Written by Thomas Harding and Max Gelman at MLB.com
The dramatic walk-off walk Nolan Arenado drew Thursday to give his Rockies a 5-4 victory over the Mets occurred amid postseason implications and in front of 35,276 screaming fans at Coors Field. Yet it took Arenado back to carefree family days.
“On the Wiffle ball field with my cousins, for sure, I had a couple walk-off walks,” Arenado said. “They don’t want to throw to me.”
The Rockies, who entered the day holding the second National League Wild Card spot, took two of three from the Mets in a familiar scenario — a 5-4 score, with Arenado delivering at the end, and Mets reliever Hansel Robles (6-3) falling victim. Tuesday night, Arenado lashed an RBI single off Robles.
This time, Robles, after cruising through the eighth, hit ninth-inning leadoff man Jonathan Lucroy, and, with one out, walked Charlie Blackmon intentionally and DJ LeMahieu on five pitches. Robles, who said he experienced numbness in his right hand during the inning, worked ahead of Arenado, 0-2. Then he missed with four straight pitches, with the last one sailing past Arenado’s ear to the backstop — even though Arenado came up thinking swing.
“He’s a Major League pitcher who throws strikes usually, so the last thing I want to do is act like he’s not going to throw a strike,” said Arenado, who tallied his 16th game-winning RBI of the season.
“That’s certainly not the guy we know,” Mets manager Terry Collins said of Robles. “I don’t really have any idea what happened to him, and he had Arenado 0-2. … This kid’s got too much talent, got a great arm, pitched big, big innings for us in the past.”
Rockies closer Greg Holland (2-1), unavailable the previous two games because of a cut on the back of his right index finger that he suffered in what Rockies manager Bud Black had called a “kitchen accident,” struck out one and pitched around a hit and a wild pitch in the ninth.
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