in a 24-12 loss to Cincinnati on May 19, 1999...The teams combined to use 14 pitchers as a total of 104 batters came to the plate in the game...The Marlins went 11-for-21 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12 men on base, while Colorado was 8-for-16 and stranded nine runners.

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