The Rockies had everything going for them heading into game 3 of the 2007 NLCS.
They had won 19 of their last 20 games, they were heading back to Coors Field with a 2-0 series lead and now, they even had some "bulletin board" material.
About 24 hours before the game started, left fielder Eric Byrnes of the Arizona Diamondbacks made some comments to the media that were meant to rally his team. Instead, they fired up every Rockies fan in Colorado.
"I think we're a good team," Byrnes said to reporters at the podium the day before. "I also don't think the Rockies have outplayed us, because they haven't. They've had a little luck go their way."
19 wins in 20 games was...."lucky"? Rockies fans didn't like that theory. And they let Byrnes know it the rest of the series. Every time he stepped to the plate over the next two games, he was met by 50,000 thunderous boos in lower downtown.
It all made what happened in the 1st inning on Oct. 14, 2007 that much sweeter. First, Byrnes lined into a double play in the top half of the frame. Then, in the bottom half of the inning, NL MVP candidate Matt Holliday crushed a ball to left field.
Byrnes chased it back, all the way to the wall. The ball left the yard, and Byrnes was flattened by the left field fence. As Holliday rounded the bases with a solo home run, Brynes was laying on his back in the warning track dirt. Coors Field was going bananas.
The little dose of revenge was almost as great as what happened later in the game.
Josh Fogg--the Dragon Slayer--was sensational all night for the Rockies. He went six strong innings, giving up just one earned run to give the Rockies a chance on a cold October night.
The game was tied 1-1 heading into the bottom of the 6th inning. Then, catcher Yorvit Torrealba had his biggest hit of the postseason.
With two runners on and two outs, Torrealba crushed a line drive homer to left field.
Just like that, the Rockies had a three-run lead. The 4-1 score held the rest of the way, and the Rocks took a 3-0 series lead in the NLCS. They were one win away from their first trip to the World Series in franchise history.
Rocktober had nearly reached its peak.
Player Reflections 10 Years Later
Torrealba on his home run: "I remember it like it was yesterday. It was awesome. That was off Livan Hernandez, a really good friend of mine. That was probably one of the best moments of my life and of my career. That and game 163 against the Padres are probably the two best games of my life."
